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
Cooke Hall at the University of Minnesota was a real dump. It was built during the Depression and represented vintage 1935 technology... The facility was small and had many dungeon-esque qualities to it. Heck, the toilets didn't even have solid dividers between them! The walls were tall so the wave bounced back really bad, the pool tile was dark green, the deck had almost no space, and the facility was dark. I swam there a few times in college before it was replaced by the current Natatorium in 1990. Talk about a big difference!
Cooke Hall at the University of Minnesota was a real dump. It was built during the Depression and represented vintage 1935 technology... The facility was small and had many dungeon-esque qualities to it. Heck, the toilets didn't even have solid dividers between them! The walls were tall so the wave bounced back really bad, the pool tile was dark green, the deck had almost no space, and the facility was dark. I swam there a few times in college before it was replaced by the current Natatorium in 1990. Talk about a big difference!
