In our county's largest swim facility some of the lifeguards on the last shift have decided to turn off the inside lights to warn swimmers it is nearly time to close the pool. In this indoor facility there are no in pool lights so turning off the lights leaves it pitch dark for a second or two.
Some of us who occasionally swim late have complained to the lead lifeguard but they shrug and do not see this as an issue. One of the lap swimmers slammed her head into the side of the pool this past week when a guard held the lights off for well over 2 seconds. But we were told "go ahead and complain to management..." by the guards. No response.
I can't believe this is OK from a safety standpoint but cannot find a relevant Red Cross or standard pool management practice to show the lifeguard team this is unsafe. Do we have to get the woman who hit her head to go to an urgent care facility for the bump on her head and then have them file an insurance claim to get the facilities attention?
I was a lifeguard decades ago and this seems to clearly be an unsafe practice by a few guards unwilling to use the running timer or some other means to alert swimmers that won't impact swimmer safety. Thanks for any suggestions!
Turning the lights off seems a bit dangerous to me. Not just the risk of hitting walls, but also collisions between swimmers sharing lanes.
What's wrong with the lifeguards just blowing their whistles? Isn't that how they'd clear the pool for any other reason?
Turning the lights off completely is unsafe. In fact...at the pool where I swim, I also work part-time as a lifeguard...if there are enough of the overhead lights off...we are instructed by the management to clear the pool. They're mercury lights so we wouldn't be able to "flip them on/off" as suggested above because once OFF, it takes them several minutes to warm up and come back on. I suppose if you have incandescent or fluorescent, and they come right back on, flipping them would work. But crap...are there so many lap swimmers that they can't be stopped individually and told that the session is over? Stop one in each lane and tell them to stop the others.
Dan
In our county's largest swim facility some of the lifeguards on the last shift have decided to turn off the inside lights to warn swimmers it is nearly time to close the pool. In this indoor facility there are no in pool lights so turning off the lights leaves it pitch dark for a second or two.
Some of us who occasionally swim late have complained to the lead lifeguard but they shrug and do not see this as an issue. One of the lap swimmers slammed her head into the side of the pool this past week when a guard held the lights off for well over 2 seconds. But we were told "go ahead and complain to management..." by the guards. No response.
I can't believe this is OK from a safety standpoint but cannot find a relevant Red Cross or standard pool management practice to show the lifeguard team this is unsafe. Do we have to get the woman who hit her head to go to an urgent care facility for the bump on her head and then have them file an insurance claim to get the facilities attention?
I was a lifeguard decades ago and this seems to clearly be an unsafe practice by a few guards unwilling to use the running timer or some other means to alert swimmers that won't impact swimmer safety. Thanks for any suggestions!
It would seem to me that flipping the lights on and off repeatedly and rapidly would probably be better (and safer). I agree turning OFF the lights seems dangerous. However using the pool's light source as a way to notify all the patrons currently in the pool that closing time is at hand is a lot easier than trying to get each person's attention individually, and many people can't hear a whistle underwater (or choose to ignore it because they think it doesn't apply to them).
... But we were told "go ahead and complain to management..." by the guards. No response. ...
Am I correct in assuming you got a "no response" from the facility management? I find that hard to believe.
I would take a few swimmers with me (including the lady who bumped her head) and have a face-to-face with the facility manager. Suggest that their lifeguards failed in not performing a concussion protocol on this woman, and that they are putting lives, and the future of the facility at risk with their carelessness.
Unfortunately, if they will still not listen, then a claim/lawsuit will get their attention. Until then, stop attending near closing.
Can the lights be flipped on & off like a home switch? Maybe not.
Will the pool swimmers be aware of closing time if "some" of the lights are turned off rather than all might be the answer.
Can the lights be flipped on & off like a home switch? Maybe not.
I assumed it was like a home switch since OP said it would be dark for a few seconds and that on some occasions the lifeguards leave the lights off longer than 2 seconds. Sounded like someone had direct control over some sort of switch they could flip back and forth. Could be wrong. In which case, your suggestion sounds like the next best thing. I think we agree that turning ALL the lights off is not a safe (or polite) way to do it!
As a lackey at a gym, please do not go directly to "lawsuit" language. 99% of the time, we honestly want to find a workable solution to an issue. I would imagine management would listen to a reasonable "hey so this is not really a good way to clear the pool; people have been bumping into each other or the walls in the dark. We know you need to clear the pool, but can we try instead of flipping lights off entirely?" Maybe an airhorn vs a whistle, or the staff can check in with each lane, or flash just one row of lights (if possible), whistle, whatever.
Thank you all for so many ideas. The guard who turned off the lights said a shy hello tonight and rather than give the evil eye, I acknowledged and nodded my head. So we've got a start. Manager still hasn't responded - hopefully the guards and management will have a discussion and realize other, safer solutions exist for clearing the pool.
