Welcome Back!
On Wednesday June 24 we reopened our doors to our members for Stage 1 of our reopening process. As of Monday July 6, we are pleased to welcome back the general public!
All activities in the Sportsplex currently have to be booked online through your HRM MyRec Account. You can find instructions on creating a MyRec account, and booking activities here. Our schedule and available activities is available online through MyRec.
Our 2020 Summer Program Guide is available, and registration for activities is open, including camps, swimming lessons, and wellness programs!
On Monday, July 20 the Sportsplex will be entering Stage 3 of our re-opening plans.
Starting Summer Day Camps
- Campers will be in separate groups of no more than 8 or 9 children and their camp counsellors.
- Campers will remain with their same group the entire week.
- We have designated several spaces throughout the building for day camps, so each group will have their own home-base. Camp groups will not intermix.
- Rooms that are large enough to hold two groups of campers will be divided and blocked off to ensure the two groups do not intermix.
- Each home-base will have a sanitization station available for the campers to use.
Re-Opening the Pool
- The pool will initially be available for day camps, lane swims, fitness times, and family swim bookings.
- Activities within the pool must be booked online through your MyRec account.
- The pool locker rooms will be available for you to change in.
- Showers will not be available at this time. You will not be able to rinse off before your swim, and you must go home to shower after your swim.
- A limited number of lockers will be available to store your possessions while maintaining physical distancing.
- Change rooms will be disinfected between every booking time.
- We ask that everyone adheres to the rules that will be posted on the pool deck. These rules are also available in our Re-Opening Guide on our website.
With these two new changes, we will continue to monitor facility usage and create more spaces for people when and where it is possible.
Future updates will be available based on recommendations from Public Health about:
- The re-opening of the arena.
- Dry locker room usage and use of showers.
- Drop in services vs. booking online.
You may have questions about what we are doing to keep our patrons safe during COVID-19. A FAQ sheet, and Re-Opening Guide can be found on our website.
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Summer Camps at the Splex!
Summer Day Camps are on and registration is open. Get ready for Summer at the Splex! This year we're offering Epic Fun Camps, Multi-Sport Camps, and Basketball camps!
Camp starts at 8:30 a.m. and pick-up is at 4:30 p.m. Early drop-off and late pick-up is available for an additional fee during registration.
- Epic Fun Camps are running weekly, Monday - Friday, from July 20 to the end of August.
- Multi-Sport Camps are running July 20 - 24, August 3 - 7, and August 17 - 21
- Basketball Camp is running July 27 - 31, August 10 - 14, and August 24 - 28
Find out more about Summer Day Camps and how to register, check out our website!
Please note that some summer day camps have already reached capacity.
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Wellness Workshops & Athletic Programs
The Sportsplex is running 3 different wellness workshops this summer, with each program running for four weeks.
TRX Yoga Flex
This TRX-based small group training will equip you with the knowledge and confidence you need to safely and effectively incorporate this versatile tool into your own workouts. Combine deep stretching with precision toning and strengthening for improved agility, balance, muscular definition and ease of movement. Beginner to advanced options offered. Pair this class with TRX Bootcamp for the best results! This class will be held in the Leighton Dillman park when weather permits.
TRX Bootcamp
Build strength and burn calories in this fast-paced TRX-based Bootcamp style training. Fast paced and intense, this 45 minute class will give you the burn you’re looking for, as well as equip you with the knowledge and skill you need to build your own TRX workout. Beginner to advanced options offered. Pair this class with TRX Yoga Flex for the best results! This class will be held in the Leighton Dillman park when weather permits.
Yoga & Meditation Workshop
Deepen your practice with this guided progressive Yoga and Meditation series. Learn to balance both mind and body, so you can function and perform better both in the gym and in life. Great for beginners, or experienced practitioners.
For more information on dates, times, and registration, please visit our website!
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Aquatic Leadership Programs
Calling all future lifeguards and swimming instructors! These courses are for you. We're running a number of leadership courses over the summer to help you achieve your certifications.
- Bronze Medallion
- Bronze Cross
- Swim For Life Instructor
- National Lifeguard Certification
- NL Recert.
For more information on dates, requirements, and registration, please visit our website!
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Celebrating Black History
Dr. Daurene Elaine Lewis, CM
Dr. Daurene Lewis (1943 - 2013) became the first black mayor in Nova Scotia, and the first black female mayor in all of Canada when she was elected in Annapolis Royal in 1984. Previous to her election, she became involved in politics in 1976 when she ran for town council, advocating for increased awareness of the history of the community, and community revitalization. She served as deputy mayor in Annapolis Royal in 1982 before her election victory. Dr. Lewis was also the first black woman in Nova Scotia to run for a Provincial election when she made a bid for Annapolis West in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for the Liberal Party.
Before her career as a politician, she attended Dalhousie University and became a Registered Nurse (RN). Dr. Lewis also completed her Masters of Business Administration from St. Mary's University, and received an honorary doctorate from Mount Saint Vincent University for her humanitarian work.
Her career was diverse and impressive, working in several fields that include, but are not limited to: an RN in Ontario and Nova Scotia, a business owner, Executive Director at Mount Saint Vincent University’s Centre for Women in Business, and Principal of the Nova Scotia Community College Institute of Technology Campus.
When her mother was no longer able to continue to weave, an art that was considered part of her family legacy, Dr. Lewis stepped in a learned the craft herself, which would eventually lead her to owning her own design business. She is in the film Black Mother Black Daughter (1989) by Sylvia Hamilton and Claire Prieto, which explored the lives of black women in Nova Scotia.
Throughout her career, she was constantly active in her community and held a number of volunteer positions. She spoke out for the community of Africville, and the hundreds of residents who were displaced from their community under the guise of improving their standard of living and urban renewal. She served on the Africville Heritage Trust Board where she was elected Chair. Dr. Lewis was also a member of the Advisory Committee for Dalhousie University’s Law Program for Indigenous Black and Mi’kmaq Students, the Board of Directors for Neptune Theatre, and many other provincial and national organizations.
Over her career she earned several awards and recognition's, including a United Nations Global Citizenship Award, a Canadian Progress Club, Halifax-Cornwallis Women of Excellence Award for Public Affairs and Communication, a YMCA-YWCA Volunteer Award, a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, and the Black Business and Professional Association’s Harry Jerome Trailblazer Award. Dr. Lewis was added to the Nova Scotia Black Cultural Centre Wall of Honour in 1994 and named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2002.
Her career holds many "First" titles, but most important to her was being remembered as being good at the work she took on to help support her community. Dr. Lewis was more than good, she is someone to be remembered. She comes from a family of black women shattering glass ceilings, including Rose Fortune, who was the first female police officer in North America. She was a 7th generation descendant of Black Loyalists that settled in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia in 1783. Dr. Lewis was a pillar in the Nova Scotia Community, an educator, a leader, and ground-breaker.
Credit: KickassCanadians, Operation Black Vote Canada, WomensSufferage
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In June, the Zatzman Sportsplex released a statement in solidarity against racism, white supremacy, and the oppression of those of African descent. It is our responsibility to to educate ourselves and continue to be better allies. We also said we would take tangible steps to support our staff and community members of African descent.
Every month our newsletter will have a piece dedicated to celebrating Black History, and will highlight community members, both current and past, and the work they have done to contribute to history in Canada.
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“The reason I’m alive is because I died on a court at the Zatzman Sportsplex.”
This isn't exactly what you expect to hear when you're starting off a conversation. But it’s exactly what happened to Kevin Dolan.
April 13, 2019, was Kevin’s 42nd birthday. To celebrate, he went shopping with his family in the morning, had a birthday dinner, and had plans to go out with his wife Kathleen that evening. Before Kevin's evening plans, he went to the Zatzman Sportsplex with his nephew Matteo, and his friend Kyle, to play basketball with a mixed league they were part of.
He doesn’t remember any of this. Everything he knows about that day he knows from what others have told him.
According to what Kyle told him, as they were warming up on the court before the other players arrived, Kevin began walking in a weird direction, his steps veering off to the right. He tripped, and fell face-first into the ground, and hit his head. He hadn't even attempted to throw his hands out to catch himself or break the fall. When Kyle and Matteo rushed over to check on him, he was unconscious, twitching, and shortly after stopped breathing.
It took less than 90 seconds from the time Kevin hit the floor for Sportsplex staff to react and reach him in the gymnasium. Colter Simmonds, the Child, Youth and Sport Coordinator at the Sportsplex was the first on the scene, and Lifeguards with an Automated External Difibulator (AED) soon followed. CPR was immediately started and continued until Emergency Medical Services (EMS) could arrive to take over.
By chance, an ambulance happened to be driving past the Sportsplex at the time he collapsed, and they were in the building and on scene within 6 minutes. Between the Sportsplex staff and the EMS team, Kevin received CPR for 25 minutes, and his heart was shocked by EMS five times before it restarted. It only takes three minutes from the time your heart stops for brain damage to set in.
He woke up in the hospital 2 ½ days later. At the time he was hooked up to ventilators to help him breathe, and he immediately tried to remove them. Doctors considered that a good sign that he did not suffer brain damage because his brain was able to recognize a foreign object.
"I asked, 'What happened, and why am I here?'" Kathleen and doctors told him what happened, but he wasn't able to process the information. 30-seconds later Kevin asked again, "What happened, and why am I here?" That was not a good sign.
Over the next few days, with the help of Kathleen, doctors, and a whiteboard in his room that informed him of what happened, he was able to process and understand. To date, it looks like he was able to avoid any damage to his brain. He remembers and understands everything, except for the time leading up to incident.
Kevin experienced cardiac arrest. His heart just stopped. Doctors ran every possible test, and by the time he left the hospital, Kevin had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) device that would act as both a pacemaker, and a defibrillator.
It was another year before doctors were be able to diagnose him, but thanks to the ICD he has not experienced any more life-threatening incidents. As it turns out, Kevin has a genetic condition called Sarcoidosis, which causes inflammation around the heart. He could have experienced the cardiac arrest at any point in time in his life, it just happened to be on his birthday at the Sportsplex.
Had the event occurred at another facility instead of the Sportsplex, Kevin does not believe he would have been able to survive. “Knowing if you are in Zatzman and something happens, the right training and protocols are in place to get you the help you need.”
A month after the incident, he was getting back outside and walking. He only took 4 ½ months recovery time before he was back to work, and back to coaching and playing basketball. Kevin plays on a number of basketball leagues in the community and coaches two youth basketball teams.
Over a year later, and Kevin is currently doing just fine. He’s one of the lucky ones, as the EMS team that responded to his incident would later tell him in the hospital that only 3% of people who experience the cardiac arrest that Kevin did actually survive.
Kevin’s always taken care of himself, he watches what he eats, exercises regularly, and practices meditation. None of that meant anything when the came to dealing with his condition. He says that the whole experience has made him aware of just how important it is to live in the now, and he's careful to not push himself as far as he previously did. He also hopes his story can be a lesson for other people.
“There’s something in this story that can help other people.” When asked what that was, Kevin listed three things: One, “Expect the unexpected.” Kevin use to feel invincible, a cardiac arrest would never happen to someone like him. But no matter your age, or how much you take care of yourself, bad things can happen at any point, and you’re never really prepared. Two, "you’re never too young to consider cardiovascular health." Take care of your heart, and look into your family history. And three, "the Zatzman Sporstplex staff, their training, and their response protocols, are phenomenal."
On the one year anniversary of the event, Kevin planned on coming back to the Sportsplex as part of his birthday celebration. "I figured it was the best place for me to hang out!" Unfortunately, the Sportsplex was already closed due to COVID-19, but he’s looking forward to coming back once the doors are reopened. Hopefully, his birthday in 2021 goes exactly how he plans it.
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Follow What's Happening At the Plex
Follow us on social media to become a part of our online community! We update our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feed with information and photos about events, programs, and everything else going on in the facility.
Have a question or comment for the Sportsplex team? You can always reach us by email at info@ZatzmanSportsplex.com.
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