What can make a potentially great pool and swim meet (78-80 degree deep water, wide lanes, great gutter system, good starting blocks, great lighting, large scoreboard, excellent officials, etc.) into a mediocre one? The lane lines.
We recently swam our championships in a new state-of-the-art pool. The only problem was the slack lane lines. The water was very choppy and continued that way throughout the whole race. They served no more purpose than the old “floaties” we used 45 years ago. They were so loose they visibly rose and fell with the waves and had so many horizontal waves they looked like serpents at the surface. The lane lines did not cut the waves but rather rode them. When there was a race with an open lane, the waves pushed the lane lines well into the free lane. Predictably overall times were not as fast as they could have been.
It is not necessary to have the lane lines are tight as a piano wire in order for them to be effective, but tightening them up for a meet is an area that is most often neglected. We work too hard at our craft not to be given every opportunity to swim as fast as the pool allows.
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by kaelonj
Maybe I can shed a little light and help redirect some comments. First off the saying "If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem"really holds true. If you have a problem with the water aerobics (We call it AquaX) you need to bring this to the facility managements attention (maybe you have I'm not sure - and if you have and they haven't changed then you know where their priorties are). Shaky, have you tried talking to the instructor about the equipement and having participants too close to the lane line, the instructor might not be aware of this, they obviously have a duty to ensure they are conducting their class in a safe manner, also let the lifeguard know, once again they are there to ensure everyone's safety.
Aquageek, last I checked water aerobics was exercise not a sport.
Complaining about a change in water current/conditions because of there exercises, what's next complaining about a wake from a fast swimmer next to you. And your last comment about how they look at you when they get splashed which annoys them, just as their vortex bothers you.
Your comment about the fitness level really bothers me, as if all Master swimmers look like they should be on the cover of fitness/shape magazine. The reason maybe someone can't get in or out of the pool by themselves could be injury or other health problems, if you have been to swim meets not every master swimmer gets in or out of the pool by themselves yet they still let them compete.
The fact that people are getting in the water and trying something, any movement is good. Have you ever tried any of the exercises you might be surprised, some of them really do work on that important core strength and body balance. Some of the exercises do look easy but if you work on controling your body properly they do become more difficult. The other fact that maybe these people aren't as adapt to having fun, or they see their workout as a little social time, whats wrong with that ?
The pool temp will always be an issue (I agree 84 is too warm) most swimmers like to see 80 or so, AquaX people (and swim lesson) like mid 80's so keeping at 84 is a bit of a compromise leaning more towards the AquaX and Lesson people - but they probably make up the bulk of the pool users, not the lap swimmers.
These are my personal and professional opinions. I am an aquatics manager, I don't manage a Y but the pool at another fitness center. All of our AquaX instructors are certified (AEA) some are even land based aerobic instructors. Not all facilities have the luxury I do, well trained aquatic professionals and the resources and freedom to ensure we provide quality aquatic programming. I used Aqua exercises to recently rehab knee surgery (ACL reconstruction from a hamstring graft and repair of a torn medial meniscus) I was able to start running slightly in under 4 months and was back playing water polo in just over 4 months. My first day in the pool I could barely get in and out because of the knee surgery but within 2 weeks it wasn't a problem - I give a lot of credit to a fast recovery because of doing some of the exercises that are done in what some people would deem useless water aerobic classes.
Originally posted by kaelonj
Maybe I can shed a little light and help redirect some comments. First off the saying "If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem"really holds true. If you have a problem with the water aerobics (We call it AquaX) you need to bring this to the facility managements attention (maybe you have I'm not sure - and if you have and they haven't changed then you know where their priorties are). Shaky, have you tried talking to the instructor about the equipement and having participants too close to the lane line, the instructor might not be aware of this, they obviously have a duty to ensure they are conducting their class in a safe manner, also let the lifeguard know, once again they are there to ensure everyone's safety.
Aquageek, last I checked water aerobics was exercise not a sport.
Complaining about a change in water current/conditions because of there exercises, what's next complaining about a wake from a fast swimmer next to you. And your last comment about how they look at you when they get splashed which annoys them, just as their vortex bothers you.
Your comment about the fitness level really bothers me, as if all Master swimmers look like they should be on the cover of fitness/shape magazine. The reason maybe someone can't get in or out of the pool by themselves could be injury or other health problems, if you have been to swim meets not every master swimmer gets in or out of the pool by themselves yet they still let them compete.
The fact that people are getting in the water and trying something, any movement is good. Have you ever tried any of the exercises you might be surprised, some of them really do work on that important core strength and body balance. Some of the exercises do look easy but if you work on controling your body properly they do become more difficult. The other fact that maybe these people aren't as adapt to having fun, or they see their workout as a little social time, whats wrong with that ?
The pool temp will always be an issue (I agree 84 is too warm) most swimmers like to see 80 or so, AquaX people (and swim lesson) like mid 80's so keeping at 84 is a bit of a compromise leaning more towards the AquaX and Lesson people - but they probably make up the bulk of the pool users, not the lap swimmers.
These are my personal and professional opinions. I am an aquatics manager, I don't manage a Y but the pool at another fitness center. All of our AquaX instructors are certified (AEA) some are even land based aerobic instructors. Not all facilities have the luxury I do, well trained aquatic professionals and the resources and freedom to ensure we provide quality aquatic programming. I used Aqua exercises to recently rehab knee surgery (ACL reconstruction from a hamstring graft and repair of a torn medial meniscus) I was able to start running slightly in under 4 months and was back playing water polo in just over 4 months. My first day in the pool I could barely get in and out because of the knee surgery but within 2 weeks it wasn't a problem - I give a lot of credit to a fast recovery because of doing some of the exercises that are done in what some people would deem useless water aerobic classes.
