An Endless Pools Thank You

After this summer, when the guards would close the pool at the drop of a hat. (I know they were just trying to protect me from getting struck by lightening, although I have NEVER heard of a person getting struck by lightening while in a pool) I have been considering puting in an Endless Pool or a single lane lap pool. How does the cost of an Endless Pool compare to an in-ground one lane lap pool, or an above ground lap pool. Space isn't a consideration for me, as it may be for others; and I already have a hot tub on my deck (I could get rid of it though). So the deciding factor might be initial cost/maintainance costs, like chemicals, cost to heat the water, increase in homeowners insurance, etc. Anyone ever compared these three options and considered not only initial cost but other factors as well? Lainey

I tried the Endless Pool out at LCM Nats and will admit that I was skeptical when I got in the "tub." I was extremely impressed by 1) how well the smooth flow of the current allowed you to swim quite "naturally," 2) how the flow could be adjusted to allow you to really work hard and 3) how the mirrors on the bottom of the pool allowed you to view your stroke pattern. It seemed to be very well constructed and easy to maintain. Thanks also for providing a video of my stroke. That was very helpful and much appreciated. Some suggestions, in my opinion: 1. The flow was adjusted by another person turning a continuously variable dial, that did not have any markings on it. I would think that it would be nice to have a "control panel" which allowed you to "dial in" a pre-determined setting (e.g. a current flow of "7" on a scale of 1 to 10). As you swim in the endless pool, you would know where your setting is and you wouldn't have to try to keep fine tuning the dial. 2. A timer would also be good so that you could do something like a set of 10 x 60 second swims at "8." Similar to the exercise bikes or treadmills, you might even be able to set it up so that in between the 60 second "hard" swims, you had a 15 second "easy" swim at "4" or something like that. 3. To get really fancy, this control panel could have an "up" and "down" button that the swimmer could easily tap with their hand while swimming to adjust the flow, as necessary. 4. Finally, the camera angle in the pool was set in the bottom left front corner looking up towards the swimmer. I thought it would be better to have a camera straight on from the front as well as straight from the side. At an upwards angle from one side it was very hard to compare the right vs. left hand and arm stroke patterns. Overall, a great product! Thank you. Ed Tsuzuki Garden State Masters

Hello Ed, thanks for your notes. We're glad you had a chance to try the pool! The proof is really in the pudding... A few responses to your queries: The flow was adjusted by another person turning a continuously variable dial, that did not have any markings on it. I would think that it would be nice to have a "control panel" which allowed you to "dial in" a pre-determined setting (e.g. a current flow of "7" on a scale of 1 to 10). As you swim in the endless pool, you would know where your setting is and you wouldn't have to try to keep fine tuning the dial. Installed on the Endless Pool at Rutgers was our optional Swim Current Gauge which essentially measures the hydraulic pressure in the system. Through this gauge you can establish and repeat workouts by dialing the knob to your favorite speed. No fine tuning necessary after you've established your ideal speeds for warm-ups, heavy workouts, cool downs, etc. Finally, the camera angle in the pool was set in the bottom left front corner looking up towards the swimmer. I thought it would be better to have a camera straight on from the front as well as straight from the side. At an upwards angle from one side it was very hard to compare the right vs. left hand and arm stroke patterns. Due to the sheer number of swimmers in the pool it was necessary to keep the underwater camera static. For personal use however you can position the camera anywhere you'd like. You could even set up several cameras to capture side, front and rear stroke mechanics. Happy Swimming, Endless Pools

Warm Climate doesn't have to do with large backyards. You live in a cheap housing state like Michgian you usually have a large backyard than living in the bay area of California or the La-Orange area where houses are very expensive and a lot of folks live in condos. Anyway, in Arizona the older houses also in a warm climate tend to have bigger backlyards than the newer ones.