How about some reminiscing about the worst pools you ever were forced to work out and/or compete in ??
Our old pool was 20 yards long, with gutters and the deck was about 2 feet above that. The water level was always low, so it was like ocean swimming every day. There were no starting blocks and the "lane lines" were nylon cord with a plastic bobber every 3 feet or so. The water was always quite warm to accomodate the family swims and lessons that were also sharing the pool during the day.
Since goggles had not yet been invented and the only antiseptic method was chlorine (lots of it), we would have those chlorine "light halos" until the next day. The kick-boards were solid, varnished wood and they doubled as pull-buoys. There were no fins or hand paddles.
Thank the higher power of your choice that we had a GREAT coach.
Oh, did I mention that they used to beat us with knives???
Bert
The worst pool I ever swam in for competition was my summer swim club in Tarrytown, New York. It was built for recreation only with no foresight to a swim team in the future. Needless to say, a team was started and to this day, swims in a trapezoid-shaped pool, which is wider in the 3 foot shallow end than in the 12 foot deep end. 5 lane lines are painted because only 5 will fit. For competition, however, there are 6 blocks and lanes. The poor person in the lane without a lane line swims into the curve at the end of the pool. It's also 33 1/3 yards long (100 feet). Try making sense of those records, especially the really slow 100 yard records (3 laps)!
The worst pool I ever swam in for competition was my summer swim club in Tarrytown, New York. It was built for recreation only with no foresight to a swim team in the future. Needless to say, a team was started and to this day, swims in a trapezoid-shaped pool, which is wider in the 3 foot shallow end than in the 12 foot deep end. 5 lane lines are painted because only 5 will fit. For competition, however, there are 6 blocks and lanes. The poor person in the lane without a lane line swims into the curve at the end of the pool. It's also 33 1/3 yards long (100 feet). Try making sense of those records, especially the really slow 100 yard records (3 laps)!
