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Calgary Nude Swimming Event Causes A Stir Online

"Having naked children around a bunch of naked adults doesn't seem like a good idea."
A nudist event planned at Southland Leisure Centre in Calgary is causing debate online.
Southland Leisure Centre/Facebook
A nudist event planned at Southland Leisure Centre in Calgary is causing debate online.

A nude swimming event in Calgary is making a splash for the wrong reasons.

Calgary Nude Recreation has rented a city pool for an inclusive, all-ages naked swimming event. The Jan. 14 event is already sold out, according to a Facebook page. But one petitioner is calling for it to be cancelled, or at least changed.

"I respect the concept and believe in an 18+ setting it could be a popular event. However, having naked children around a bunch of naked adults doesnt [sic] seem like a good idea for any reason," April Parker wrote in a Change.org petition. "Children with previous sexual abuse traumas will be heavily effected [sic] if they attend the event ... Sexual predators will be on the prowl."

Parker is calling for the event to be cancelled or changed to exclude children. She declined to be interviewed for this article.

Despite the petition, organizers haven't cancelled the event. Instead, they've changed the nude policy so that there will be no grace period for wearing clothes. Guests must now be naked as soon as they arrive at the event.

Group promises a safe, non-judgemental environment

"Due to the extensive media coverage and the fast expansion of this group, the grace period for wearing clothes has been removed," a group page on Meetup.com states. Men will be required to go nude and women will be required to be topless at a minimum.

Organizers at Calgary Nude Recreation did not immediately respond to request for comment.

"The meetups are not a place to show off your body to others, compare or stare, but rather a place that you can enjoy being naked, in your rawest self expression in a safe and welcoming, non judgmental [sic] environment," the Meetup page says. "We as a society are inundated with so much false ideals about body image that we can easily become lost in self criticism, judgement and insecurities. This group is a place to break free from our societal constraints."

The rules prohibit taking photos or videos and state that anyone who makes another swimmer feel uncomfortable will be kicked out and banned from future events.

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