Report to:  General Committee                                                     Report Date: January 8, 2008

 

 

SUBJECT:                          Pool Allocation Policy

PREPARED BY:               Lori Wells, Programs Manager

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report entitled “Pool Allocation Policy” be received;

 

AND THAT Council approve a Pool Allocation Policy (Appendix A);

 

And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval in establishing a Pool Allocation Policy that will strive to equitably distribute available pool hours to Aquatic user groups..  

 

BACKGROUND:

Currently in the Town of Markham there are five major Aquatic User Groups who use the four indoor pools to train.. The following are the five major Aquatic User Groups and current registration numbers:

 

·        Markham Aquatic Club – 275 swimmers (Children and Youth);

·        Mallards Swim Club – 105 swimmers and 15 Masters;

·        Markham Masters Swim Club – 51 swimmers;

·        Thornhill Masters Club – 26 swimmers, and

·        Markham Synchronize Swim Club – 12 competitive swimmers. 

 

The past practice has been the allocation of pool time to user groups based on what has been made available once the Town programs have been accommodated, not on their training requirements or membership.  Staff recognized that in order to manage growth effectively and prepare for future facilities a Pool Allocation policy is required. The proposed policy would identify the current needs of the clubs and assist staff in programming the pool space.  Overall it would allow the clubs to grow with the community and to ensure equitable use of the pool by all user groups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakdown of Current Pool Use

Table 1 identifies the current pool usage breakdown based on a 7-day operation.

 

Monday to Friday - Centennial, Milliken and Angus Glen

6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Monday to Friday - Thornlea Pool

6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday  at Thornlea Pool

6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. – shared use facility with the York Region District School Board

 

Table 1 - Current Town-wide Pool Usage Breakdown

User Group

September to June

July and August

Town Lessons

29.7%

37.6%

Town Recreational – Public Lane ,school lessons/swim teams, birthday parties and Aqua fit

48%

41.9%

Town Summer Camps

 0%

5.2%

Total Town Use

77.7%

84.7%

Community Swim Clubs –MAC ,Mallards, Masters and Synchro

22.3%

12.9%

Total

100%

100%

 

Aquatic User Group – Pool Use

Table 2 identifies the total number hours per week currently used by the Community Swim Clubs

 

Table 2 - Aquatic User Group - Current Weekly Use

Club

Full/Shared

Current use

MAC

Full Pool

38 hours

 

Shared

6.5 hours

Mallards

Full Pool

10 hours

 

Shared

15.5 hours

Masters

Full Pool

4.5 hours

Thornhill  Masters

Shared

 

Full

3.5 hours

 

1 hour

Synchro

Full

Shared

4 hours

4 hours

 

Total Hour / week

87 hours

 

 

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION

 

In January 2007, staff met with the aquatic user groups to introduce the proposed Pool Allocation Policy.  In order to maintain consistency with existing Town allocation policies such as Ice and Indoor Soccer Allocation Policy, we propose the following definitions be used to define the pool groups.

 

Minor Use Group – Children and Youth

Minor Use Groups are recognized as not-for-profit groups or groups operated by volunteers for organized activities for children and youth who are residents of the Town of Markham. 100% of the membership pays residential taxes to the corporation of the Town of Markham. Only Markham residents are considered in the Pool Allocation process and policy.

 

Residents - Adult / Master Swimmers

Residents are defined as persons who pay residential taxes to the Corporation of the Town of Markham. Resident groups must consist of a minimum of 75% of such residents and is a non-profit, or charitable organization, or recognized community service group wishing to raise funds for the benefit of the community. The 75% residency rule does not apply to Minor Use Groups. Minor Groups must be 100% residents.

 

The following is the proposed priority for pool allocation.

 

a)                  Town of Markham aquatic programs (including recreational and learn to swim, leadership, staff training and camps)

 

b)                  Not-for-profit community swim clubs; Diving, Waterpolo, Competitive Swimming, Synchronize Swimming.

c)                  Regional, provincial, national, special events ( including swim meets)

d)                  Out of town organizations

 

The allocation formula will be defined as the amount of pool time each level of swimmer receives for training.

 

Proof of residency will be based on receiving copies of the club’s registration list and verified with Swim Ontario the governing body for Competitive Swim Clubs.

 

The main challenge in the process was defining an allocation formula that would determine the amount of pool time the various levels of swimmers would receive. 

 

In February and March 2007, staff held follow-up meetings with the individual clubs to collect further feedback and input into the process, specifically the Allocation Formula and defining a Provincial and National swimmer.  Staff also researched and consulted with Swim Ontario, Swim Canada and other municipalities to find out what is an adequate number of hours per week per swim level to create the Allocation Formula.  It was found, however, that there were no established standards provided by the governing sport bodies and there were no current approved pool allocation policies existing in the municipalities contacted within the GTA. The City of Guelph is in the early stages of their policy development.  Therefore, the Town, with the input from the User groups, undertook the task of drafting a formula that would meet the needs of the club’s swimmers.

 

Staff reviewed the current usage by the clubs and what they currently provided based on the level of swimmer and this became the basis of the Allocation Formula.  Swimmers were identified into five categories with training hours per week.

 

            Categories                                                Allocated Training Hours

            National Level                                                  20 hours per week

            Provincial Level                                                12 hours per week

            Age group Level                                               7.5 hours per week

            Developmental Level                                          3 hours per week

            Masters                                                            4.5 hours per week

 

Allocation Formula

The purpose is to determine how much pool space each group should be allocated per week. The pool can either be shared use or full use depending on the pool schedule. Therefore, it is important to determine the number of hours of full pool use that is required by each group. The following is the proposed Pool Allocation Formula.

 

Pool Allocation Formula                                      Example - Using Age Group Category

Number of residents per category divided by 6 swimmers per lane = number of lanes required

 

Age Group Level 48 residents divided by 6 swimmers per lane = 8 lanes

Number of lanes x allocated time per week = number of lanes per week required.

 

8 lanes x 7.5 hours = 60 lanes per week

 

On April 25, 2007, staff hosted a follow-up meeting with the User Groups to seek consensus on the Allocation Formula.  At this meeting we did not receive full agreement from the clubs as they could not agree upon what would determine the ranking for swimmers at the National and Provincial level.

 

Therefore, further research was conducted by staff on how swimmers qualify and received the National and Provincial ranking. The following criterion was developed to determine the ranking for National and Provincial swimmers.

 

National or Provincial swimmers are swimmers who have advance qualifying time to compete in the National or Provincial meets held in July of the designated year.  For allocation purposes, we consider all swimmers who were ranked as National or Provincial swimmers in their specific age group for the following year.  For example for the 2008/2009 season swimmers who are ranked as National and have a qualifying time for Senior National, Age Group National or Eastern Nationals and Provincial swimmers who have an Ontario Provincial time (not levels A through D) and competed in the meet in 2008 would be allocated National or Provincial training hours for 2008/2009 season.

 

Staff met with the User Groups to solicit feedback on November 7, 2007 and on April 14, 2008 as well met on separate occasions with the clubs individually and changes to the policy have been made based on the groups’ feedback (see Appendix A.)

 

However, given that pool time at all four pools is limited and there is not excess time available staff will not allocate time to any additional new Markham organizations that form without the prior approval of council

 

CONCLUSION:

The Pool Allocation policy will assist staff to ensure the ongoing growth and development of all programs offered by all the user groups while distributing the available pool time fairly to maximize pool use and assist in programming new aquatic facilities.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)

None

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

No applicable

 

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

 

ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

 

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Not applicable

 

RECOMMENDED

                            BY:     ________________________         ________________________

                                       Barbara M. Roth                               Allan Seabrooke

                                       Director of Recreation Services          Acting Commission Lead

                                                                                                Community and Fire Services

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A - Pool Allocation Policy

 

Q:\Recreation\POLICIES\POL012\Reports\2008 Pool Allocation.doc