Registration for city-run winter recreation and March Break programs opens tomorrow

Children play at the ARS Summer Camp in Toronto. (Scout Tufankjian)

Registration for the City of Toronto’s 2023 winter recreation and March Break programs opens tomorrow.

The popular winter recreational programs, which begin on Jan. 9, include various team sports, swimming and other physical activities for people of all ages.

During March Break, the city offers children and youth day camps.

“More than 11,000 registered courses with approximately 108,000 spaces, as well as 2,350 drop-in programs will be offered, including arts, fitness and wellness, general interest, skating, skiing, snowboarding, sports and swimming,” the city said in a press release.

Registration opens tomorrow at 7 a.m. for residents of Etobicoke, York (including York South-Weston), Old Toronto and East York, while registration for residents in North York and Scarborough opens at 7 a.m. on Wednesday.

The city is also reminding residents that spaces are still available for city-run holiday day camps which are set to run during the holiday school break this month and in January.

“Starting on Wednesday, December 28, Holiday CampTO will take place at Gibson House, one of 10 Toronto History Museums. This new creative camp experience offers outdoor and physical activities, active and quiet games, arts and crafts and nature-based activities in a museum setting,” the city said.

The city says the “quickest and easiest” way to register for winter and March Break programs is online, but adds that registration by phone will also be available at 416-396-7378 beginning at 7 a.m. on registration dates.

Five community centre locations will also be open on the following dates from 7 a.m. until 12 p.m. (noon) for those who need in-person registration support:

Dec. 6

• Driftwood Community Recreation Centre, 4401 Jane St.
• Masaryk-Cowan Community Recreation Centre, 220 Cowan Ave.
• Wellesley Community Centre, 495 Sherbourne St.

Dec. 7

• Centennial Recreation Centre, 1967 Ellesmere Rd.
• Dennis R. Timbrell Resource Centre, 29 St. Dennis Dr.

“Residents require a family and client number to register for recreation programs and are encouraged to have them ready before registration day,” the city also said.

The city said these programs are typically in high-demand and many are expected to have long waiting lists. The city is encouraging people to call their local community centre if they need to cancel their booking so that their spot can be offered to someone else.

Certain residents can also take advantage of discounted rates.

The Welcome Policy credit can be used to register for the city’s recreation programs. Those receiving social assistance (Ontario Works) and living in Toronto are pre-approved to receive this credit.

And any participants 60 years of age and older receive a 50 per cent discount on the regular price of adult recreation programs.

“I encourage Torontonians to take advantage of the more than 11,000 popular, educational and entertaining winter recreation programs available for residents of all ages and abilities to stay active across the city this season,” said Mayor John Tory in the city’s press release.

“I want to thank City staff who work hard to accommodate the huge demand for our popular recreation programs.”

Toronto’s recreation programs also continue to be a major job-creator.

The city is hiring for all recreation positions, including skate instructors, rink guards, facility attendants and gatekeepers, sports, fitness and swimming instructors as well as lifeguards.