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
This isn't the worst pool, but it is the pool my masters teem is currently training in while our regular pool is closed for annual maintenance. The pool is extremely dark with no lighting on the ceiling. To make the lighting worse all the tiles are blue except for the lane lines which are white. The pool has a large glass skylight so it seems like the lighting was designed assuming the sun was right above the pool.
On one of the walls there is bright light to blind you while you try to see where the wall is for your turn. On the other end each lane has two markers to indicate the end of the lane. A false one about 4-5m from the wall and then a second marker in the proper place. Instead of a turn cross on the wall they have a large green tile box.
There are also no backstroke flags but for some reason there are signs on the wall with an arrow that says "Pool Ends Here."
This isn't the worst pool, but it is the pool my masters teem is currently training in while our regular pool is closed for annual maintenance. The pool is extremely dark with no lighting on the ceiling. To make the lighting worse all the tiles are blue except for the lane lines which are white. The pool has a large glass skylight so it seems like the lighting was designed assuming the sun was right above the pool.
On one of the walls there is bright light to blind you while you try to see where the wall is for your turn. On the other end each lane has two markers to indicate the end of the lane. A false one about 4-5m from the wall and then a second marker in the proper place. Instead of a turn cross on the wall they have a large green tile box.
There are also no backstroke flags but for some reason there are signs on the wall with an arrow that says "Pool Ends Here."
