Scadding Court Community Centre

I would rate this with no stars if possible.
The community services are there, but those who work at the community centre are miserable and difficult to deal with. They take advantage of those who use the centre’s services, and do not have proper security. I have friends who have had their belongings stolen, and security refused to assist in letting them see the camera. What’s the point in hiring these people to sit around gossiping with each other all day? These services are available across the city in centres that have better customer service, and more updated décor (this centre has not had a facelift in 20 years +).

I’m sitting here dreaming of the heat wave that *will* happen. You know, the one all of Toronto will complain about, even though right now we’re lusting after it with all of our might. So naturally, my mind turned to Scadding Court.
The after work lineups that won’t thrill us, but will move quickly. The good looking 20-​somethings in their not-​appropriate-​for exercise swim-​suits. The water bottles filled with questionable colours. The nannies texting while the kids they are meant to be minding pee in the pool.
Outdoors. Large. Adult swim at 6pm with lanes for the shrinking of the waist. This is my fave pool in Toronto. I’d give it 5 stars but sometimes it gets a bit scene-​ster… but even hipsters get hot… so much facial hair and so many hats!
PEPPER’S PISSSED about the temp of this pool before it heats up. It isn’t heated (I’ve heard rumors of leaks), so in June it is frosty. You have to *really* want to cool off to jump in.

Oh the sheer joy of diving into this big turquoise chill pill after a sweaty summer day in Chinatown. Oh brother. Oh man.
I have «heard» from some «sources» that it is also one of the greatest and most beautiful of Toronto adventures to climb the big scary fence and skinny dip in that teal glowing beacon of gettin’ loose, through the wee hours of a July morning. Personally I’m glad I’ve never had to talk my way out of civil fines while holding a bundle of damp clothes over my bits. That’s for sure.
Beyond that? The indoor pool is completely serviceable and a good choice for Spadina area office workaday folks. There’s a lovely community garden on the south side of the building and Alexandra park is a joy to flop around in.
If you like watching lithe and tawny skaterboys kicking around in the adjacent skate park, not that you do but if you did, that would be a sightseeing bonus.

This community centre is a busy one! Whenever I’ve been inside there is always a tangible bustle that gives great insight into the area and its diversity. I have swam in both the indoor and outdoor pools and they are among my favourites. The indoor one has interesting sight lines with windows on both the Dundas street side and the opposite side with its unique wedge shape. The outdoor pool is one of the old style gigantic ones where you can almost get lost in the middle of it due to the length. The library is a great place to hang out with floor to ceiling windows lining the side that faces Dundas and adjacent to the street market which popped up in the last couple of years. Winter time is fun too with one rink for public skating (no boards) and the other rink has boards and is used for ice hockey in the winter and inline ball hockey in the summer.
Ryerson Public School neighbours the community centre and has a large treed field with paved areas near the school useful for playing ball or tennis against the wall. These type of community centers are what help make Toronto a great place to live!

This community centre is a GREAT place for locals to access services and information, take classes, participate in the community and go for a swim.
I’d say Scadding Court has one of the most active communities in the downtown core — they’re constantly hosting meetings and trying to make the area better. If you live close by and either want to find something fun to do, or find a way to get involved, this is definitely the place where you should start out.
My favourite event they host is in the summer, when they empty the pool, fill it with freshwater and fish, and let all the local schools and kids in the area go fishing. It’s really cute to watch and a fun experience for kids of all ages. Just don’t expect to go swimming that day!

For people living in the Dundas and Bathurst area, I would recommend checking this community centre out.
For a nominal annual membership fee you have access to ESL classes, settlement courses for new Canadians, early morning Tai Chi, computer classes, cooking classes, and loads of fun stuff for kids (science club, youth volleyball, basketball drop-​in, ball hockey, creative puppet making).
They also offer really important services like «Emergency and Occasional Child Care» which has fees based on a sliding scale depending on family income, a peer nutrition program and parenting support for new parents.
For other (still small) additional fees you can use the indoor pool and play other adult sports (badminton, weight training).
Oh, and are you feeling hungry but only have $ 2 on you? The Greenhouse Café in the reception area offers a $ 2 menu everyday (with lots of good healthy stuff to choose from).