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Instructor Spotlight: Spencer Mackoff and Marshall Mackoff

A love for tennis was sparked early on for brothers Spencer and Marshall Mackoff. First introduced to the sport in public parks as young children by their mother, they began playing more seriously at UBC tennis camps. Eventually becoming coaches themselves, they founded Summer Smash Tennis together in 2012 – and haven’t looked back. Operating year-round today, Summer Smash Tennis teaches some 2,000 students annually through community centres, schools and First Nations. Spencer, drawing from his varsity

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Summer Program Highlights

Check out new programs, from the one-on-one For the Love of Literacy (three-five year olds) and Westcoast Pickleball Academy (nine-12 year olds) to Pet Loss Art Therapy Group (19-64 year olds). And save your spot in returning classes like Let’s Boost Reading (six-seven year olds),  Colour Your Ideas (seven-11 year olds) and Yoga to Unwind and Reset (18-plus years). Visit the Summer 2025 Guide to peruse all programs.

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Summer 2025 Guide Has Arrived

Our Summer 2025 Guide is now available online and at the centre! NOTE: No summer mailout due to potential Canada Post strike. Summer registration dates:• Online and in-person registration Opens Saturday, June 7, at 9 a.m.• Phone registration Opens Monday, June 9, at 9 a.m. (604-257-8100).

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Instructor Spotlight: Maggie Blue O’Hara

After witnessing older women having fun, keeping fit and exuding youthful vitality at a Zumba class at the Kerrisdale Community Centre, Maggie Blue O’Hara had an idea. She would launch a new program to help women 40 years and older reconnect with their feminine energy while enjoying a variety of exercises in a supportive environment. Enter VanCougar Dance Cabaret. “As a 50-year-old woman who has been a dancer my whole life, and is still fit and feeling beautiful

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Instructor Spotlight: Jessica Wampler

As a shy child, Jessica Wampler discovered the power and magic of music. “I found through music I was able to express myself in ways I was too shy to do in my daily life,” says Wampler. “I felt the magic that music can bring, whether singing alone at home or finding the courage to somehow perform in front of a live audience.” Today, the West Side Music Together teacher helps babies and children up to

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Instructor Spotlight: Nikhil Naidu

He has a master’s degree in computer science, and he’s worked as an Apple software engineer and UBC quality assurance team lead. Yet Nikhil Naidu’s career highlight stems from one small but moving moment while he was teaching. As director of Wize Computing Academy (Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby), Naidu fondly recalls when one of his students created their very first game from scratch. “It was a simple project, but the pride they felt and the excitement they

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Spring 2025 Guide

Our Spring 2025 Guide is available online and at the centre. Check out new and returning programs, plus summer day camps and summer specialty camps! Find spring registration dates here.

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Instructor Spotlight: Gloria Yu

You could say that Gloria Yu’s skill set strikes a rather complex chord. Indeed, the music teacher and active performer knows how to play at least 10 types of instruments – from the harp, baroque recorder and classic guitar to Chinese string pieces like the guzheng, pipa, erhu and liuqin. But when it comes to introducing children to the art of playing music, it’s the piano and ukulele that are her instruments of choice. “I hope

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