The Canada Games Complex was constructed in 1981 to host the aquatic events of the 1981

Canada Summer Games The Canada Games (french: Jeux du Canada) is a multi-sport event held every two years, alternating between the Canada Winter Games and the Canada Summer Games. They represent the highest level of national competition for Canadian athletes. Two ...

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. It is run by the City of Thunder Bay and its features include a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, indoor fitness areas, a fitness testing area, and an indoor running track. The facility has been open to the public since the end of the Summer Games in 1981, and since that time has seen many renovations and additions, including a café, water slide, and expansions to its fitness areas. It accommodates approximately 450,000 visitors every year. Located near the entrance to the complex is a twisting wooden sculpture titled " Vertere". It was created in 1981 by Paul Epp of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, Ontario. It depicts a twisting motion, which is common in sports.Tronrud, Thorold J. & Nicholson, David (2005).
Thunder Bay Quiz Book: 101 Fascinating Questions about our History
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Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society The Thunder Bay Museum is located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It is operated by the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, incorporated in 1972 as the successor to the Thunder Bay Historical Society. The Museum is affiliated with the Canadian Museums ...

, pps. 12 (question) and 41 (answer) .

Facilities

The main feature is the pool. It is long, and divided by two bulkheads. Water depth ranges from at the shallow end to at the deep end. The complex also features a " Swirlpool", which features

hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment. The term ...

jets. The complex has wide pool decks to accommodate

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

, a children's play area, various exercise equipment and a social area. Off the pool deck are permanent

bleachers Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports fields and other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step gaining access to a row ...

with a capacity of 800 people. The

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

tower has platforms located at , and . It also includes two and one

springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

. The diving tower also features the "Thunderslide", a long

water slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to si ...

. The complex features a weight room as well as three "Multi-training Areas" which include

elliptical trainer An elliptical trainer or cross-trainer is a stationary exercise machine used to stair climb, walk, or run without causing excessive pressure to the joints, hence decreasing the risk of impact injuries. For this reason, people with some injurie ...

s, ergometers, exercise bikes, Stairmasters,

treadmill A treadmill is a device generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place. Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type of ...

s, a

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...

, and

Universal Gym Equipment Universal Gym Equipment was an American manufacturer of exercise equipment, in particular weight machines. It was founded by Harold Zinkin in 1957. In 1998, it was acquired by Flexible Flyer. In 2006 it was acquired by Nautilus, Inc. The Univers ...

. One of the areas also features televisions that users can watch while exercising. A running track is located on the second level, overlooking the pool area. Also included is a fitness testing area, four

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

courts, and two multi-purpose rooms. In addition to fitness and swimming the complex also provides babysitting facilities, locker rooms, and aerobic classes. The games complex also features a variety of accessibility features for handicapped and disabled persons.

References

External links

Canada Games Complex
{{coord, 48, 25, 25, N, 89, 14, 29, W, type:landmark_region:CA-ON, display=title Sports venues in Thunder Bay

Canada Games Complex The Canada Games Complex was constructed in 1981 to host the aquatic events of the 1981 Canada Summer Games in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It is run by the City of Thunder Bay and its features include a swimming pool, indoor fitness areas, a fitness ...

Swimming venues in British Columbia