Fun, fitness and community | Stories

Lisette Castro bounces across a small wooden stage in a dance studio.

The veteran Zumba instructor is leading a drop-in class at Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre. She dances, smiles, claps and cheers as high-energy Latin music fills the room. Twenty students, men and women, follow along. Some are beginners, others know all the steps.

“Who’s here for the first time, trying this rec centre?” Lisette asks. Almost everyone raises their hands. “Amazing. Welcome. Isn’t it beautiful? If this is your first class, the goal is to enjoy.”

From Zumba to aquatics

There’s so much to enjoy at Coronation—from Zumba to swimming to cookie decorating classes for families. The City of Edmonton’s newest rec centre is geared at helping athletes of all ages and abilities enjoy the benefits of fitness, recreation and community.

Some of the $153.4-million facility’s amenities include:

dance, yoga and spin studios
a bouldering wall
a 333-metre running/walking track, accessible to wheelchair users
a fitness centre with free weights, machines and Olympic lifting platforms
basketball, pickleball and badminton courts
the Peter Hemingway Aquatic Centre, featuring a 50-metre pool, sauna, steam room, hot tub and cold plunge
a 250-metre velodrome (programmed by the Alberta Velodrome Association)
a child-minding area and indoor playground
multi-purpose rooms for arts, crafts and culinary classes

Strength in numbers

Timish Horbay and his friends are lifting weights in Coronation’s fitness centre. He thinks the facility and the City’s other 19 rec centres are vital to Edmonton.

“They’re all about living longer, being healthier and building community,” he says. “We’re here with friends that we’ve all met through the gym. These are people we wouldn’t know otherwise and we’re here because of them.”

One of Tim’s pals is Christopher Curran, a personal trainer with the City. As part of his role, he teaches youth and women how to use weights.

“I love helping people feel better and ideally live better lives, whether they’re looking to add strength training to their workouts or they’re recovering from an injury or years of inactivity,” he says.

Splash and dash

Karla Burgert credits the City’s pools for keeping her fit and feeling good since the 1970s. Her favourite is Peter Hemingway Aquatic Centre. (It used to be a standalone facility but it’s now attached to Coronation.)

Karla enjoys Hemingway’s dedicated community of pool-goers. As she relaxes in the sauna, she chats with a few familiar faces. “Some of us go back decades,” she says. “It’s always nice to see everyone.”

She also loves the building’s award-winning architecture, designed by Peter Hemingway. (It’s also a Municipal Historic Resource.) “Look at all the natural light coming in through the windows,” says Karla. “You really feel like you’re nestled in nature.”

Brandon Lansall echoes those sentiments over at Coronation’s track. It’s surrounded by windows. “I’m an outdoor runner in the summer, but in winter, I’m indoors,” he says.

“I definitely love the bright windows around the track—it feels like you’re running outside. It’s a beautiful space.”

Making and baking memories

Health and wellness, of course, involves more than just physical fitness. Coronation also plays host to music, arts and culinary classes for adults, children and families. (The City Arts Centre runs these programs at various rec centres and City facilities throughout Edmonton.)

“It’s really important to have these kinds of courses,” says Aura Morrison.

Years ago, she took her first cake and cookie decorating classes through the City Arts Centre. Now she’s one of its instructors and teaches at Coronation. She’s also a winner of The Big Bake Halloween 4, a Food Network competition. She shared the cake-making prize with her two teammates from Edmonton.

“These classes can be memorable for a lifetime,” says Aura. “People get to know each other. They’re not working alone, they’re working in a community setting. Everybody has their own way of doing things, but once they come together, they share ideas, they encourage others to keep going.”

Fun with friends

Back in the Zumba class, Lisette offers some encouraging words to her students. “The beauty of Zumba is you get to dance without realizing you’re working out,” she beams. “It’s a fun workout!”

Lisette and her aspiring dancers step, spin, sweat and smile for 60 minutes. She then gathers everyone for a group photo. Making connections is important to Lisette.

“I hope to see you next week,” she says. “When we continue to dance together, we build a community. I can’t wait to see this family grow.”

Outside the studio, Lisette is surrounded by several students/family members, including Carolina Ford-Conde and Karl Tamara. They take Castro’s class at another rec centre and came to Coronation to support their Zumba mom—and check out the new facility.

Both like to use the City’s rec centres as escapes from Edmonton’s colder temperatures. “I have kids, so the indoor playgrounds, the pool—we use them all the time, especially in winter,” says Carolina.

The Zumba classmates can’t wait to explore more of Coronation’s amenities and programs. “It’s huge,” says Karl. “I want to bring my friends here to play badminton and pickleball.”