Pool #748: Not in Canada

22 August 2025

Of course, it makes sense that the city name Edmonton originated in the UK and not in Canada!

However, as I have only associated "Edmonton" with the fine capital of Alberta since 1990, it was interesting for me to learn that a northeastern suburb of the greater London area originated this moniker. 

The name Edmonton comes from Old English Ēadmundes tūn (“Edmund’s farm/settlement”) and dates to at least 1086 (as documented in the Domesday Book.)

It was carried to Canada by the Hudson’s Bay Company when Fort Edmonton was established in 1795. 

And now, 230 years later, with a little less historical significance, this name appears for the second time on my #1001Pools list. The first appearance dates back 13 years ago, when I swam in Edmonton's Kinsmen Sport Centre on August 1st, 2012, pool #106 ...

... with today's much humbler, six-lane, 25-meter becoming the second instance and pool #748:

This pool had been closed since December of 2023 as the entire leisure center underwent a £7.5m refurbishment. I don't know what existed here before, but this is a similar pool to many of the newer leisure centres operated by Better (e.g., Barnet Cophtall's leisure pool, Kensington, etc.) - with a tiled shell, flowover gutters and a depth ranging from 0.8M to 1.8M.

As can be seen in the picture above, the big advantage this morning was that it was practically empty. I shared the fast lane with a couple of women for about 200 meters as I started, but they were finishing and I had the pool to myself for the remainder of my drill-focused 1,800 meter practice.

My only regret is that my body wasn't in a condition to take full advantage of having a lane to myself: there were perfect conditions (body excluded) for an intense workout. But, I'm still taking things easy while I rehab my elbow/forearm (described a bit more in my last post).

For now, while I'm in a state where I cannot press forward on hard workouts, I can make progress on my goofy #1001Pools goal.