Giant pool, lazy river and Calgary's only surf simulator open at Seton YMCA

The pool and waterpark areas of the Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton opened to the public after a bit of delay on Friday.

Most of the new, 330,000-sq.-ft. facility opened in January, but the pools were not yet available due to ongoing construction.

The newly opened sections were busy even before the crack of dawn, said YMCA Calgary's vice-president of community engagement, Ken Lima-Coelho.

"We had almost a full pool at 5:30 [a.m.], for the early crowd," he said.

The swimming pool is the largest in southern Alberta, with a length of 53 metres and a width of 25 metres, accommodating eight lanes. The shallow end has a depth of two metres to be safe for race starts during competitions.

There arefour dive towers and two springboard diving boards, which also meet competition standards.

The waterpark facility has a lazy river, two waterslides, an area for younger children to splash around, and a surf simulator the only one of its kind in southern Alberta.

"Most people will fall down the first few times, but they'll get the hang of it," Lima-Coelho said.

The $193-million centre is the largest YMCA in the world. It also has two ice rinks, three gymnasiums, a 200-metre track, a full-service library and an art gallery.

It's located at 4995 Market Street S.E.