I was recently informed that my city owned pool deems our starting blocks a liability and will not allow USMS and USA Swimming competitions. Three of our starting blocks do not have a 6' perimeter of safety around them (not below) starting end is 12' deep. The concern is that our lane 5 block is next to a one meter springboard of course this will include lane 4, and our lane 3 block must be removed for a water slide during rec swim and vice versa for competitions. During high school competitions the diving board is raised up and secured against a wall directly behind the diving board. During USMS and USA swim competitions the board is lifted and the railings are completely removed. The USA team hosts one USA Swimming invitationals per year, one USMS competition and at least five high school dual meets per year. This is a tremendous blow to our fundraising abilities and competitive programs.
Rumor has it that this is a new liability issue for all pools in the State of Oregon. If this is true, I believe more than half the public pools in Oregon will be impacted by this new rule and competitions will become few and far between.
Is there anyone out there who can help me with this issue? Does USMS and USA Swimming Liability Insurance cover such an issue? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
waves101 makes a really good point. I wonder if this isn't some policy implemented by the entity that insures the state, although I've not seen a single carrier insure a whole state. If it's just the carrier for your local municipality/city, you might have a chance. The key is going to be to get the carrier's risk manager on site to show the safety situation and steps you can take to comply.
You have to escalate, escalate, escalate until you hit the person with authority to come out and visit with you. And, find a parent/swimmer on your team who is in the business and can decipher the lingo for you and push the right buttons.
waves101 makes a really good point. I wonder if this isn't some policy implemented by the entity that insures the state, although I've not seen a single carrier insure a whole state. If it's just the carrier for your local municipality/city, you might have a chance. The key is going to be to get the carrier's risk manager on site to show the safety situation and steps you can take to comply.
You have to escalate, escalate, escalate until you hit the person with authority to come out and visit with you. And, find a parent/swimmer on your team who is in the business and can decipher the lingo for you and push the right buttons.
