Dartmouth Crusaders swim club looking for home during Sportsplex upgrades

The Dartmouth Crusaders Swim Club has to find other pools to use after learning the Sportsplex will shut its doors for 16 months starting next year.

The Dartmouth facility will undergo a major renovation starting in June 2017 and will not reopen until September 2018.

The Crusaders are the second-largest swim club in Nova Scotia with 120 members. Swim clubs across the province are also expecting a bump in registration this year due to the upcoming summer Olympics.

"Unfortunately, pool space is tight in HRM," said Bette El-Hawary, executive director of Swim Nova Scotia.

A task force has been created to look for some lanes for members of the Crusaders. It will eye Cole Harbour Place, which does not have a year-round swim club, along with Centennial Pool and Dalplex in Halifax. Other options includeSackville Sports Stadium and the pools at CFBShearwater and Stadacona.

"We'll be working with other facilities to find out what programming can be reshuffled for the interim for one year," said El-Hawary.

Gibb, whose 12-year-old daughter is a member of the swimming club, hopes to have a new plan in place by early September. She's looking forward to the new pool facilities in the Sportsplex when it reopens.

The Dartmouth Crusaders have been swimming out of the Sportsplex since 1982.