If you can't laugh at youself.....

Really.

She does have a serious side.

Somewhere.

(Bingo Manager Tara pitchin' in and helping paint the weight & cardio rooms with the rest of the crew!)

Livin' the Life of Riley!

Debbie Murphy has spent so many years with us that it's hard to imagine this place without her.

But on June 22 we said goodbye to Debbie with a tea and social with all of her program participants. With her usual spunk, energy, and class, Debbie entertained with stories from all her years and plans for things still to come!

Step It Up, Dartmouth!

June 11 saw the inaugural event, Step It Up, Dartmouth!  Athletic Co-Ordinator Sarah White put together her team of personal trainers & instructors to lead hip hop, skipping, & posture & flexibility workshops throughout the morning. Meanwhile Membership Services Co-Ordinator Deanna Leedham chatted with the crowds & families and enjoyed one of the few rare days of sunshine May & June had to offer!

Charlie's Angels...?

Wasn't Charlie supposed to be unseen?

With our very own Charlie looking on, Penny, Morgan & Ashley give the classic pose the old college try.

We didn't say they were successful. We only said they tried.

Penny for our thoughts

This weekend we said farewell to one of the crew. Penny had joined us from England while she was here travelling and seeing the country. And for someone as hardworking, pleasant, and just plain awesome as Penny, we couldn't let her go without a little something.

So Ashley snuck out for some ice cream cake while we had one last 'Hurrah' for Penny.

So on Saturday night, they had a little fun & celebrated Penny!

Colour Co-Ordinated

After a brief hiatus due to that dreaded seasonal illness known as The Flu,

we're back again, and ready to show our true colours!

Which, in the case of Bingo Manager Tara Myra & Membership Services Co-Ordinator Deanna Leedham, just happens to be pink.

Hot pink.

Fuschia pink.

Vibrant Pink!

Eye-blinding pink!!

We're wondering if they made that "first day of school" phone call:

What are you wearing today? 

I don't know. What are YOU wearing today??

Shape-Up Ladies!

For our innaugural Shape-Up Challenge, a few of our staff members have decided to participate along with members.

From what we can see, working across from the vending machines has been a test of Michelle & Amanda's willpower!

Stay strong, ladies!

Who says you're ever too old for fuzzy creatures?

Not Craig & Ryan, that's for sure! The boys were having a ball working the Gold Medal Game between Team Alberta & Team Ontario (which Alberta won 3-2). While the thirsty crowds had them up & down all night long, they did find some quality time to cuddle with the Canada Games mascots - Anni & Sammi.

Master Multi-Tasker

This is Ryan. Ryan is normally full of vim & vigor. 

We think the 10 days of Games action, coupled with 10 days of February Break programming, with a little Spring planning on the side, has robbed Ryan of his vim & vigor.

We can neither confirm nor deny the nap that may or may not have followed this.

Home Team Heroes

Nova Scotia took on Newfoundland last night in a qualifying game - winner moved onto the quarter finals, loser... well, loser did not.

 A dying camera battery and lightning fast action left us with

white & burgandy flashes whizzing by.

Nova Scotia won: 7-2 and will meet Ontario in quarter final action

tonight at the Metro Centre.

Meanwhile, Amanda was more then ecstatic at the crowd that

came to cheer on their hometown heroes!

It was a pretty raucous night around here!

Even IF you build it...

... they'll still go watch the hockey.

We tried. Michelle was all set up, ready to go!

Cash register fired up.

Debit machine whirring away.

But still. In the end, she was left all alone. Only a hearty few ventured past the arena and into the swimming pools.

Instead, everyone seemed to come out for PEI versus Newfoundland - the 2011 Battle of the Atlantic?

Last we checked, Nfld was up: 2-0.



Let our games begin!

So day 1 of hockey action brought the wild & raucous fans of the Northwest Territories & Newfoundland out to play! After a small bit of technical difficulty with the sound system, the NWT women's hockey team (there to cheer on the guys!) led the arena in an acapella version of our national anthem.

But technical difficulties aside, the puck dropped and it's GAME ON!

Meanwhile, Lisa & Rhea showed off their support of the home team at the Information Desk!

If you're coming to watch, be ready to celebrate!

Ready for the Blades!!

Game day draws closer and in the week the arena has been closed the boys behind the scenes have made huge strides in readying it for the Canada Games!

Day 1 - What a sad & sorry state the ice surface was: shaved down to the bare minimum; lost paint; faded crease... poor ice. :(

Day 2 - Add a few layers of water, paint, & more water, and finally.... FINALLY the ice surface is starting to feel like its old self again!

Day 3 - How does that old joke go again - 

How many Operators does it take to make ice?  

... wait, I think the punchline here is that yes, there was 1 other person supervising. 

(I knew we missed a golden photo op!)

Day 4 - Ahhhhh! A clean crease! Crisp, white surfaces. Bold red!

THAT'S the arena surface we know & love!

Day 5 - Centre lines, blue lines, face offs... Oh! Game day is so close we can almost taste it!

Day 6 - The LOGOS! The 2011 Canada Games emblem... sponsors, board signages,

and even the players benches have started getting the royal treatment!

Day 7 - And the flags are hung with pride over the arena as we get ready to welcome some of

Canada's best young athletes to the Dartmouth Sportsplex!

Go Team NS!

Emma MacAulay: Lifeguard, Instructor, Pool Deck Supervisor, & now Nova Scotia Canada Games Athlete!

Emma competes in Snowboardcross on Saturday, February 26 at Ski Martock. We're pretty sure she'll have a vocal cheering section!

Draw Day!

Our Facebook page finally has 100 friends! YAY! And to celebrate that momentous number,

we drew 5 lucky friends' names for prizes!

You could be 1 of the lucky winners.... if only you'd follow us on Facebook

 - Dartmouth Sportsplex Community Association

Sometimes you just gotta...

Yes, we know we're a health & fitness facility, but when you're walking past the cafe as they prep for a catering gig, and you see & smell the fresh cookies straight from the over & hear the *snap*, *crackle*, & *pop* of fresh rice krispies treats being cut?

Well... let's just say - the temptation sometimes wins!

Meet Mr. Energy

Meet our 2 new energy dashboards -

one is located down in the main foyer and the other is upstairs across from the Wave Cafe.

The dashboards are our opportunity to introduce everyone to new engery saving measures that you may not have been previously aware of, for example, our use of the ThermaStore Heat Recovery systems.

This system will, in real time, monitor our energy use and compare: how things were done way back when... *gasp* in the 90's, what innovations we've incorporated over the last few years, and how those changes have impacted our day-to-day operations now.  We're just getting these bad boys set up, but stay tuned! There's some pretty cool stuff coming!

We want you to know just how good we are!

Dog-Gonnit!

As you can see, we're very dog-friendly 'round this neck of the woods!

Taking a day to hang with his new puppy, Fearless Leader & GM, Max, stopped by today with his new Bouvier, 6-month old Argus...

and of course we didn't hesitate to drop what we were doing for

some quality puppy time!



A FUN-raiser

No. These are not Teletubbies...

... or Oompa Loompas...

.. or even any kind of Yo Gabba Gabba creation...

These masked men are, in fact, our Aquatic Co-Ordinator Ryan Kemp (R) and Deck Supervisor Craig Reesor (L) (who you may remember from this!)

Ryan and Craig were competing in a Survival Skills race for the Lifesaving Society to help raise funds to send some fellow Nova Scotian lifeguards (as part of the Canadian National Team) to the DHL International Surf Challenge, and the New Zealand Northern Regional Championships in Mt.Maunganui, New Zealand.

Ryan & Craig finished 4th overall.