BONNYVILLE/COLD LAKE – Recreation users now have the chance to enjoy some amenities in the Town of Bonnyville and City of Cold Lake.
Both the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre and the Cold Lake Energy Centre were permitted to allow residents back into the buildings as part of the province entering the second phase of their reopening, which allows some fitness training.
“We’re so pleased to be able to welcome gym users back to the C2 again,” said Sue Wojcik, marketing and sales manager at the Centennial Centre. “Unsupervised fitness training is now allowed for low-intensity exercise, which includes weightlifting, the use of fitness equipment, use of the gold simulator, and walking on the indoor track.”
Training in all facilities at the C2, such as the walking trail, gym, field house, golf simulator, and arenas, are available by appointment only. Change rooms are available and masks must be worn when moving between fitness equipment, facilities, and in the change rooms.
The gym has been capped at 10 guests to ensure physical distancing can be maintained, Wojcik stated.
The fitness centre is opened from Monday to Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. It’s also opened on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and closed on Sundays.
The City of Cold Lake announced on March 4 that the Cenovus Energy Wellness Centre and the CNRL Walking/Running Track at the Energy Centre will reopen for limited use because the provincial government moved into step two of its strategy to gradually ease COVID-19 restrictions.
“While the Energy Centre remains closed to the general public and drop-in activities are on hold, we are thrilled to welcome residents back inside the wellness centre and onto the track for pre-booked reservations,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “We know how important these amenities are for the mental and physical health of our residents and we are making every effort to ensure this re-opening is done carefully, safely, and as quickly as possible within the Province’s guidelines.”
Bookings are now being accepted for one-hour slots for low-intensity activities at the wellness centre and the track.
The city has put safeguards in place to protect users and Energy Centre staff. They include a maximum of 10 users in the wellness centre or on the track at one time, one-hour time slots reservations must be pre-booked one day in advance, treadmills, elliptical, and spin bikes aren’t available for use at this time, masks must be worn at all times, and change rooms will be open with limited use.
Memberships and punch cards will remain frozen, as these facilities are operating at a very reduced capacity with much of the equipment unavailable.
“Our membership holders don’t need to be concerned about the clock ticking on their memberships while we are in the current rendition of Step 2,” explains Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Nagoya. “Until we’re able to ramp up to a bit more capacity and re-open the Energy Centre to the general public, memberships will stay frozen and there will be no charge to use the Cenovus Energy Wellness Centre.”
The climbing wall at the Energy Centre will also be opened. The city is finalizing staffing levels and ensuring property safety precautions and training certifications are in place after an extended closure. The municipality expects to be able to open the climbing wall for appointments in the coming weeks.
For more information on Step 2 of the government of Alberta’s easing of COVID-19 restrictions, visit https://www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures.aspx.
