Do any of you across this great land swim at a YMCA indoor facility that does NOT automatically close the pool whenever there are thunderstorms in the area?
Two of our three practices this week have been cancelled because of thunderstorms.
On another thread, someone posted how the total number of deaths from indoor pool electrocutions during thunderstorms--in the history of the world--total precisely zero.
I have made this argument endlessly to our Y authorities, all to no avail. Two university pools--Pitt and CMU--do NOT close their indoor pools because of lightning and, in fact, find the concept chortlesome.
If you do swim at a Y pool with a more enlightened policy, can you send word as to how you got your aquatic staff to override the (misguided) national YMCA policy about this?
Signed--
Slowly desiccating in Sewickley, Pa
From the National Lightning Safety Institute:
Indoor Pool report
More indoor pool
YMCA Guidelines
if your YMCA insists these are rules, feel free to get all Captain Jack Sparrow on them - the lightning code of action are more like guidelines, NOT rules, and the pdf specifically says that.
if your pool/building is not grounded properly, i don't think the guidelines are a bad policy. personally, i get very nervous swimming during a thunderstorm, but moreso because when the UMD tornado came through campus Sept 2001, we all watched it come within 50m of the pool.
in practice, i think people can afford to loosen up a bit. anyone can look at radar and figure out where the stormiest parts of a storm will pass. i think it mentioned it in one of these links, but lightning follows the path of least resistance, and while it is unpredictable, the likelihood of a bolt traveling several lateral miles away from its source - and with so many other juicy places to hit in between - has to be really slim. if the bad parts are coming right for you, sure, evacuate - but if you're on the outskirts of the meat of the storm, perhaps you can consider letting swimmers continue.
From the National Lightning Safety Institute:
Indoor Pool report
More indoor pool
YMCA Guidelines
if your YMCA insists these are rules, feel free to get all Captain Jack Sparrow on them - the lightning code of action are more like guidelines, NOT rules, and the pdf specifically says that.
if your pool/building is not grounded properly, i don't think the guidelines are a bad policy. personally, i get very nervous swimming during a thunderstorm, but moreso because when the UMD tornado came through campus Sept 2001, we all watched it come within 50m of the pool.
in practice, i think people can afford to loosen up a bit. anyone can look at radar and figure out where the stormiest parts of a storm will pass. i think it mentioned it in one of these links, but lightning follows the path of least resistance, and while it is unpredictable, the likelihood of a bolt traveling several lateral miles away from its source - and with so many other juicy places to hit in between - has to be really slim. if the bad parts are coming right for you, sure, evacuate - but if you're on the outskirts of the meat of the storm, perhaps you can consider letting swimmers continue.
