Here is a thread for the worst pools that you competed at.
Mine is University Of Pittsburgh. That is the worst pool ever. I don't know if it was the pool or the situation at the time but I am swam very crappy at that pool.
Cook Hall at University of Minnesota.
The place is a s***hole that was somehow kept in operation from the 1930's until 1990. It had flat walls, was dark, the grandstands were steep, and it just plain sucked.
I hated swimming there! In fact, when I was a freshman *and* a sophomore, I missed the Gopher State Invite because I was hung-over from the previous night and missed the bus (literally). I did not care if I got in trouble with the coach, I hated swimming there!!!!!!!!
I don't know if it is still around but I hope somebody bulldozed the place and had a priest exorcize the grounds.
The outdoor pool in Hershey, PA. at CocoaPlaza: about 3 feet 3 inches deep and they have a LARGE water slide in one part of the pool that creates a noticable current. When you swim north-to-south, it pushes you and in the opposite direction, you fight it. It's open water river swimming in a pool. They also won't put out a lap clock.
-LBJ
Knox College. The lanes are so narrow I hit my hands even doing free. I was always surprised that no one broke their hands or wrists doing fly. It is dark and wet everywhere. It is almost impossible to get dry anywhere even near the pool. Over the years, the gym has been transformed into one of the best facilities of any of the small little Liberal Arts colleges of the Midwest. However, I don't think a dime has been spent on the pool since it was built. Somehow had an All American swimmer in this pool in the early 70s.
Another really bad pool was at DePauw in the Bowman gym. A great gym, it had little nooks and crannies all over with great stairs to run. It doesn't exist anymore. Probably the only good thing to ever happen at one of the most racist, conservative colleges in the country (I hope I get in trouble for that statement). I guarded there during faculty swim during lunch hour. It was very small but still couldn't see all of the corners. Some one could have drown in th northwest deep corner and still be there.
My niece's husband was a prof at ECU. And as for the U of Pittsburgh, one place I am thinking of moving to. Trying to find a master's program was really hard.
Dad's Club YMCA 50 Meter Pool - pre-aerator days. August 76 State Age Group Championships- they dumped 2 tons of ice in the pool between prelims and finals and the ice was gone and the water temp was still in the mid 80s.
They also had steel gutter covers which provided a high flat wall with a cheese grater surface for us to do our turns on.
I agree it was a lousy pool,but for some reason I always swam fast there.(I also almost always bumped my head on the board over the block where they marked your time.)
I vote for Purdue's pool, before they got their new one in the late 90s early 00. It has the smallest turn markers of any pool I ever swam in and was a dark pool. I had better then 20/20 vision when I swam in the pool and my sole goal was to not hit my head against the damn wall.
Too much of a home pool advantage.
Second vote for Dad's Club as a competition venue. Sorry copy of the 1968 Mexico City pool. In addition to the gratings on all gutters, the deck used to be covered with a fissured cement. Presumably this was for non-slip purposes, but the fissures took chunks out of your feet if you stubbed anything.
On the other hand, if you could train in this pool, all other pools felt fast.
dV
I vote for Purdue's pool, before they got their new one in the late 90s early 00. It has the smallest turn markers for a the of any pool I ever swam in and was a dark pool. I had better then 20/20 vision when I swam in the pool and my sole goal was to not hit my head against the damn wall.
Too much of a home pool advantage.
Purdue's old pool was terrible, hope I can visit/swim in the new facility someday. Keepin' this in the big ten - Michigan's blocks are evil and should be destroyed.
The Greenhouse
Columbus, Ohio
The old Sycamore outdoor 50 meter off of Karl Road. The Bischoff's built it a long time ago. Somebodyelse decided to bubble it with an inflatable tent. Big white dome. Unattached locker rooms. You should have seen those kids as they walked in 5 degree temperatures to the locker rooms. The thing is, is that the part of the deck was exposed outside the tent. The deck would have ice trying to form while the pool was 80 degrees. When the kids would line up on the wooden scalfolding bulk head to start, someone would hit the side and ice would rain down on the timers and kids. Fog would form and the officials would have to guess if the competitors were competing legally.
