(16 photos) RYTAC bounces back

Welcome back to RYTAC, the Sault's freshly reinvented waterfront sports and recreation facility.

On Saturday, RYTAC had an open house and there were plenty of new faces and spruced-up facilities to be seen.

Manager Andrew Hay said that a lot of the centre's resources will still be focussed on the summer day camps.

"We've also revitalized our rowing program so we have rowing four days a week early in the morning," said Hay. "We are offering ladies' beginner tennis lessons with Dianna Speer, and Andy Simon from Sport Chek is offering private tennis lessons through us this summer."

"We have adult sailing lessons in the evenings and we are partnered also with Caribou Expeditions to offer a higher quality kayaking program," said Hay.

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Hay is employed at the Sault YMCA in the aquatics department during the winter and this is his second summer as manager of RYTAC.

"Last year was a little bit difficult to be down here and watching how things had deteriorated," said Hay. "Now that we're back on track, bringing the programs up to a level of quality and retrofitting a lot of the building and the dock to make it safer and more enjoyable for the users, now it's really the place to be."

Docks have been treated to new handrails, courtesy of Tony D'Agastino, chief adminstrative officer of the YMCA.

"This year our goal was to get the docks and the buildings spruced up," said D'Agastino. "We wanted to freshen it up, to make it bright and cheery, to make it younger and fresher."

D'Agastino said that RYTAC now has about 80 members and also has as many as 120 children visiting the facility each week through school programs this year.

About 300 children are expected to visit for day camps this summer.

The new marketing and development manager, Mark Dockendorff, credits the significant increase to facility renewal and an infusion of labour by a dedicated core of volunteers.

Caribou Expeditions with Mike Petzel, has come on board with kayak tours running out of RYTAC, with lessons offered at a discount for members.

The tennis courts have been resurfaced under the watchful eye of returning tennis instructor Steve Piper.

Piper has recently returned to the Sault after reclaiming some tennis courts in Toronto and will be offering tennis lessons at RYTAC.

He says can teach someone to play fairly well in just half an hour.

Piper was a member of RYTAC back in the 70s and 80s.

Amy McLeish joined the crew as the new events coordinator and is planning some shindigs in the style and scale of days gone by, when many Saultites met and danced the night away upstairs at the boathouse.

"In past history it [upstairs at the RYTAC boathouse] was the place to be, it was the place to come," Dockendorff said.

"A lot of Sault Ste. Marie grew up coming here to dances and meeting their future partners here," said Dockendorff. "It was the sort of romantic hot spot of Sault Ste. Marie."

Dockendorff said RYTAC is hoping McLeish can bring that back to the club with weekly socials and other special events.

"We're going to be having a Canada Day event so people can come down and watch the fireworks," said McLeish.

McLeish is also planning some themed kayak and canoe events, regattas, as well as tennis and beach volleyball tournaments.