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Suiting up to go on a waterslide doesn’t usually mean a full suit and tie.
But that’s the outfit the chief administrative officer for Maple Creek, Sask., chose for his ceremonial first ride down the town’s new Chianne Bauer Memorial Waterslides.
“It’s a little restrictive,” Barry Elliott joked. “Probably would have more fun if I was just in trunks, but I hope my toupee is still intact.”
Elliott and Mayor Michelle McKenzie cut the ribbon and rode down the slides on Tuesday in front of a packed crowd of young locals who followed soon after.
“The first one, not too bad,” McKenzie said. “The second one … that speed bullet. I screamed like a little girl when I went down there.”
WATCH | Town of Maple Creek official wears bathing ‘suit’ to open new waterslides:
Town of Maple Creek official wears bathing ‘suit’ to open new waterslides
Kids weren’t the only ones excited to try the new waterslides in Maple Creek, Sask. After cutting the ribbon, the town’s mayor and chief administrative officer, who was wearing a suit, took the inaugural ride down the Chianne Bauer Memorial Waterslide.
The slides opened a year after the new outdoor pool in Maple Creek, about 350 kilometers west of Regina. Elliott said the contractor initially had shipping issues with the parts they needed.
Richardson Pioneer paid a $100,000 sponsorship fee to have the slides dedicated in honour of their former employee, Chianne Bauer.
“She was a very energetic, cheerful, wonderful lady,” McKenzie said. “She was known for her laugh. If you could still hear her laugh and with the laughter here at this pool, her memory is going to live on.”
A look from the top of the new waterslides at the Maple Creek Community Pool. (Shawn Mullin/CBC)
The community had been without an outdoor pool since the 2019 closure of its old facility until the opening of the new one last summer. Maple Creek’s council took out a $3.2-million loan for the pool and received more than $850,000 from a local fundraising committee.
“We worked hard and tried to figure out how to have a pool for the last five years,” McKenzie said. “That’s why it’s called the Maple Creek Community Pool. It’s because it took everybody here.”
For kids like Lanlee Wong, the extra wait for the waterslides was worth it.
“The fast one is my favourite,” Wong said. “I think it’s just fun for all the people that can make memories for all the years that they have.”
The large turnout of local families and enthusiastic kids is exactly what the town said they were hoping for.
“I can’t believe how many people we can get into a small pool facility,” Elliott said. “But it really shows the excitement, the enthusiasm, the need for this within the community.”
The opening also means someone slides into a new job. In addition to lifeguards for the pool, Maple Creek is hiring a waterslide attendant to keep an eye on riders for the remainder of the summer.