The weather of September has been less than kind lately, but that’s good news for one Calgary company that is trying to keep a little bit of the fun of summer alive for residents year-round.
The Beach YYC is the city’s first dedicated indoor beach recreation centre and it offers over 12,000 square feet of sandy surface.
Organizers say they offer beach volleyball, spike ball, soccer and even some fun activities for kids like sandcastle making.
Elliot Weinstein, the owner of The Beach YYC, says the facility is the only place in the city were people can come inside, take off their shoes and play in the sand.
"A lot of people, including myself, want to stay active and want to keep doing things during the winter and really don't want to run on a treadmill. Even for those of us who enjoy the winter sports, ice skating and skiing, you can't really go skiing on a Tuesday night. So it's something to do all year round."
He says that they already have a beach volleyball league and a beach frisbee league going, but the facility is open to anything and everything you can do on the sand.
"We want people to come and play beach soccer or beach football. We have some paddles so you can play beach tennis, which is paddle ball."
Weinstein says that the appeal of the facility comes from our inherent love of the beach.
"You can just walk around without shoes on and hang out in the sand and that's what we wanted to re-create in here."
Dan Padva, one of the visitors to the facility says it's a great idea.
"Calgary has had some beach volleyball facilities and they were great to have but we don't have them anymore. What they have here is amazing."
He says that he and a lot of people he knows like to play on the sand year round and now they'll be able to.
"Last year, we had to dig snow off the courts to be able to play. Some of us go down to L.A. or Florida with a group of guys and we'll play some games down there."
Over 760 tonnes of sand was brought in to make the sandy surface that will offer activites 12 months a year.
For more information, visit the official website.
(With files from Jordan Kanygin)