Bell Aliant Centre

On behalf of everyone here at the Bell Aliant Centre, I want to wish each and every patron a wonderful holiday season! As we close the books on 2020, we will all likely breathe a collective sigh that there is a better year ahead , as this past nine months has presented many challenges. This time has also made us fully appreciate what is important and that includes social interaction; fitness; family, friends, and being a part of a safe and healthy community. We look forward to the opportunity to welcome you back to our Complex to enjoy all those things again! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! - Sue Fraser, General Manager

#HockeyPEI has certainly played an important leadership role in keeping our patrons and families safe. Well done Connor Cameron.

Congratulations to each of these recipients, with a special shout out to Allan Andrews Andrews Hockey Growth Programs So proud to have your programs in our Complex.

We will be offering public skates on the following days over the holiday season: Wednesday, December 23rd 11:30am - 1:00pm Monday, December 28th 11:30am - 1:00pm Wednesday December 30th 11:30am - 1:00pm... Saturday, January 2nd 8:30pm - 9:30pm Skate admission is by donation. This past month over 200 dollars has been donated by staff and patrons to local families, thanks for all who contributed.

We are pleased to announce we have added more swim times for the general public. Beginning Friday, December 4th we will have an additional Zumba class from 8:00 pm 9:00 pm as well as another Zumba class being added Wednesday December 9th from 8:00 pm 9:00 pm. We will also be adding lane swim times in our leisure pool beginning Saturday December 5th. Availability for lane swim times can be viewed on our website at www.bellaliantcentre.ca under the aquatics facility tab using the google docs link: https://docs.google.com//1V1aCAUmx9pVYm8sB11mIOlX-Ap/edit For further information or to register by phone please contact our control and information desk at (902)-569-4033.

Facility Update Arenas: In light of todays announcement that public health restrictions will be relaxed we will be reopening both of our arenas tomorrow beginning at 4:00pm. Some important information to pass along is that each arena will be limited to one cohort of 50 for each ice time. This includes officials, players, coaches and spectators. Please be sure to contact your sporting organization as ice times are being rescheduled. ... Aquatics: We will be reopening our leisure pool beginning Monday, December 21st with available times limited to the evenings for both lane swimming and Aqua Zumba. You can view availability on our website under the 'aquatics facility' tab. To register please email [email protected] with your requested time and you will receive a confirmation email. Our competition pool has been sealed with a new epoxy floor and we will begin the process of filling, treating and heating the water tomorrow, more information to follow as it becomes available.

As a result of today’s announcement from the Chief Public Health Office on new public health restrictions; the Bell Aliant Centre will be closed for the next two weeks beginning Monday, December 7th at 12:00 am. Aquatics: All swimming memberships that have been reactivated since our reopening will once again be suspended. Arena: All ice times for the coming two weeks will be cancelled with further information to follow as we receive instruction from the Chief Public Health Office.

Please be advised that District Heat will be doing maintenance work on campus today (Friday, November 27th). As a result hot water may be restricted by times today in our facility.

Congratulations to President of UPEI Dr. Alaa-Abd-El-Aziz on this recognition as the 2020 Innovator of the Year!

Reminder for tonight's Aqua Zumba class at 8:00 pm that participants are asked to arrive in their swimming attire and to check in at our front desk upon arrival. Patrons will be able to access the pool deck at 8:00 pm and there will be a 15 minute grace period before the class to allow for patrons to put away their gear in one of our designated locations. We hope you enjoy your class!

We wish to advise all of our patrons that Shanahan Gardiner has accepted a new role with the Government of Prince Edward Island and will serve her last day with us on Friday October 23rd. To say that we will miss her, as a valued member of our Management Team , is an understatement. Shanahan has taken on many roles in our organization since she joined us in 2005 and we were very lucky to have her in our midst for these past 15 years. In her most recent role as Director of Aquatics she has proven that she is a team player, relationship builder and an innovator. The Board of Directors, Management Team and all our patrons wish Shanahan much success in her new role, and thank her for her tremendous service to CARI and its stakeholders.

The Management Team wishes to reassure our aquatic patrons that we are diligently working through the diagnostics on the pool leak. We have found cracked tile following a drain line; placed a temporary seal on it and added water today to see if it holds. If this holds, we will know this may be our leak source, will focus our diagnostics on that problem area and work quickly toward a solution. Thank you for your patience as we try to get everything up and running again! We miss seeing you all on the pool deck!

Heading to a rink this weekend? Check out this amazing resource The Province of PEI has put together. It outlines the new Covid procedures for every arena on the Island. Stay safe! https://www.princeedwardisland.ca//pei-arena-information-s

A big Happy birthday going out to longtime UFIT instructor Gord McNeilly. We can't wait to have you back on the pool deck!

We are pleased to announce we will be hosting a CPR and Standard First Aid course on October 3rd and 4th. The course will run from 8:30am 5:00pm both days. Registration is available online at https://cari.maxgalaxycanada.net/BrowseActivities.aspx. For more information please contact our control and information desk at 902-569-4033 or by email at [email protected]

Update on Aquatics Operations - September 23, 2020 We would like to provide an update to our aquatics patrons on the situation with the competition pool. We have been dealing with water loss from this pool, and have been working as diligently and quickly as possible to locate the source of the water loss. At this time we have conducted pressure testing on all water lines for the competition pool, and as of tomorrow, the diagnostics on all plumbing systems will be complete. ... We have enlisted help from various plumbing contractors, mechanical contractors, and engineering professionals to help us get to the bottom of this issue. We know that you are all looking forward to getting back into the pool and we are very much looking forward to having you back. At this time, unfortunately, we do not have a potential date for reopening but will keep you posted as we receive more information. Thank you for your patience and understanding. See more

We are continuing to work toward resolution of the issue with our competition pool and regret that we cannot give a definitive date when we will be able to resume operations for the Aquatics Complex. We will update our patrons and user groups as we move through this problem and provide timelines for reopening as soon as we possibly can.

The Bell Aliant Centre regrets to advise that there will be a one-week delay in the anticipated September 8th opening of the Aquatic Complex due to an issue with the competition pool. This is not related to the dehumidification project now underway and further announcements will be made as more information becomes available.

Hi Everyone, We would like to take the time to pass along a brief update on the status or our aquatics facility. At this time we are aiming to re-open to the public in early September with modified schedules and availability pending approval of our operational plan by the Chief Public Health Office. We will also be releasing our modified swimming lesson schedule at the beginning of September and hope to begin programming by the end of the month.... Detailed schedules and availability will be posted in the coming weeks; we appreciate your patience at this time and look forward to seeing everyone back at the facility in the near future!

We would like to take the time to recognize the following staff who are graduating from High School and Post-Secondary programs this year. We look forward to seeing you back in the facility as well as what your futures hold. Congratulations on your accomplishments! Abby Cameron High School Sarah Campanaro High School Meghan Casey Holland College... Darragh Clayton High School Mikkayla Ellsworth-Reid High School Dylan Gallant - High School Aidan Harrison High School Isaac Hendrickson High School Aisha Kenny High School Blake Kingston High School Liese Manchester Holland College Charlie Morse High School Megan Mowat High School Ethan Nabuurs High School Dennis Park High School Matthew Roberts High School Charlize Sahely High School Faith Sampson UPEI Abbey Saunders High School Amy Wheatley High School See more

Programming Update: Thank you to all our patrons for your patience as we sort through refunds for our spring and summer programming. We have issued refunds for all programs that were scheduled to be offered prior to the facility being closed. If you have not received a refund for Summer daycamps, Spring swimming lessons or one of our CPR and first aid courses please contact Harrison at [email protected] and arrangements can be made for you to come into the facility to have your refund completed.

CARI and COVID Update: Thank you to all of our patrons and tenants for your patience as we continue to follow the COVID 19 directives, as provided by our Public Health Authority. We are working hard to use this unplanned and extended closure of the Bell Aliant Centre for your ultimate benefit, carrying out deep cleans, painting, and launching major capital projects such as resurfacing the Arena Parking Lot and working on a needed dehumidification retrofit for the Aquatics Co...mplex. Please see the following for an update on the different areas of the complex: Arena Operations Notice: We will welcome the return of the Andrews Hockey Growth Program on June 15th, with the use of one sheet of ice in the MacLauchlan Arena so that our anchor tenant can carry out a modified summer program. Please note that neither CARI nor Andrews’ Staff will be accepting any other ice rental requests until further notice. Aquatics Operations: We will not be reopening the Aquatics Complex before September 1st with a further announcement later this summer. This is due primarily to the decision to carry out a significant capital project starting this summer. As such, we can avoid a possible emergency shutdown in the future, from a mechanical failure of the system and get this work completed more efficiently and affordably in an unoccupied space. Daycamp Operations: Given the current requirements around social distancing and the fact that we will not be able to offer aquatics activities in our camps, we have determined that we will not be offering daycamps at this time. This decision may be reviewed later in the summer, should circumstances change Administrative Note: All current registrations for summer 2020 daycamps will automatically be refunded in the coming days. Aquatic memberships will continue to be placed on hold until the facility re-opens. If you have questions or require assistance, please contact [email protected]

Sending Happy Easter wishes to all of our patrons. We miss you and hope to see you all soon!

A reminder that while we are closed to the public, we are still accepting tender bid documents, planning documents, bill payments, and mail. Canada Post is forwarding small mail, and a small mail drop box has been set up outside of the main pool entrance for cheque drops. For larger mail or package delivery please call 902-388-0466 to set up an appointment.

Hi Everyone, We have made the difficult but necessary decision to cancel all Spring Aquatics Programming. This includes Spring 1, Spring 2 and Leadership course programs. If you registered online, your refund will automatically be applied to the card which you originally paid with. This process can take a few days, so please be patient with us. ... If you registered in-person, we are asking that you reach out via email to [email protected] to discuss options. We hope that you are all staying safe, and we can't wait to See you all again.