Sports | DrumhellerMail

Aquaplex faces two month closure for HVAC upgrades

Avid swimmers in Drumheller will have to hang up their towels for the next two and a half months.
The Drumheller Aquaplex will be shutting down on November 4 and is scheduled to reopen January 18. During the shutdown, the Aquaplex’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system will receive a major overhaul.

Residents will only have a few more days to enjoy the Drumheller Aquaplex before it closes on Monday November 4 for an overhaul of the building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. It is expected the upgrade will be completed early in the new year and the Aquaplex will reopen on January 18.

    “These are long overdue improvements to the Aquaplex. We know it’ll inconvenience our users for some time. Our preference would have been to do the work while both the indoor and outdoor pools were in use, but the contractor couldn’t make that window,” said Paul Salvatore, Director of Community Services for the Town of Drumheller.
   The intention of the upgrades is to improve the air quality of the building.
   “They are really extensive air handling upgrades. It’ll increase the quality of the air, in particular, deal with the humidity and air flow levels. It’ll make it a much more comfortable environment for users and staff,” said Salvatore.
   Council awarded the contract for upgrades at the September 23 meeting of Town Council to Dee Jay Plumbing & Heating Ltd. for $361,853.10.
   Residents with passes to the Aquaplex are being encouraged to stop by the Badlands Community Facility (BCF). Aquaplex passes will be accepted at the BCF during the shutdown.
   “If they have a pool-only pass we’ll honour that at the BCF. There are people who just use the pool, so maybe this will give them an opportunity to try something different with their routine and do some cross-training. Ideally, we don’t want to stop service, but luckily, we have a great facility and the arena,” said Salvatore.
   After the upgrades are complete, Salvatore hopes plans can be made to bring in a new water slide.
   “Once we get past this, then down the road we can look at more fun things, like replacing the water slide. We’ll be looking at options as we go into this session of council. Hopefully we’ll get some plans in place and involve the public in determining what the final design will be,” said Salvatore. “A lot of people have commented they miss that feature, but one step at a time. For now we’ll focus on the HVAC upgrades and then the water slide as soon as we can after that.”

Titans crowned Rangeland champions

The Senior Titans went to Medicine Hat last Friday hungry for a title, and came home satisfied.

The Titans hoist the Rangeland Championship Trophy after defeating the Medicine Hat High Mohawks last Friday, October 25.

    The Titans are now the Rangeland Football conference champions, defeating the Medicine Hat High Mohawks in a convincing fashion.
   The Titans sprang out of the gate scoring early and scoring often. They were up 20-0 at the end the first quarter and by half time, they were up 27-2.
   Medicine Hat did rally a bit as the game progressed but the Titans were able to hold back the push, winning 48-28.
   “They came on a bit, but we played a little safer with ball control and tried not to make any mistakes,” said coach Ken Fournier.
He said they were hoping to put together a good lead because they expected the Mohawks not to lie down.
   “We just hoped we would have enough points up so we could take the brunt of the storm when it came and survive it,” he said.
   Again, the big game players delivered for the Titans, but every game it seems a different player is a stand out.
   “There were a couple guys that made an impact on the game. Travis Dietrich on offense made a couple great receptions. On defense, rookie Nick Kakuk stepped up and made some big plays,” said Fournier. “Our special teams are solid. It seems to be the story of the last few weeks, is our special team is keeping us in games.”
   While the Titans are pretty healthy, they will get a breather to prepare for provincial playoffs. They face Canmore in the south semifinals on November 9 in Canmore.
   If successful, they could see either Claresholm, which is having a great season or Bow Valley out of Cochrane in the south final.
   “In the north there are four strong teams right now,” said Fournier. “It is unclear because they are so strong up there. It will be somewhat different as Ardrossan is now in Tier 3.”
   “We are going in to provincials fairly healthy, we are getting guys back in the line-up and we have two weeks to prepare,” said Fournier.

Puck drops on minor hockey season

    Last weekend, another exciting minor hockey season got underway. After a long summer and weeks of practice, the teams dropped the puck on what is assured to be another big year.
   “There have been a few games, but the older teams hadn’t played yet, so they were excited to play. There’s going to be some good hockey down at the arena,” said Jason James, vice president of the Drumheller Minor Hockey Association.
   Overall, enrollment in minor hockey has remained stable compared to last year. Roughly 150 kids, divided into ten teams, will be lacing up their skates for the Raptors.

The Drumheller Raptors hit the ice last weekend for their first regular season games. They are back at it this weekend as well. Over the next two weeks the games will determine in what tier each team is placed.

    The first couple weekends of the regular season will determine what tiers the teams will be placed.
   “This weekend is basically the onset of tiering, which helps get the teams in the right division. Our goal over the next couple weeks is to make sure the teams are slotted into their proper tier. It’s in the best interests of everyone to have the teams be competitive compared to each other,” said James.
   The Minor Hockey Association is hoping for another successful season after several teams earned league and provincial championships last season.
   James feels the Raptors’ success is due to the introduction of dry land training. Over the week, teams will head to the Badlands Community Facility to work on fitness and skills.
   “Our PeeWee team last year was phenomenal and a huge part of that was the fitness portion,” said James. “It can be hard to get ice time, so we can take things to the Facility and work on skills and cardio.”
   The Midget Raptors began their season last weekend with two close overtime losses to Medicine Hat and Vulcan. They look for their first win of the season on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Drumheller Memorial Arena.
     The Bantam Raptors opened their season with a big 4-0 win over Oyen last Friday. They play tonight at home at 7:15 p.m.
   The NGC PeeWee Raptors had a tough start to the season, losing to Lethbridge and Taber last weekend. They head to Medicine Hat on Saturday. The Hi-Way 9 PeeWee Raptors got off to a good start with two wins, 5-1 over Okotoks and 5-3 over Indus, last weekend. They’ll be looking to rack up another win on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they take on Strathmore in Hussar.
   The Yavis Atom Raptors had a tough start to their season, losing their first two games. They will be looking for their first win at home at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
     The Encana Atom Raptors had a 1-1 start to their season, winning 7-2 over Rockyford, but losing to Carstairs.
   The McDonald’s Novice Raptors will be looking for their first win of the season at home against Foothills on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Canalta Novice Raptors got two big wins to start their season, 16-1 in Brooks and 6-1 in Indus. They face Cremona at home on Saturday at 9 a.m.
   “It all comes together for the kids. They have fun and there’s a smile on their face; that’s what it’s about,” said James.

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