CHARLOTTETOWN — Work is underway to add about the length of an M&M candy to a public pool in Charlottetown to meet Swimming Canada requirements for official competitions.
The City of Charlottetown confirmed Wednesday it will take five to seven days for workers to add eight to 12 millimetres to the pool at the Simmons Sports Centre.
City officials say the company that built the pool discovered last week that it was just shy of the exact 25-metre length required by Swimming Canada, the national governing body for competitive swimming.
Michelle Killins, Swimming Canada’s director of sports development, said the organization allows some leeway if a pool is bit too long. But a pool won’t be certified for competition if it’s too short.
More importantly, any records set in a short pool will not be ratified.
Killins said a few millimetres can make a big difference during high-level competitions when races can come down to 1/100th of a second.
“If … one lane happens to be just a little bit shorter than the required distance, they will have an advantage, especially when you’re looking at these 1/100th of a second times,” she said.
The outdoor pool opened in June 2025 and the city said the company began work to correct the shortcoming on Sept. 11, which the company will pay for.
A statement from the city says the work includes grinding the pool, sealing it and then repainting.
Once the work is complete, Killins said the provincial sport body will survey the pool to ensure it is the correct length before it can be certified.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2026.
— By Tori Fitzpatrick in Halifax.
The Canadian Press
