Calgary recreation facilities are having to make big changes when it comes to programs this fall. With restrictions still firmly in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many facilities are having to work around them to deliver the fall programming they would under normal circumstances.

With stringent mask and social distancing measures put in place by the City of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, many programs are either being cut, reduced, or moved online for the duration of the fall programming period.   

“We’ve had to halt all programs for a while because we’re open in a very limited capacity. Programming was the most impacted because most of our programming was offered in person. We had to accommodate a virtual programming setting. It’s all almost exclusively online. People are sent Zoom links for the program when they are being facilitated.” Said Library Experience Supervisor, Patrick Sperry, from the Central Library in downtown Calgary.    

“We’re experimenting with getting more programs into users in the virtual setting. We want to use the resources the best we can. We’d love to see programming in person again but we need to use the AHS safety protocols. But programs have been going very well. It’s very very hard to say which kind of things will be adopted in a hybrid sort of manner. We haven’t quite gotten to what things will look like yet.”

The Calgary Public Library isn’t the only one having to change up their program delivery this fall. YMCA Calgary has had to cut back drastically on programs with only a few being offered in the two sessions they are running this fall. In addition to program changes, the YMCA has also had to change how they conduct normal gym and personal training sessions.  

”We do sanitize much more frequently. We also have distancing. The weight floor has more equipment closed off. A lot of our equipment has been closed off. We’re only allowing a certain number of people. We ask them screening questions that they have to do a waiver. Our trainers are spending more time cleaning than actually training. We’re always sanitizing. We don’t have a lot of shared things anymore so people can’t be close to each other. Towels are only accessed in the plus changeroom. Shampoos are no longer shared.” Said Mary Desjardins, the Member Services Manager at Shawnessy YMCA.

So now with fall programming underway across the city, program facilitators and patrons alike are adjusting to the new delivery methods and safety procedures.  

But with things still uncertain, program facilitators can only hope that things will move back into some semblance of normal by next fall.