Fun finale to swimming pool season

Posted on September 17, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

By Marcus Day

Maple Creek News

Well, cow about that?

A special visitor added to the party moo-d at Maple Creek Community Swimming Pool on Sunday for the final swim of the season.

DJ Moo appeared midway through the “Last Splash Bash in Cowtown”, high-fiving children, dancing, posing for pictures, and standing atop the waterslides waving.

You could say he milked the attention … and on an overcast, cool day, which kept numbers down, his voluminous presence warmed people’s hearts.

Who is DJ Moo? As with Santa Claus, the name beneath the get-up – or black-and-white hide – is probably best kept a secret.

For pool supervisor Olivia Bircham and her hard-working staff the event was a fun finale to a busy season.

“It was cold yesterday and I was worried about today, but it probably turned out better than many people expected,” she said. “It was a good day and a lot of regulars, those who have been pretty dedicated all the summer, came. It is cool to see them come out and enjoy themselves.”

Reflecting on the season, Bircham said: “Overall it has been great. We have had amazing staff, fantastic lifeguards.”

For most of the summer, the pool has been open 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Throughout that time there have been seven full-time lifeguards: Emily Martens, Emma Norton, Gage Hintz, Kenzie Duffee, Kyra Whitrow, Makenna Robertson, and Wyatt Jahnke-Schafer. They were joined by Kylar Olsen, who got his qualifications at the end of the summer and was on duty on Sunday.

In addition, Kyra’s sister, Taya, was employed as a waterslide attendant, which is a safety requirement.

Several times staff have had to intervene to keep the public safe, said Bircham.

It happened again at the “Last Splash Bash”, when swimmers had to leave the pool briefly to allow cleaning to take place.

“They have all been exceptionally busy,” said Bircham.

“The pool has been well received by the public, and we put more than 200 kids through swimming classes this summer. July and August are the busiest months. In fact, August was probably the busiest because the waterslides opened at the end of July.

“Sometimes we hit our lifeguard capacity – we have to have a ratio of swimmers to lifeguards – and couldn’t let any more people into the pool. That is not something we like to do, but it happens at every pool.”

Bircham estimated that on the busiest days about 200 people were at the pool at the same time. It suggests that news about Maple Creek’s swimming pool is spreading fast around the region.

“I hope this is the case,” said Bircham, who has more than a decade of pool management experience in Eastend, although this was her first season in Maple Creek.

“Many families spent a lot of the summer here. In general, people come from all over the area, including Medicine Hat.

“ I myself had cousins from England. They spent two days of their holiday here because they thought it was so much fun. It was their first visit and they were only supposed to come for two hours.”

Bircham said Maple Creek’s pool compared well to others in southwest Saskatchewan. For example, Eastend’s pool has waterslides but no diving board, Gull Lake has a diving board but no watersides, and the Cypress Hills park pool has neither of these features.

“Maple Creek has a wonderful facility.

“The Town and people in the community have donated so much money to get it. I love coming here to watch the swim classes and see kids enjoying the pool.”

One of the most familiar faces at the pool this summer belonged to Claire Pollock.

“I have enjoyed it as much as I knew I would!,” she said. “It has been the sound of summer for me. The kids … it’s all about the kids.”