Shane Homes YMCA at Rocky Ridge — Local services in Calgary

The new facility is definitely a little bit column 'a' and a little column 'b'. It's amazing - but with some definite missed opportunities.

The worst of the reviews on here talk about just how busy the place is. It totally was the first month. The first two weeks were borderline chaos. But its a huge facility, in a facility-starved NW Calgary, and entire corner of this city was waiting to go check it out. I can now say it has completely calmed down - its orderly, not overcrowded, and feels like the management, and the guests are all finding a rhythm. Theres always room on the equipment for working out, and you can always find a place on the courts for badminton or basketball, and the pool is great - steam rooms are NOT overloaded, nor is the lane swimming. There are busy times of the day at EVERY facility - but I suspect that this place will calm down a bit further. Just like most new years resolutions - a few months in, people stop going to the gym.

Where the facility does fall short is:

The pool area - its a huge space - filled more with non-pool floors than actual pool sq. ft. It could have just had more pool - and for that reason - it feels like a missed opportunity.

Rink space - this is a known shortage in Calgary - why wouldn't there be two rinks?? Even the little twin arenas on Nose Hill Dr. have two. This is a huge building - I'm just surprised its built LESS than Calgary's current needs - and not MORE.

No squash courts. I should say its not super surprising as its not as popular as it was in the past - but there is a need, and there is room - but yet there are no courts. Forget tennis and racquetball too.

The running track. This would've cost a lot of money to build - and its virtually pointless. Its so short. I was sure that original plans for the structure had a much longer track. I don't see why - with such large soaring ceilings it couldn't have been twice as long - if not even a full km. There IS room - but they didn't do it. It sucks to run outside for 5 months out of the year - this would have been so much nicer.

Workout space - throw up a few mirrors and a large clock - that's it. The rest of the space is awesome. There is no place though to check your form, or to even check the time. Clocks with second counters are huge for gyms - they let you count your rest periods between sets, you can track your time for working out, etc. The gym is awesome here - put up some mirrors and a clock!!!!

Overall, I love the facility. Its just so huge from the outside that when you walk around inside its a bit disappointing that more 'stuff' wasn't included. It took so long to get the city to build something up here - so when you read upset reviews about the facility its just because it had so much more potential to meet the needs of the NW, and it feels like it settled for form...

I am writing to formally lodge a serious complaint regarding a deeply disturbing incident that occurred at your facility on YMCA at Rocky Ridge calgary on 2025-01-31 at 8:45AM MST. As a paying member, I am appalled by the gross misconduct and unprofessional behavior displayed by one of your volunteers, which has left me feeling humiliated and disrespected.

Upon scanning my membership card at the front desk, I was abruptly informed that my profile did not have a recorded picture and that I needed to retake it. While I understand the need for accurate records, what followed was entirely unacceptable. a Asia male volunteer with glasses, immediately and publicly accused me of fraudulently using another person’s membership card. This baseless and humiliating accusation was made loudly, in front of others, without any verification or professional discretion.

As if this were not enough, when I was asked to speak with the center manager regarding the situation, Albert escalated his hostility, yelling and even resorting to expletives. He went as far as to shout, “I am a volunteer, what can you do to me?” This blatant display of arrogance and disrespect is completely unacceptable. No member should ever be subjected to such verbal aggression and inappropriate behavior.

This raises serious concerns about the YMCA’s volunteer recruitment, training, and oversight processes. It is appalling that someone who lacks the most basic sense of professionalism, respect, and customer service is allowed to interact with paying members. Furthermore, I have come to learn that this is not the first complaint lodged against Albert. Why has no disciplinary action been taken? Why is this individual still permitted to mistreat members?

Volunteers at the YMCA interact with a diverse group of people, including children and families, on a daily basis. How can someone who cannot manage their own words and actions be entrusted with responsibilities that involve direct contact with children and vulnerable individuals? This is not just about my experience but about the safety and well-being of all members who visit your facility. Allowing individuals who demonstrate clear misconduct to continue representing your organization reflects poorly on the YMCA as a whole and raises serious questions about the standards of your volunteer program.

This is not merely an isolated incident but a systemic failure in how the YMCA manages its volunteers. Allowing individuals who demonstrate clear misconduct to continue representing your organization reflects poorly on the YMCA as a whole.

I would appreciate a prompt response outlining the actions YMCA intend to take to address this issue. I hope to see tangible improvements in how volunteers are selected, trained,...

My family used to have membership at Vivo. We were so excited when the YMCA opens that we forfeit our Vivo membership and jumped over to the Rocky Ridge YMCA. What I like: The gym is well equipped with everything that I need. Lots of free weights, benches, cardio machines and weight equipment. The weight machines are easily adjustable for my petite size. My kids love the skating rink. The deep/lane pool has a lot of lanes. which is can accommodate both deep water exercise class and lane swimming at the same time. The upper walking/running track is lovely. They have a table near the track to place your water bottles. What I don't like: the pools are freezing. My teenagers who never complained about cold pool anywhere said they don't like swimming here due to the coldness of the pool. The whole pool area is cold and drafty. There seems to be a lot of wasted space in the pool area. The wave pool is small and seems enclosed like a box. The water in the wave pool is not deep. There seems to be lacking a water fountain in the pool area as I I have looked for one a few times, but have not been able to locate it. The baby/kiddie pool is too cold. I've seen young kids with purple lips, pale faces, and chattering teeth who can't get warm because the hot tub was closed. The hot tub - way too small and closed often. Sometimes people have to line up to get their turn into the hot tub because everyone is freezing from the cold pool. Universal change room: Shane homes should focus on building homes and not commercial facilities. The shower heads they used are too cheap for commercial use. Almost all of the shower head holders in the universal change rooms broke by the 3nd week the facility opened. So when you shower, you need one hand to hold the shower head and you only got 1 hand free to wash your self or the kids. If you don’t hold it at the right angle, the water would splash everywhere - on the toilet seat, the toilet paper, the garbage can, your towels and personal belongings. The ladies room: It’s only been 3 months in and I already experienced 2 days without hot water to shower. (I only go twice a week). Absolutely no hot water at all so I had to go home to shower instead. Now they put up a sign by the shower stalls that if there is no hot water, you need to leave the shower running in HOT setting for 5 minutes. That’s a lot of wasted water! A couple of shower doors (that I know of, there could be more) that cannot close flush so you can’t lock it. Some of the soap dispensers are already broken.

All in all, I like the gym and the skating rink. Wish the pool would be warmer, the change room...