Fritz Sick Pool set to re-open by month’s end

By Lethbridge Herald on May 10, 2025.

Sam Leishman
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The City of Lethbridge has its sights set on the end of May to re-open the Fritz Sick pool.

The facility closed at the beginning of November to allow for a number of accessibility upgrades. Those include barrier-free showers and toilet stalls, two additional women’s showers, a universal shower, non-slip flooring throughout the locker rooms, washrooms and shower areas, widened access points to the pool and locker rooms, a larger and more accessible lobby with a barrier-free counter and updated wheelchair ramps.

The renovations were initially expected to be complete by the end of February, but Robin Harper, General Manager of Recreation and Culture, says the opening was delayed for a few reasons.

“There were delays in the supply chain and the delivery of materials,” Harper told the Herald. 

“We had hoped to be open a lot earlier, but as we were getting ready to be open, we noticed a couple of other things that we felt needed to be addressed. The last thing we wanted to do was to re-open and then have to close again.”

Harper says everything else is completed, and those few remaining issues in the change rooms are being worked on as quickly as possible.

The goal now is to open the doors by the end of this month, if not sooner, according to Harper.

The estimated budget for this pool project is $900,000.

Sunni Belle, General Manager of Canadian Recreation Excellence – Lethbridge, explained back in November that the Fritz Sick pool had plenty of accessibility challenges due to its age.

“With these upgrades the accessibility will improve greatly, allowing all people to use the facility.”

The Fritz Sick pool was first built back in the 1940s as an outdoor facility, and later became Lethbridge’s first all-weather public pool when it was enclosed in 1966.