With Olympic trials nearing, swimmers petition to reopen Laurentian University's pool

For swimmers in northern Ontario, the Jeno Tihanyi pool at Laurentian University is one of the most important facilities in the region.

The pool is Olympic-sized, has eight lanes and has been the home to medal-winning athletes and teams. 

Alex Baumann trained at the pool. So does current national team swimmer Nina Kucheran. Phil Parker was awarded coach of the year for his work with the women's team at Laurentian.

There's an estimated 80 swimmers just on the school's varsity teams.

But the school has no plans to open the pool for its varsity teams, or anyone else, this year.

That includes several hopeful Olympians who would normally be well into their training regimens.

This will leave the athletes – who train daily –  at a competitive disadvantage, says Abby McDonald, captain of Laurentian's women's varsity swim team.

"At the start of the reopening of Ontario I was actually excited because I thought that Sudbury was doing so well with all the COVID-19 numbers and how they're handling everything," McDonald said. 

"I was like 'this year I'm going to get a jump ahead of everyone, I'm going to be in the pool two months before everyone else is and this is my year, this is my chance to really get ahead of the competition.'"

But McDonald's ambition became confusion as the doors to Laurentian's pool remained closed while others across the province reopened.

 "This year, Olympic trials are happening again. So if we don't get our chance to train and compete for it the way everybody else is, that's really taking a huge hit on Sudbury's chances," she said.

She's also considering whether she should leave the school.

"Personally I came to Laurentian for the swim team," McDonald said. "I turned down Division 1 offers to swim for the Vees."

"It's very unfortunate and definitely not the route that I would like to pursue. But if it comes down to it, swimming means the world to me and I know that we might have to focus on relocating."

"It's unfortunate, but that might be what it comes to."

Sudbury's Kucheran, who currently captains the Florida State University team, moved to Markham to continue training.

In an email, Kucheran said she still considers the Laurentian swim club as her home club.

"I've swam with them since I was 8 years old and I owe the club and my coach all the successes I've had," she said. "The pool not being open this summer has really impacted my training as an individual, as all other pools in Ontario are open."

"Many more members of the Voyageurs swim team rely on this pool for training and have been missing out on training these past few months as well. This also impacts all the club swimmers, synchro, and masters in the area."

A petition, started by Kucheran, is asking for the school to reconsider its decision. As of Wednesday, it has more than 1,000 signatures. 

In an statement emailed to CBC Sudbury, Laurentian University said it was "prioritizing a return to academics."

"Thus reopening of campus recreational facilities including the pool will be addressed as soon as we are safely able to do so, but subsequent to all of the things that need to be done to support the teaching and learning experience for students."  

As for an opening date, Laurentian said discussions and planning are ongoing, and will base its decision to reopen on health unit guidelines.

"We recognize that this decision affects many in our community. We want to reiterate that our first priority is to ensure the academic success and health and safety of our students, while further protecting their health and well-being. We sincerely regret the inconvenience to our community," the statement reads.