Swim clubs want say in any discussions about Sudbury's Tihanyi pool
Letter reminds city and Laurentian University of their substantial involvement in the facility and city's economy
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Club swimmers want a seat in any discussions about the future of the now-shuttered Jeno Tihanyi Olympic Gold Pool at Laurentian University.
In a letter to Mayor Paul Lefebvre and Lynn Wells, Laurentian’s new president, the Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club noted it has invested in equipment at the facility and provided expertise in managing meets held at the pool over the years.
“Given our club’s history and investment in the pool, we believe our insights would be valuable as the university and city map out the future of the pool. Your leadership is crucial in revitalizing our aquatic infrastructure for the benefit of all Sudburians,” Marie-Lea Bray, the club president writes.
“We have not been engaged in any dialogue around a clear plan for the pool’s future.”
The club has purchased lane ropes, starting blocks, touchpads, pace clocks and scoreboards, the letter states. Sources have told The Sudbury Star that the equipment continues to sit at the university.
The letter can be found on the club’s social platforms and was to be released to the media on May 1.
“Despite the efforts of (northeastern) clubs, Swim Ontario, Swim Canada and others to engage with Laurentian University to facilitate the pool’s reopening, communications have been consistently frustrating,” the letter states.
The letter was written in response to the fact that Laurentian’s 2024-25 budget did not include anything for the Tihanyi pool and said there is a lack of transparency about the pool’s future, she says.
In an interview, Bray discussed the letter and paused when asked if the swim club can survive without the pool, the only one of its kind in Northern Ontario.
“Swimming in the city is becoming more and more out of reach based on the fees we have to charge,” she said. “We’ve been operating in a deficit over the last three years.”
It isn’t manageable to continue to lose money every year, she said.
The club wrote the letter because members feel local swimmers, including those with physical specialties, and other city users are missing out.
They are concerned about the general state of aging city pools, she said.
Laurentian’s budget shows $300,000 was set aside to assess the repairs needed to fix the pool. Of that, $108,686 was spent and the status is showing complete.
The Sudbury Star has launched a freedom of information request with Laurentian University. The Star is looking for copies of the pool reports from consultants JL Richards and Xradar.
The university’s April 16 update stated that the board of governors wants to talk with the City of Greater Sudbury and create a joint planning committee to renew the university’s facilities.
Lefebvre has confirmed he had met with Wells and discussed several issues of importance for Laurentian University.
“The City’s comprehensive aquatics review to be presented in September will include refined metrics for aquatic service delivery and help guide future provision of these services,” the municipality said in a statement. “We need to review this report before making any decisions on our infrastructure.”
The storied Jeno Tihanyi Olympic Gold Pool was open until March 11, 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic closed down the world.
When Sudbury pools began to reopen locally, the university pool remained closed. It hasn’t reopened, though for two years it sat full of heated and treated water during Laurentian’s insolvency process. It began to leak in 2022 and was emptied.
The university launched an investigation into the nature of the repairs needed in early 2023. Laurentian has posted eight community updates, all vaguely similar, but has refused to comment any further on the situation.
The Sudbury Star also sought an interview with Wells regarding the overall picture of athletics based on Laurentian’s new strategic plan. That request was declined.
“The Strategic Plan is in the very early stages of implementation, a conversation with Dr. Wells about the Strategic Plan would be more fruitful in a couple months’ time,” the university said. “Once the plan has had some time to take shape, in early summer, it would be a great time to revisit the possibility of this interview.”
Members of aquatics clubs feel they have been left in the dark, Bray said, adding there hasn’t been any communication from Laurentian in the last three years.
“As a club and a board, we believed the university was going to come to the table.”
Local swim clubs argue keeping the Tihanyi pool closed is costing Sudbury millions. They said that swim meets create more than $1 million in economic activity for the city each year.
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