November 13, 2024

To Whom it May Concern:

I am a physiotherapist working in the Cheticamp area for the past 31 years.  I would like to add my voice in support of an aquatic facility on the western side of Cape Breton.  It would be an incredible boom to the fitness and health of the people of our area.  Personally, as a mother of nine, a pool locally would be such a support when trying to ensure that all of my children are water-safe, competent swimmers.  It is a significant cost to travel to Port Hawkesbury or to Sydney every week for swimming lessons.  I am sure there are many families that could afford the cost of the lessons, but not the weekly travel. An aquatic facility would add a year-round, active swimming option to the lives of the people of Inverness County.  This would be welcome in a time when obesity rates in all ages are increasing.   

Exercise in water is beneficial to the entire population, and especially important for those who have pain with bearing weight.  The natural buoyancy of water makes upright exercise a possibility for this patient population.  There is a significant benefit of water-supported movement: the water provides resistance, making ordinary movements strengthening exercise. There are not the same risks/consequences of a fall when exercising in the water. People can do exercise that involves single-leg standing, jumping, hopping, and dancing without danger. For the person struggling with weight loss, water exercise is the highest standard of safe, supported, robust exercise. 

Please support the proposed Aquatic Center in support of the health and well-being of the rural residents of Western Cape Breton. 

Jyl Carmichael  BScPT

Physiotherapist, Sacred Heart Hospital

(Disclaimer: the renders above do not depict an actual design for the aquatic centre, merely a concept for visual purposes.)