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
Former Member
One thing that I would agree with is Mark MD. Motel and some Hotel pools are the worst. Some of them are so dirty and they have strange shapes. And are usually 10 yards or less. Also, they are either too hot or somtimes too cold.
The worst pool race conditions for me occured a few years ago in Florida in June. The air temperature was in the 90s, and the pool deck was so hot that one needed pool shoes to walk around. But what was really AWFUL was that "they" forgot to aerate the pool the night before the meet - it was a city pool, and "they" forgot to aerate it. The result of this oversight was a pool temperature of 88 degrees in the morning. I don't even want to think about what the water temperature was in the afternoon when I swam my 200 fly.
:mad:
This isn't the worst pool. But a casual friend of mine swam in the Glenwood Springs co hot spring pool. They even have a couple of lanes for people to swim in it and race a little. And I think the water was around the 90 degrees range. Most masters complain about water that is above 81 degrees. So how many of you would swim in a hot springs pool for fun.
The worst pool I ever saw was about 30 feet by 30 feet and 46 feet deep. It was about 90 degrees F. There was no lifeguard, no lines on the bottom, no backstroke flags, no gutters and no pace clock. The lighting was very dim. There was a frayed life buoy hanging on a railing. You needed a special pass to even get into the building. Because of contamination in the water, special showers were available following the use of the pool. I guess the best thing about it was that crystal clear and no chlorine. Never saw anyone even get into it. Must have been the spent nuclear fuel on the bottom.
I was there yesterday. They were doing that lifeguard test getting the 10# brick off the bottom. About 10 high school kids tried ... I don't think they'll ever have to shave down again.
Just having been in the room made my eyes really weird ... all I saw was psychedelic colors on my computer for the rest of the day.
:D
I would not call it the worst pool in the world because it was one of the most beautiful pools I ever swam in. The Old Casino Pool in Fort Lauderdale was located a few yards east of the existing International Swimming Hall of Fame complex.
The Old Casino Pool was a magnificent 55 yard SALT WATER pool that used chlorine. The water was pumped in from the ocean a few hundred yards offshore from the Fort Lauderdale beach. In those days goggles were not used and swimming long distances in chlorinated salt water was brutal on the eyes. It took me two days to see straight after swimming the mile as a kid. Beautiful…but painful…..
Gosh, (if I remember right) I think I watched Steve Clark swam a record 55 yard free during one of the last meets held there.
I never got the opportunity to swim in salt water or 55 yard pools. I swam in the old 33 1/3 pools, one of them now has a bulkhead and is made into a 25 yard pool and has a little warm-up pool because of the bulkhead, I found this out on the internet. Also, I was in the era where novice swimming was in its heyday. Novice swimming was not just in summertime where I use to live and I also use to go to swim meets in the 20 yard pools at the novice meets as well as 33 1/3 pools and even a 25 meter pool-before short course meters became popular here. Some of the pools I swam in would be considered too swallow by todays standards or too deep at one end since they built the diving board on the other end and did not have a separate diving well but I think few of them were as bad as some of the other pools and the water range from being too cold to too hot
In the early 60's I swam in a few meets in Massachusetts in which the "pools" were artificial lakes.....basically just big holes in the ground filled with water (one was in Worcester...there's a real pool there now, can't remember where the other one was).
They put docks 50 meters apart and the lane lines had wooden floats on them.
You couldn't see the bottom. Good luck at swimming straight and at knowing how far away the wall was.
Did I mention that the ends of the "pool" were slippery because of the wooden docks? Good luck on your turns (once you figured out where they were).
I think I might have actually won the 100 meter free at one of those pools....what I remember more is that I was 16 and it was the first time my parents let me drive to a meet by myself.
The worst pool I ever swam in was a Y (location withheld) that was like a lot of the ones described here: kind of dark, too warm, not particularly well maintained. What made swimming there a particularly unpleasant experience is that when I swam there (generally because other pools were closed for maintenance) I would get hit on relentlessly by old fat men with yellow teeth and nail fungus. There were signs all over the locker room stating that such conduct was prohibited, obviously to no avail. Even if I did swing that way (and I have no issue with that whatsoever), these dudes were *foul*.
I complained each time that happened, but after a couple of times I just quit going there.
There is a YMCA pool in Boston around Harvard Medical School. Not sure what it is called... I was so grateful for this pool during my stay in Boston since you can't workout in a hotel pool. Anyway, I remember the place as dark and ancient...1960s...peeling paint...bad 1920s brick facade...spooky dripping water (or blood) somewhere. Very deep---like 15 feet. Tiles missing... Weird floating people with russian bathing caps on speaking about 10 different languages. No lane lines...Seriously, it was like a dream sequence from the frickin' Avengers...remember that show!?
Water was clear though with a very attractive lifeguard.
