The City of Winnipeg ‘s fall Leisure Guide registration is back online after a temporary suspension due to technical difficulties.
Registration, which opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday, included sign-up for swimming lessons and skating lessons — but within an hour, Winnipeggers were locked out of signing up for the popular programs thanks to tech woes.
In a statement Tuesday morning, the city said the disruption was caused by a third-party vendor.
“It was incredibly unfortunate timing, as it coincided with the opening of Leisure Guide registration, and was out of our control. As such, we had to temporarily suspend registration.”
Frustration around registering for swimming lessons, in particular, has been a recurring concern for many parents, with dozens voicing their frustration on social media every year.
“This is a process that I attempt at least usually twice a year, sometimes three,” Winnipeg parent Sherri Vokey told Global News.
“I’ve had very, very mixed success with getting my son registered for swimming lessons, specifically.”
Vokey said she got ready to sign on to the city’s online registration platform before it opened… and within about a minute after 8 a.m., the system crashed on her, and she was convinced she was going to lose her spot.
“I think (it was) almost quarter after nine before we heard anything. Parents were madly refreshing.
“It shouldn’t be this stressful.”
In the past, Vokey said, she has ended up skipping city services entirely and signing up for private lessons, due to the lack of reliability of the city’s services.
She said she’s heard plenty of horror stories from fellow parents about having to pull over on the side of the road during their morning commute, in hopes of logging in at the right time.
“It interferes with our workday. It’s not set up to accommodate. Certainly not for a single parent like myself who has work obligations, when it’s starting at 8 a.m. and half the time it doesn’t work,” she said.
“Do I need to be another hour late for work? Because you’re going to open this at nine and then I’ll miss out.
“It’s that kind of stress that people just don’t need.“