Grotto clean-up nears completion
May 7 flood forces extended closure of Frank Kennedy’s Gritty Grotto
Amanda Laing
Photo courtesy of Environmental Health & Safety (U of M)
For the most part, Frank Kennedy’s Gritty Grotto users are free to leave the workout area at their leisure, but on May 7 at 11:20 a.m. they were forced to leave the facility two-by-two after a pipe broke, leaving water pouring in for about an hour. While it wasn’t a flood of Biblical proportions, it did enough damage to force the extended closure of the popular fitness facility, leaving members and athletes without a place to work out for over a month.
With clean-up and repairs finally complete, an air-quality test was set for Monday, June 20. At the time of publication, an official date for re-opening was still to be determined depending on those results. According to Walt McKee, the assistant to the dean for programs and services in the faculty of physical education and recreation studies, making sure that the facility is clean and safe for users in the top priority.
While all members had the option of using the Joe Doupe facility at the Bannatyne campus as part of their membership, for many, the location was not convenient. Some members were able to make use of a temporary arrangement of free-weights and cardio machines in the Gold Gym. A few people even preferred the set-up there, according to McKee. Many, however, were quite disappointed with the length of the closure and have made arrangements to work out elsewhere. The full impact of the closure has not yet been felt financially by Recreation Services, but McKee expects a lack of new members “to be a concern.”
In terms of the recent weather in Winnipeg, the Grotto closure could not have come at a worse time. While outdoor pursuits may have been an option for some regular users, the rain and cool weather kept people indoors, forcing some members to use alternative facilities such as the Shapes Fitness Centre, located on nearby Pembina Highway.
The weather also severely affected clean-up operations. Where warm, breezy days would have allowed doors to be opened and fresh, dry air to circulate, rain and cool, wet weather forced the doors to be kept closed.
However, while it was by no means an ideal situation, the timing for most Bison athletes using the training facility could have been more detrimental than it turned out to be. As football was set to move to more running and on-field training, most other teams were in the early stages of their off-season training. According to Kyle Turcotte, the coordinator of Bison athletes’ strength and conditioning programs, most athletes will be able to compensate with accelerated training schedules once the Grotto re-opens.
“In most cases [the closure] is not the end of the world,” comments Turcotte. “What it will really affect is a lot of the newer players who were just starting to train with us, who have less experience and who could really benefit with the base training.”
A significant amount of clean-up was required to make the Grotto somewhat less gritty, with only the Northwest corner being spared from water damage. Some equipment was able to be quickly cleaned or repainted and moved to the second floor Gold Gym for member use. Virtually all of the walls were removed and replaced, rusting equipment was repainted, new flooring was installed, and fresh limestone was added to the area around the track.
McKee indicated he has been impressed with the efforts of the clean-up crew. Relfor Restoration Services was hired to complete the arduous task and according to McKee, “They have been very cooperative.”
