No roof for Athens olympic pool !

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 16:18:01 GMT

I saw timelap film of one of the temporary pools being constructed. Pretty neat stuff. Yes, it was in a very large venu. Wish I could remember what meet it was being constructed for.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 15:27:13 GMT

Originally posted by swimr4life Hi Seltzer! I live in the Atlanta area and have swam/coached at the Atlanta Olympic pool many times over the past 8 years. It definitely is not a temporary pool. It was never moved either. It was an outdoor pool that was recently enclosed but, other than that, it is just like it was in 1996. I'm sorry to disagree....I'm not trying to be ugly! I just wanted to set the record straight! ;) I stand corrected. The other pools mentioned (World 2003, OT 2004 and FINA 2004 are temporary). Have also seen European companies that offer pools for outdoor kayaking and other water sports in areas without rivers/lakes or oceans.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 15:06:45 GMT

Originally posted by aquageek The NYT article had this: Can someone describe a "temporary outdoor pool?" This is the latest and greatest on pool technology. They range from temporary warm-up/warm-down facilities (think 2003 LCM Nationals at Rutgers) to "state-of-the-art" swimming facilities (think Atlanta Olympics). For a "virtual" look at the pool go to: http://www.longbeach2004.com/ The venue section give you an idea of how this set-up will work. Also note that the FINA championships after the Olympics will be held in Indianiapolis, not at the IUPUI Natatorium but the forum where the Indiana Pacers play. The thinking is that for special events a temporary pool can be placed into a venue that seat far more than can be justified in a permanent natatorium. Another benefit of temporary pools is that they can be moved and donated to facilities better able to offer them to public. For example, the Atlanta Olympic pool was moved to Georgia Tech where it now serves a large population. Maybe one day this technology will get cheaper enough that areas such as New England can put up "temporary" outdoor 50 meter pools. Might be the cheapest way to build the first 50 meter pool in Maine.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 15:05:24 GMT

Could be of the Splash Pools variety! Or something even sturdier like the one they had at the World's last year. That was a temporary pool brought in and set up for that meet. Kind of neat the way they do it.:D

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 14:46:04 GMT

Tom!!! You kill me!!!!:D Uhuuhh....Shut Up Beavis!

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 14:06:21 GMT

www.nytimes.com/.../23OLYM.html NY Times article

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

knelson — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 12:47:28 GMT

Originally posted by Kevin in MD Man I hope not. The shots of swimmer X looking thoughtful in front of the lean-to he used to share with all 80 members of his extended and adoptive family really make the ten seconds of race coverage feel that much more alive. Do I detect a note of sarcasm? ;) I've found the CBC (Canadian) broadcasts show much more of the actual competition. If you get CBC watch their broadcast instead of NBC.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Kevin in MD — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 11:31:57 GMT

Man I hope not. The shots of swimmer X looking thoughtful in front of the lean-to he used to share with all 80 members of his extended and adoptive family really make the ten seconds of race coverage feel that much more alive.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

swimr4life — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 10:19:46 GMT

Originally posted by seltzer Another benefit of temporary pools is that they can be moved and donated to facilities better able to offer them to public. For example, the Atlanta Olympic pool was moved to Georgia Tech where it now serves a large population. Hi Seltzer! I live in the Atlanta area and have swam/coached at the Atlanta Olympic pool many times over the past 8 years. It definitely is not a temporary pool. It was never moved either. It was an outdoor pool that was recently enclosed but, other than that, it is just like it was in 1996. I'm sorry to disagree....I'm not trying to be ugly! I just wanted to set the record straight! ;)

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

aquageek — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 09:57:29 GMT

The NYT article had this: The trials will be held July 7 through July 14 at a temporary outdoor pool in Long Beach, Calif. Mike Unger, the chief operating officer of USA Swimming, the national governing body, said: "We made the Olympic trials outdoors because we believed the Olympic swimming would be completely outdoors. Six months later, we learned they wanted to put a roof on." Can someone describe a "temporary outdoor pool?"

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Rob Copeland — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 09:01:45 GMT

As I understand it there will be no tarp. The original plans called for a fixed roof that was scrapped and replaced with the tarp, due to construction delays. Now due to continued delays there will be no tarp. I just hope there is water! I wonder how the Australians will handle coming from mid-winter training into the 100+ degrees in Athens.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 08:23:55 GMT

Well, with New England and 50 meter pools, I think it has to do with budgets. New England spends a lot more per student for the k thre 12 than does a state like Arizona. Arizona spends more on sport facilties and is in the bottom 5 in expendure for students in the k thru 12. So, New England believes that education is more important than sport facilities. Also, there is no major college swim program there like is in Arizona. Third Arizona is a larger state in population and pools are of course are usually built in large urban areas. I think the porter pool which can be use in summer will help swimming develop in more rural or smaller urban settings.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 08:11:07 GMT

Lainey, I think you are thinking about the World's just a few months ago. They showed a timelapsed video of them constructing the pool in-doors. It was pretty cool!

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 06:06:04 GMT

Originally posted by seltzer For example, the Atlanta Olympic pool was moved to Georgia Tech where it now serves a large population. He was partially correct. Georgia Tech did have a temporary pool for water polo. Not all the aquatic events could be held at the same venue so a temporary pool was used. This pool was then moved to Florida. www.myrthapools.com/ita_referenze_atlanta.php

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

knelson — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 01:30:28 GMT

Originally posted by Shaky I hope that tarp isn't blue. That will look like ass also. For some reason I'm envisioning a Beavis and Butthead episode: "Hey Beavis, check out that Michael Phelps dude, he looks like ass!":D I can see where you're coming from with respect to the problems with shadows. That would definitely be a challenge for the cameramen.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Mon, 22 Mar 2004 16:22:05 GMT

Originally posted by Gareth Eckley Should have very little effects on the competitors. First, the air/water temp should have little or no impact on water temp. Look at the ASU pool where deck temp get up to 120 degrees yet the water temp doesn't vary by 1 degree. Second, swimming in the evening...same situation in Barcelona and Atlanta and no problem with either venue. Now for those who paid good money to attend in person as spectators will suffer.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Mon, 22 Mar 2004 15:43:49 GMT

Originally posted by knelson I don't quite get the bit about it being difficult to get a good picture on TV with no roof. What, they've never filmed an outdoor sporting event on TV? I do this for a living, and I can tell you that if there's direct sunlight on that pool it will look like ass. The problem is contrast. Television cameras, even HDTV cameras, do not handle contrast very well. If you have extremely bright and dark areas in the frame, you have to make a choice whether to expose for the bright areas or the dark areas. If you expose for the dark areas, or shadows, the bright areas will "blow out," appearing to glow white hot. If you expose for the bright areas, you won't be able to see any detail in the shadows; they'll just appear black. Generally there's a limit to how much brightness a television signal can take, so you usually expose the picture for the bright areas and let the shadows go dark. Because swimming pools are generally light-colored, the pool will be very bright. When shooting a swimmer against that bright background, the swimmers will appear very dark. It's like taking a picture of someone indoors, standing against a window. Other sports have problems with this, but it's not quite as bad. In a football stadium, you have the players against a dark background, so the contrast is not as bad. The players themselves are the brightest thing in the picture. Furthermore, green absorbs light by nature (that's why plants are green). You'll have contrast problems in direct sunlight where you can't see the details in the shadows, such that an instant replay of a fumble in a shadow, for example, may be difficult to see; but imagine how bad it would look if the players played on a white field. The tarp thing will likely fix the contrast problem, because it will hopefully put a shadow over the entire pool and diffuse the light. It doesn't sound as though it will help much with the heat, though.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Mon, 22 Mar 2004 12:39:58 GMT

Originally posted by knelson If finals are in the evening, there shoudn't be a huge contrast problem, though, should there? If the sun has gone down far enough that the outer wall of the building is casting its shadow across the pool, it won't be a problem because the entire pool will be in diffused light instead of direct sunlight. It's the midday and afternoon events that would be a problem. Even if the finals are in the evening, most of the events are videotaped anyway. What if there's a significant problem in one of the earlier events that warrants sports coverage, like one of the favored swimmers experiencing some setback that takes him or her out of medal contention? The networks will want highlights. The worst video problem would probably come late afternoon, when part of the facility is in shadow but part is still getting direct sunlight. This is when it's a problem for football, when half the field is either blown out or so dark you can't see it. The pool would be that much worse. Imagine direct sunlight hitting the stands on the opposite side from the camera, while the swimmers mounting the blocks are in shadow. They would just be silhouettes. There's another big problem with this also. We have to balance the cameras for the color of the light hitting our subject, else the subject will look orange or blue. Shadow light is much more blue in color than direct sunlight. If you have the cameras balanced for the sunlight, and a shadow creeps across the pool, everyone seen in the shadow areas will turn blue. I hope that tarp isn't blue. That will look like ass also.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

knelson — Mon, 22 Mar 2004 12:20:48 GMT

The story I saw said they are going to use a temporary tarp over the pool. I don't quite get the bit about it being difficult to get a good picture on TV with no roof. What, they've never filmed an outdoor sporting event on TV? However, it is disappointing, but predictable, that the pool will not be finished. Let's just hope not having the roof is the end of the problems. As long as they don't need to set up a temporary course in the Aegean Sea I'll be happy :)

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

knelson — Mon, 22 Mar 2004 11:32:43 GMT

Originally posted by Shaky I do this for a living, and I can tell you that if there's direct sunlight on that pool it will look like ass. If finals are in the evening, there shoudn't be a huge contrast problem, though, should there? I remember both the 1984 LA and 1992 Barcelona games were in outdoor pools and I don't remember any problems with the TV picture.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Mon, 22 Mar 2004 06:24:52 GMT

Anyway, a lot of olympic sites were built on ground with a lot of ruins that can date back to 3,000 years. So, the archaeologist when the construcation was done took as much ancient artfacts as possible. The Greeks have a lot on their minds and a roof wasn't something they prepared for. The 1896 olympics was open water. The ancient Greeks had a dating system based on the first olympics back in 763 or so BC. I'm glad some of the ancient events don't exist today, they had an event that was a combination of wresting and boxing which was sometimes deadly. And their boxing was almost as deadly as the Romans who use spikes. Most people think mainly of the running events of the ancient games. Also, there was a sporting event for teenage girls called the Hera games name after the godness Hera. I learn some of this from a book and the history channel.

RE: No roof for Athens olympic pool !

Former Member — Mon, 22 Mar 2004 06:00:33 GMT

I just love the phrase "Look like ass!" What an analogy...