Wanted: 50 Meter Pool

You could still use it for meets. A long course meet that I did recently had lanes 1 and 8 reserved for warm up/down and lanes 2-7 for competition.

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I'm looking for arguments in SUPPORT of a 50M pool. Our swim team is quite large and we just won't be able to swim in a smaller pool. (Well, it would be *very* crowded.) Currently we're swimming at a private school 50 meter pool but it's becoming likely that we could lose those privileges in the near future. Thankfully, our team will be able to bring in enough money for 50 meter pool expenses so that isn't an issue. Also, we're not looking to build a competition pool, this would be for community use and perhaps small, local meets. We need to emphasize community use and versatility. I really appreciate all your help. -GG

I the approach to take is to emphasize that a 50 meter pool can accommodate the full range of aquatic activities (water aerobics, swim lessons, diving, water polo, USA/Y swim teams and masters, etc.) I would strongly recommend against selling this as a great venue for large swim meets or argue that the area needs a "world class" competitive swim facility. Instead emphasize how important it is to reach a broad section of the community, that learning to swim is important for child safety, that swimming is a healthy activity for all ages, etc. If you can build strong grass root support you'll make a convincing case that potential demand exists that cannot be met with existing facilities. Also if you put together some lane usage scenarios you'll find out that you need a 50 meter pool to meet this demand because many of these programs want to use the facility at the same time. The USMS Planning Committee led by Betsy Durrant, and aided greatly by Mel Goldstein and other volunteers, can give you some brochures and other materials that will help. You can reach Betsy via email at: durrant6@cox.net Also network with your local Y. Think about joining forces also with other people active in aquatic activites. Good luck

I agree with Seltzer on the wide range of aquatic activities a new 50M pool could support. You might want to find out if they Y needs more pool time...for instance our Y swim teams practice at local colleges because the 4-lane 25y Y pool cannot accomodate all the demand for pool time. If a new facility is built it can probably gain income from all the local swim teams since they may pay pool rental fees to use the nice new pool. There may also be more demand for things like swim lessons, water aerobics, and lap swim hours, which are a hot commodity in many locations. Are you proposing indoor? Domed? I don't know where you live, but a domed pool is very versatile and could also serve as a nice outdoor pool to join in the summers. In this case you might want to propose an aquatics center complete with slides, zero depth entry pool for young children, fountains, etc. It may sound like a lot...but many cities are putting these in now. I know of several cities that have new ones if you want to do your research: East Lansing MI, Highland Park IL, and Rockaway NJ. Good luck!

I am by no means an expert in this area, but one advantage of separate 25Y x 25M pools comes to mind. If they are built with two separate filtration and heating systems, one could be kept at a warmer temperature for lessons, aquacizing, and such while the other is kept at a cooler temperature more appropriate for competition. If a single 50 M pool is built with no separate dive tank or other area that could be used for warm up / warm down, it is not all that useful as a 50 M competition pool. I believe that USMS rules state that you must either have a warm up / warm down area available continuously throughout a meet or schedule frequent breaks in a meet for warm up / warm down.

Thanks for spelling out all the details, Phil. Phew! So yes, that is the story. Our team will be in big trouble if we don't find another pool. I'm passionate about this cause because this swim team means the world to me. Not only is it a place where I've been able to exercise and stay in shape, but more important, it's a wonderful commutity, full of great people and huge network of friends which are like family. Actually, if people want to post negatives to a 50 M pool, that might be okay as then we can plan and come up with counters to the negatives. -GG

With the budget problems of California, it might be wiser to push for a smaller pool. They are talking about cutting back on health services, so recreatonal pools are not that high on city budgets there. Anyway, there is a 50 meter pool about 7 miles from me but there is only a summer league team that uses and when I went one there one and its only set up 25 yards for lap swimming. You can swim long course in a short course pool. by doing 125 yard swims or 225 or 250 yard swims in place of 100 yards or 200 yards. I switched back and foth between 100 yards and 125 yards.

Well, I hope that some of the money you are raising is private money. I hate to think that building a 50 meter pool in your neighborhood would result in losing money for programs at the local high school. I'm full aware of the billions of dollar debt of California,so let us think a little about this and hope that building a 50 meter pool doesn't hurt other people.

OK, the city is already planning to replace an old and obsolete community pool (100 ft. long (!) and does not meet modern state code, but heavily used.) The current plan is, I believe, a 25 yd x 25 meter pool, with the expectation that it will support local rec. swim teams, aquacise, etc.. There will be another shallower pool for young children. There is plenty of space for this project, which is located at the major city recreation facility, which includes playing fields, gymnasium, field house, tennis courts, library, etc. Meanwhile, our team of 400+ uses a nearby 50 m pool at a private upscale school. We run 19, 1.25 hour practices a week, and provide most if not all of the daily operating costs. On the other hand, you can imagine that our presence is disruptive to the school, and our presence is problematic to the school board of directors. The loss of a 50 meter pool will probably spell the end of our team, as nearby large facilities are already committed. We are proposing to commit to the pool and provide significant operating costs. We will also present a pledge of $500,000 (private funds) to cover the additional costs of construction, if necessary (though we have not yet met that pledge amount. (Yes yes, I know, but there are a lot of deep pockets in this area)). Costs, space, local high schools, should not be issues. I would not be surprised if our team grew even more if we were based at this community pool - the synergy between the pool and the nearby athletic facilities would be a benefit for the triathletes and multi-sport fitness people, and or existence would be much more visible to the general population. On the other hand, we are entering the debate pretty late, and planning has gotten pretty far. The problem is to convince the city council that a 50 m pool would serve the community better than what is planned now, when compared to the alternative use of space and labor. We need to convince 5 council members pretty quickly. The current tally is two for, three against. Guppigirl is asking for proven, cogent arguments for this cause. Any help and experience in similar situations is appreciated.

Ken- I understand that a large facility could bring in a lot of money for the city, however, I know that this city would not tolerate a large venue that would attract huge regional/national swim meets. It's going to be enough of a struggle to get the neighbors to agree to this proposal. I'm firmly convinced that community usage alone will bring in a lot of money without making this proposed facility a target hot spot for large swim meets. -GG