While many parents like to keep their children active, the City of Regina says it can be tough to secure a spot when it comes to swimming lessons.

“People will definitely be up at 7 a.m. last Tuesday registering to make sure they get that perfect spot for themselves and their family,” said City of Regina business manager Melissa Coderre.

Each year, the city offers hundreds of programs through its leisure guide to keep the community active.

Registration for winter and spring activities opened last week, with more than 3,000 people signing up on the first day, a three-per-cent increase from last year.

For parents like Lori Kidd, registering her eight-month-old son Oliver in swimming lessons means being the first to click when it comes to registration.

“I was nervous because everybody says it books up so quickly,” Kidd said. “For us, we’re really lucky we’re off work right now so it didn’t matter what day. We didn’t have to co-ordinate with another child [or] another swim program.”

But as the saying goes, the early bird doesn’t always get the worm.

“We do know [my child’s] cousin got put on a wait list for the class that they wanted to go in but so far we’ve lucked out, and it’s been good,” said another parent, Amanda Hungle.

Right now, the city says swimming lessons are already 60-per-cent full, with other sports like basketball and volleyball continuing to be a popular choice for kids as well.

But Coderre says there’s been a trend towards a play-first environment, with classes like sports jam allowing kids to try different activities.

“It was something that was really popular in the ’90s, and it’s really popular right now as kids of the ’90s like me start to have their kids,” Coderre said.

At the end of the day, no matter what activity you choose, your best bet is to go online and secure a spot as soon as possible.

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