Today marks the opening for indoor sports, activities, pools, and rinks. One facility opening up close to the city is the Bienfait public pool. 

"We're very excited that we're opening in the first place because obviously we were hesitant that was going to happen." Explain pool representative, Sheri Sutter, "Today is our first day, swimming lessons start this morning from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m."

The pool will be closed from noon to 12:30 this afternoon so that the staff can clean the water. Public swim will then run from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sutter said that staff will be constantly cleaning the facility each day. That includes the bathrooms, the surrounding area, and even the diving board periodically.

There will not be any change rooms available so it is asked that you come in regular clothes over top of your swimsuits. Cash will also not be accepted at this time and you will instead have to purchase pool passes at the town hall. 

"We reduced the cost to three dollars a swim for everybody, you can purchase passes at the town hall. The passes vary from a regular three-dollar day pass to an extended 25 and 50 dollar passes that allow families to get in as well as use the concession."

Sutter said she is extremely excited to have the pool back open and to be able to bring back even a small sense of normalcy. There has already been a large influx of parents trying to get their children into swimming lessons, which also start today. 

"We've had quite a few people register. We're doing four sets this year, all right now are in the morning and we're doing two weeks starting today and two weeks after that. And then we also may look into some private lessons for families that work for the day and can't get their children to the pool."

With the changes in swimming lessons, there are some things that parents should be aware of. All lessons with children level four and under must have a parent with them while in the water. This has been established to reduce contact between the children and with the lifeguard as well.

As for their lifeguard numbers at this time, Sutter said they are doing well and that even with the need for extra staff for the increased cleaning measures they still have some resumes waiting patiently in case they need another source of help. She added that it was surprising just how many kids have their lifeguarding certificate and how many wanted to step up and help this year.