88' pool temp. creating fustrating training enviroment ;(
Former Member
Hello, I am new to this forum and masters swimming. I am recently getting back into the world of competitive swimming after a 3 year hiatus as a coach of my local YMCA/USS team. I live in Alabama where amateur swimming is not very respected or recognized.
I was hired as assistant coach about 3 weeks ago, I have an extensive background as an age group swimmer, and also swam collegiality for 2 years. I am now coaching an up-and-coming new team comprised mostly of younger swimmers (8-14yrs), also with 3-4 older ones who aspire to swim in college who certainly have the potential to do so.
My problem is this:
The YMCA pool we train in through the winter is a small 4 lane gutterless pool that is used for multiple activities like swim-lessons and water aerobics/arthritic classes for the elderly. For many years prior the pool was kept at 88-91 degrees, the ladies doing arthritic classes mid-day liked a giant spa they could socialize comfortably in with a resting heart-rate. Dare it drop below 88, heavy complaints would soon follow to all levels of the YMCA's authority. Since the start of the swim team about 3 years ago, the YMCA "compromised" a temp. of 87-88. In the 4 weeks I have been around, I will sometimes hop in with the kids and train with them (I am trying to get somewhat back into shape to compete again). I soon noticed how UBELIEVEABLY HOT and suffocating it was to swim in...making any long or even simi-hard set extremely uncomfortable/nearly impossible, my face, back of my shoulders and neck get solid cherry red. We are now in the meat of our yardage for the season, and some of the hardworking kids have been getting sick, nauseated, head-aches, and sometimes even vomiting after sets that they have the capability to do. Now I believe it is holding back their progress as competitive swimmers. The head coach has complained about it in past months/years, but the YMCA just nods its head yet never listens. I brought the topic up last week, and gave the coach what little info I could find on the internet about how unsafe it was to train in water this hot. We appealed to the Y again, the aquatics director and athletics coordinator said they could compromise 86. I wasn't satisfied, but couldn't do much to retaliate since I am very new and only 22 yrs old to boot. Nobody here except the head coach and myself know a thing about competitive swimming, it is very frustrating that a small group of 8 old "bobbers" can dictate the way the pool is ran based on their own personal comfort level.
The only thing I can think of is putting together a document explaining legitimate safety reasons that our pool temperature is too high. But I am having difficulty finding specific information on the topic. Sorry for the long rant/complaint, i just believe the kids deserve better training conditions which translates to better opportunities in the long run. I am pushing for 83-85 degrees as a compromise. All and any input is much appreciated...thank you.
Wow, thanks a lot everyone. Advice from older(sorry)/wiser people is valued, any links and articles are highly appreciated as well. Some of you hit the nail on the head with the way they complain relentlessly and stalk the aquatic director. Even worse, a few of them have deep pockets and are close long-term friends with the branch head bossman. I have not had a talk with him yet, and do not know if I should. I am fairly new and not the head coach, I do not want to create any further tension between the team and the Y at the moment, it might backfire on me or the program.
Today the temp. was 85.0, much better than it has been. A few of the kids complained to their parents recently, some might have said something. I would like to ask the kids to complain to their parents and the Y, but it doesn't feel right. My best bet right now is to keep gathering all the information I can about the safety issues of training in heat. I even found a little info on how hot pools are more unsanitary and promote overall nastiness.
The aquatics director does care about the program and sympathizes with us, but from what he says it ultimately is out of his hands to "meet the requirements I'm asking for". I have only trained in water under 83 before, I did a small set of 4x200s on 2:20 tuesday and it nearly killed me, I had to get out of the pool to breath the cooler air. It took me an astonishingly long time to cool down from an 800 yrd set. Its pains me to think of what the kids are feeling after 6k.
Elise and Mookie are right, use the system to change the system. Another point of information you can use is the cost to the facility to heat the pool. Even if it is an indoor pool, the incremental costs are not insignificant, so unless one of the "hot eight" is paying for the giant jacuzzi, that argument should also resonate. No matter who you talk to, try always to speak as a reasonable person who has the best interests of all of the users of the facility in mind.
The hotties, if in slightly less warm water, will have more incentive to move about, which is therapeutic for arthritis.
The kids will obviously be helped with slightly cooler water than they are now forced to endure. The frequent and chronic illnesses brought on by the high temps are a good point to use.
83-85 degree water is plenty warm for any activity and still bearable for swimming workouts. I frequently had to swim in 85 degree soup in a Division 1 university because the swim team did not control the pools, the Rec dept. did.
I think you have a good grasp of what you are up against and the fact that you are not going wild eyed into the office making threats is something that I would have been unable to resist in my youth.
Best of luck, keep us posted.
YMCA's (especially older ones) do not have deep pockets, and if they do, they are generally empty. Some quick research may help you make a case...
How many kids/families are represented by your program? Are there Masters swimmers at the same pool? Of these, how many are only members because the team works out at the Y?
Is there another facility nearby, with similar membership rates, that might be happy to host a swim team? Find out what their facility looks like, what their rate structures are, and sample a few parents to see if they would be open to considering a change.
If the numbers are there, when you have that cup of coffee with the YMCA chiefs, you might want to ask them how important the program/membership numbers are. They may find it is worth a few degrees of tempurature to keep the team where it is.
Ask for a meeting of the parents to discuss the problem with the water temperature. Their family monthly Y fees are probably more than single adult fees and if you have a good number of kids, that will bring the point home.
There is approx. 70 swimmers total on the roster, but most of whom are age 11 or under. The younger bronze group will likely not notice, much less identify the problem of the hot pool temperature. We do not have a masters program, just 8-15 regular lap swimmers, only 3-4 of them actually train for real swimming. Those 4 have already complained extensively in fear that they will have a heart attack or heat stroke. The highschool age swimmers I have been working with have recently expressed their concerns in mild ways, but it seems to have made a small difference. The pool temperature is now 86'F. The swimmers recently had a big 'mid-season' meet and did awesome! It was one of the best meets ever, many got new Southeastern cuts, and the top swimmer was within 1 sec. of 4 YMCA national times. This small town Y has never had anyone qualify for for Nationals before, and when he does in a month it might open up their eyes a bit. I hope the team will slowly gain clout with its success.
But, I have decided to drop the temperature issue untill August, since we will use a different (much cooler, larger) pool through the summer. We have great things planned for this summer, I think big success is on the horizon.
On another note: The team's recent spark in speed and spirit has inspired me to try and swim competitivly again. Being able to look back on my swimming career which ended almost 3 years ago, I have realized the mistakes and skeptical negative immature attitude that always hinderd me from reaching my potential. Competing at Seniors and U.S. open was always a dream of mine that I never could quite achieve yet was a possibility. I am now older, wiser, and larger and think attempting to get back in shape might not be that crazy. I tried to escape this sport once before, but it seems to be pulling me back; and I think I like it.
One other thing you can keep in the back of your mind - "big" meets, such as the Olympics, have temperature requirements for the pool water. It's 78 to 80 degrees for the Olympics and for other meets of that caliber.
If you need to bring up the temperature issue in the future, this is a good fact to have. It gives a point of reference for people who are unfamiliar with competitive swimming.
Anna Lea
Could you make a case for saving money for them (or saving natural resources/reducing global warming ...) by asking to have the heating turned down lower overnight? Then if your kids swam in the morning, the water would be cooler for them; and they could turn the heat up in time for the water to have warmed up to an acceptable level for the older people later in the day. Or if your kids swim in the evening, turn the heating down after the older people swim? Maybe a bit of experimentation could determine an optimal time to lower the heating and by how much, and how much money they could save. Maybe it could be presented as a win-win situation for everyone.
(But I have no idea how the water heating system works, so maybe this isn't at all helpful.)
My only response would be to tell the aquatics director that the team is relocating to another pool. See what he thinks about all that money going elsewhere.
From age 14-17, I swam in a similar pool and I never swam very well in workout. Could I have swum faster in competitions if I worked out in a pool that allowed me to swim harder? Maybe. I'll never know. But it certainly would have made me happier. Unfortunately I couldn't move to another swim team because they were so far away.
One other thing you can keep in the back of your mind - "big" meets, such as the Olympics, have temperature requirements for the pool water. It's 78 to 80 degrees for the Olympics and for other meets of that caliber.
If you need to bring up the temperature issue in the future, this is a good fact to have. It gives a point of reference for people who are unfamiliar with competitive swimming.
Anna Lea
The YMCA has been made well aware of the recommended temperature for pure competitive swimming racing (78.8). Unfortunately we do not have a racing pool to train in, it is a multi-purpose pool that must accommodate arthritic classes, kids swim lessons/water safety, free swim, water aerobics, and lifegaurd training. Yes, 78.8 would be the ultimate optimum temperature, but it is not practical or fair to the other programs being that low. My wish is 83-84 degrees, which is within the american arthritic assoc. guidlines and seemingly fair to all other programs. I believe that is a fair compromise, yet the disalousioned Ymca has been firmly convinced otherwise.
