The man who spent 25 years filling the regionB次元官网网址檚 biggest toy box is finally taking time to play in it.
Halloween was Tom BryceB次元官网网址檚 last day as the manager of Saanich Commonwealth Place, a role heB次元官网网址檚 filled since 1993. The memories are plentiful, such as the Michael Phelps incident in 2006, when so many cameras flashed at the start of his world-record attempt, it set off the poolB次元官网网址檚 light-sensitive fire alarm.
Or the time a mischievous swimmer cracked the underwater window in the dive tank.
As Bryce now walks away from the meetings and the management, he prides himself on SCPB次元官网网址檚 mix of community-driven use and world-class athletes. ItB次元官网网址檚 what Bryce calls B次元官网网址渢he best of both worlds.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t took a lot of work,B次元官网网址� Bryce said. B次元官网网址淲hat IB次元官网网址檓 proud of is that itB次元官网网址檚 the users who decide how SCP is run, itB次元官网网址檚 the users who meet every month that guide decisions.B次元官网网址�
When he showed up in September of 1993, SCP was still under construction. It was designed to handle the 1994 Commonwealth Games, but Bryce was already looking past the Games thinking, B次元官网网址淗ow are we going to fill this place?B次元官网网址�
Today SCP is a thriving recreation and high-performance centre for all ages, home to Swimming CanadaB次元官网网址檚 High Performance Centre B次元官网网址� Victoria, Boardworks Diving Club, the national triathlon development centre, Island Swimming, Pacific Coast Swimming, Pacific Cycling Centre, a thriving leisure pool, a variety of Saanich recreational programming in the pool and gym, a teen centre, a daycare, complimentary health services and much more.
The building has had its ups, as it successfully hosted the Commonwealth Games swimming, diving and synchro events, itB次元官网网址檚 since held multiple national swimming and diving competitions, hosted the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships (which NBC broadcast to an estimated audience of 200 million) and is regularly used for a range of activities from underwater hockey to beginner triathlons.
And itB次元官网网址檚 had its downs. Shortly after opening in 1994, lifeguard Lorna Barr, 24, died when she was caught against a drain pipe in the wave pool. SCP was also home to the instrumental work of high-performance coaches and . Both died in recent years, leaving behind their young families but also an at SCP.
B次元官网网址淩ight from the start, the community went into this thinking it would be for the community, and it is,B次元官网网址� Bryce said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not just for the Commonwealth Games, we have 800,000 visits annually. And you look at the effect this place has on people, the life skills that both the athletes and the employees take with them.B次元官网网址�
Despite his retirement, the 63-year-old grandfather of two young boys, three and five, has plenty to keep him busy. HeB次元官网网址檚 looking to add swimming, at SCP of course, back into his exercise regime of running and weightlifting.
B次元官网网址淲hen you have the [cityB次元官网网址檚] biggest toy box, you have to play in it,B次元官网网址� Bryce said.
ItB次元官网网址檚 been a big run for Bryce, who first came into the industry when he built up a high-performance swimming program in Vernon. That led him to manage a new pool and recreation centre built in Saint John, N.B., in 1983. It was during a national event in Saint John, in 1993, that Bryce connected with Victoria swim coaches who told him of a new pool, and library, planned for Saanich.
B次元官网网址淚 had a desire to bring the family back to the West Coast,B次元官网网址� Bryce said. B次元官网网址淎fter that swim meet was over I called Saanich and asked, B次元官网网址業s there a managerB次元官网网址檚 position for this new pool?B次元官网网址� And they said, B次元官网网址榊es, but if you want to apply [the competition] closes in three hours.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
BryceB次元官网网址檚 resume was ready, and he faxed it in on time. Three weeks later he flew out for an interview and got the job. Only then did the fun start.
As the story goes, Saanich had approved a new pool and library. But when UVic said it wasnB次元官网网址檛 footing the bill for a new pool facility capable of managing the Commonwealth Games, Saanich stepped up. , with the help of a couple politically aligned Saanich councillors, Ida Chong and Frank Leonard, helped secure provincial and federal funding to expand the new recreation centre into a venue big enough for the Games. Saanich footed about $8 million with another $16 million from the Commonwealth Games society, a partnership fund of provincial and federal money.
The Games were a success, and so was the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championship, when U.S. star Michael Phelps set three pool records that stand today.
The media gallery was so big, when Phelps leapt off the starting block for one of his races, the light-sensitive fire alarm recognized it as flames.
B次元官网网址淎nd nobody noticed, there was so much cheering, you couldnB次元官网网址檛 hear the alarm. Only the people who worked here noticed,B次元官网网址� said Bryce, who bolted at the time to manually intercept the alarm from continuing.
Then there was the child who found a piece of metal in the dive tank and, impressively, but also mischievously, used it to tap on the little-known underwater window, set about two metres below the surface.
B次元官网网址淚t cracked the outer layer of the three-pane window,B次元官网网址� Bryce said. B次元官网网址淲e couldnB次元官网网址檛 drain it, we had an engineer come in and we ended up bolting a steel plate over the window [from the outside] to protect it, covering it for three months until the season ended.B次元官网网址�
Charlene Parker, manager of Gordon Head Recreation Centre, will take over the SCP manager role. Steve Meikle leaves George Pearkes Recreation Centre to take the manager role at Gordon Head.
