I'm currently in the process of putting together a committee to start planning for a new aquatic facility in our area. I'm asking all of you to help me make a list of the things that should go into a facility if you had unlimited resources and space. I want to start my project with the biggest dream possible and then have it brought back to earth by money limitations, etc.
What I'm looking for are comments about our own facilities features that work well, that you would never do again, that you would change, that you would do differently, and what you wish you could have. I want to hear from experience.... What makes your facility work so well or why you pool is the arm pit of pools. Here is an example:
I've learned from one pool that they should have built a permanent wall between their lap pool and their zero depth entry rec. pool. The building is so noisy they can barely run a meet if people are in the recreation pool. Don't leave anything untouched (pool size, deck space, configuration, locker rooms, office space, outdoor facilities, observation seating, etc.)
Our initial plan is to build a 50 meter indoor, with adjacent recreation pool, and an outdoor splash area for the hot summers. We are one mile above sea level and our winters go from October to May. I'm hoping all you can help with the things you have all learned from the many years we have been swimming.
This is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do!!! Have a seperate warm pool for lessons, "noodlers", hydrotherapy and hydroaerobics. This way you can keep the competition/training pool cool for swimmers.
We have a separate pool and it works wonderfully. The competition pool is quite chilly.
I also suggest:
(1) a large hottub, which is great after practicing in a chilly pool;
(2) not having the locker rooms located at the end of the plumbing line or you will be stuck with cold/lukewarm showers after practice (this is our fate);
(3) having suit spinners in the locker rooms;
(4) having more bathrooms in the ladies locker room (The USS kids are always changing in them when the adults need to use them. The men, at least from what I've heard, are peeing in the pool. Seriously, my facility is doing some reconstruction and the college coach made this exact request.);
(5) consider bromine instead of chlorine;
(6) make the pool deep, obviously, with wide gutters;
(7) put in vending machines so you can grab waters/gatorade etc. when you forget them;
(8) we have a VASA machine stationed in our pool, which some of our swimmers like to use;
(9) do not install a permanent lifeguard chair next to where a starter/referee would stand during swim meets;
(10) install multiple built-in pace clocks, so that when you put in a bulk head for SCY or SCM, they are at both ends of each pool. make sure they are synchronized.
(11) this isn't related to construction, but do not rent the pool out 24/7 on weekends or you will have grumpy masters swimmers who miss their sat. & sun. practices.
(12) make sure the back stroke flags are correctly placed. I've been to quite a few pools where they are not.
(13) I find there is never enough seating at any USS meet I attend. So, if possible, get as much spectator seating as you can.
Good luck with the project!
Fortress,
These are some great ideas. Do you mind if I use them in an addendum to a report I did for our city council 2 years ago while a member of the city's recreation advisory board. They are resurrecting the idea of a new recreation facility.
Lainey bug, around here we have the opposite problem.....the hydroaerobic people own our pool and keep it WAY too hot. In the meantime, we have high schoolers practicing/competing in 85 degree water and passing out! :(
This fallacy that you need to keep the rec pool at 85 degrees is out of control. Temps between 80-83 are suitable and it is possible to actually swim at that temp. If you actually work in the water, it does not need to be 85 or over. It is purely for comfort that it is kept at this temp. I have yet to go to a pool in the US that is multi-purpose that is kept at a temp suitable for swimming.
I agree that you must have two pools as everyone else has mentioned. If you are stuck with a single pool, keep it at 76-78 and drive the noodlers out so that swimmers can use it! Swim teams pay to use a pool, noodlers don't.
If you have a one of those water park things you can generate a lot of dough by having kiddie birthday parties.
THIS IS A MUST - if you have two pools, make sure they are on separate filtration systems. There is nothing worse than having some kid have a blow out in the noodling pool and being forced out of the separate swim pool.
I would also suggest a lightning detection system, if that's an issue in your area. These are great for limiting closures except in the case of a storm close by. Make sure to ground everything also.
Fortress,
These are some great ideas. Do you mind if I use them in an addendum to a report I did for our city council 2 years ago while a member of the city's recreation advisory board. They are resurrecting the idea of a new recreation facility.
Sure. I think an new facility would be good for you. You could quit that hotel pool and not freeze in your other pool! ;)
Make sure the locker rooms are adequate. I've been to so many "world class" facilities with locker rooms that are terrible. They are usually small, have no lockers for public use and have too few showers and toilets.
Make sure you have enough seating to hold USS/HS swim meets. We have a beautiful pool for hs meets but, it is sooo crowded that a lot of people end up standing the whole time. There is definitely not enough seating for a USS meet! That would be #2 priority on my list after the #1 - seperate warm/cool pools!
Good point, Lindsay. Most facilities I've belonged to require a monthly membership fee plus a separate fee for the swim team. I have yet to see a water aerobic class that is fee based, at our local pools anyway.
One of my kid's teams pays $2400/mo for pool usage. I'm not complaining about this, it is a great pool and great coaching but it ain't cheap. Our Master's team pays around $250/mo for our pool time on top of the $90 each of us pay to use the Y monthly. But, our coach is worth every penny, along with our teammates.
I do think, and you won't believe this, that water aerobes probably shouldn't be charged. The folks that do this are generally older and may have mobility restrictions. Therefore, this might be their only substantive exercise. I certainly would not be fair to exclude folks who need this, although the Y will never turn someone away for lack of money.
- The 50m x 25m main pool has a boom that moves along the poolside rather than being raised up and down, so the pool can be split into 2 x 25m x 25m pools. Many 50m pools only split into a 25m and 23m pool.
This is a good point. Ideally a 50 m pool should be 50 meters long, plus whatever extra is needed to have two bulkheads. That way you put the bulkheads at each end for a 50 meter course, or you put them in the middle for 2x25 m courses. Move them in slightly and you've got two 25 yard courses. The pool should be 25 meters wide. That gives you the ultimate in terms of flexibility of courses.
Our therapy pool is kept at 87 - 89, and is close enough to the main pool that the aquarobes can hear the instructor and do the workout from the therapy pool. It gives the class members the option to choose their temperature, and cuts down on the complaints about the 82 degree main pool. It's about 3 1/2 - 4 feet deep, comparable to the shallow end of the main pool -- which is too shallow for a dedicated competition pool. But a deeper pool would limit the aquarobes to the therapy pool, and some of those folks who are able to work hard would then overheat. There are always tradeoffs, unless you have the budget to build multiple pools, each dedicated to a specific purpose.
I had an opportunity to swim at the Federal Way facility for NW Zones a couple of weeks ago. Very, very nice pool facility, designed pretty much as Kirk suggests. The main tank was nice and cool, and the dive pool was substantially warmer and used as the cool down pool.
Mildly amusing aside: At Zones, I jumped into the dive well to cool down after a race, and just let myself drift down thinking about the race. My usual pool's deep end is about 8 feet, and I guess I usually just bounce off the bottom and up. Federal Way's dive tank is 16 feet deep, and I just headed down. I ended up down about 12 feet before I realized I hadn't hit bottom, was down a ways, and really had no breath. Had to claw my way to the surface gasping for air. It would have been more than a little humiliating to have to be rescued from the cool down pool!
I second the chlorine instead of bromine, I get itchy in bromine.
A dream pool would be a fitness center that would bring in more users then just swimmers to offset costs..
50 meter pool x 25 yards 14 feet at deep end tapering to 4 feet (water areobics = early morning customers and money)at shallow with handicap ramp to walk in and out of pool in shallow area and.. a set of steps down to about 4 feet deep not just a climb up ladder to allow easy access in and out of deep end for handicap swimmers to easily get out of deep end for deep water aerobics. 8 Lap lanes 6 feet wide about 5 -6 feet deep in middle area toward the deep end (racing zone) all lanes in race zone same depth. 1st 50 feet pool is 14 feet to 12 feet deep 2nd 50 feet pool is 6 or 5 feet deep 3rd 50 ft pool tapers from 5 foot to 4 foot deep. A seperate baby pool for their fun and lessons 50ft by 50 ft. 2.5 feet deep for kids with a wide ramp "beach" tapering up to zero feet. A 3 meter board and two 1 meter boards at the deep end of the big pool. Cement bench style (tiled $$ or epoxy painted cement) seating around both pools gives places to sit and put swim gear, Bleacher area in big pool for meets, Lifeguard room in center of pool with room for meet officials and their computers Bay windows in both rooms looking out to pool. Hot tub in pool area near baby area. Windows to see outside around pool. a mirror on the wall in the pool area to check goggles/caps fitting. A fitness room with exercise machines ,weights, a dance room wood floor mirrors and a bar (ballet not a drinking bar), a couple of raquettball courts, a all purpose meeting room that can be rented for birthday parties confrences ect a small sales area at check in with some swim suits, goggles, nose plugs, racquatballs, swimcaps (my Watergear bubble strap cap size medium white color please). A secure locker area in the main check in area with small secure pay lockers for purses, wallets. A little food area with a good cup of coffee and some cheap food favorites hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, frozen pizza ,ice cream,(yea you got to have them for familys with kids) some healthy salads and sandwhiches,soft drinks. Great big hot water heater, several AED defib devices about the place. Locker rooms with baby change areas, plenty of room in locker room, and finally a main room where everyone meets up this can be after the check in with exercise rooms , food kitchen attached looking into the pool areas raquett ball courts
or exercise area.. this was fun ! Many of these items I have seen in pools as i have traveled around the country.
