AMHERST - To beat the pre-spring heat, many residents in the county found a way to cool off on Monday - with a dip at the re-opened YMCA pool.
For 16 women, that dip wasn't just a relaxing one, but one that helped keep them fit.
"It's fantastic the pool was re-opened today," said Leona Remington, an Amherst resident who goes to the Cumberland YMCA every day for workouts and had been going to aquafit three times a week before the pool closed. "It helps to keep in shape."
Remington suffers from arthritis, much like many of the women gathered in the pool Monday afternoon.
Parrsboro resident Lois Hebb has arthritis in her knees, so being in the pool is a way for her to keep fit and keep the strain off her joints.
"I come for the lane swim as well as aquafit," she said.
"It's the swimming that I come for because it's the only exercise I can do."
Monday's pool re-opening came after seven weeks of it being closed because the YMCA didn't have the funding to keep it open while maintaining the core services.
Two weeks ago, the YMCA was able to redo its business plan to show that funding agreements from the Town of Amherst and the Municipality of Cumberland County would work to help achieve sustainability.
"It would have been nice to have them come to an agreement sooner, but we're just glad they were able to," said Anne Posch, who travels from Sackville, N.B., a few times each week to use the pool.
"The alternative would have been much worse," added Marina Wry.
The afternoon open swim is something Jason Blanch has been utilizing with his two children, five-year-old Cail and three-year-old Rowan.
"My daughter was so excited, it was comical," said Blanch about Rowan. "She went straight to the big pool and jumped in repeatedly."
Before the pool closed in March, Blanch was taking his children to the afternoon swim every Monday and Friday.
"We have a boat and we're near or on the water a lot so I think it's important for them to learn to swim. It's really nice to be back here at the Y."
rtetanish@amherstdaily.com
