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Keeping an eye on swimmers

Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Jun 08/01) - Watching paint dry is associated with boredom. Watching paint peel is akin to restlessness.

Many community members, young and old, are anxious to see the doors open on the pool this season. Audrey Giles and Kathleen Turner, the swimming instructors and lifeguards hired this year, can sympathize. However, until the problem with the peeling paint in the pool facility has been properly dealt with, there's no chance of any indoor swimming.

In the meantime, they have been giving lessons on water and boating safety at local schools. Steps to take when a boat tips, the importance of wearing a life-jacket and how to treat hypothermia have been among the topics.

Giles and Turner have also been helping out with the NWT Recreation and Parks Association conference in Fort Simpson, where Giles is scheduled to make a presentation on Saturday afternoon. She will be discussing Sporting Partnerships of Universities and Northern Communities (SPUNC). It's a non-profit organization, of which she's a member, that sends donated sporting equipment to northern communities.

"We ask the communities what they need and then we try to fill their needs to the best of our ability," said Giles, who is from Toronto.

Her involvement with SPUNC has helped her get better acquainted with Northern communities and the people who live and work here, she noted.

In fact, having worked in the North previously -- she spent a summer in Cape Dorset, which has a pool very similar to Fort Simpson's -- has had a significant impact on her life.

She's changed her field of study from sports psychology to the sociology of sport for aboriginal women.

A graduate of Queen's University, she is pursuing her masters at the University of Alberta.

"I've always been interested in the North. Now I'm hooked," she said.

Turner, who hails from Belleville, Ont., is majoring in nutrition at Guelph University. This is her first time north of Haliburton, Ont., where she was waterfront director at a summer camp for two years. She will be responsible for waterfront programs in the other Deh Cho communities throughout the summer.

In the two weeks Turner and Giles have been in Fort Simpson, they have formed positive impressions.

"It's an incredibly friendly town," Giles said.

"Everyone's been super nice," Turner added.

They have a full slate of events planned for the pool season including swim team practises, games, Aquafit, public swims and family swims.

"It's going to be the place to be this summer," Turner said.