Think Outside A Box Full of Water
What to do with a competition pool
By Greg Schmidt
For those who have a competition pool and wonder what else you can do other than have swim meets—this article is intended to help you literally think outside your box full of water.
Photo: © Can Stock Photo / andreykuzmin
I have never managed anything but competition pools, and I’ve been at it for over 40 years. Many things can be done besides swim meets. Let’s look at some ideas. First, determine your audience and thus the niche in the aquatic market. For example, my pool is at a university, so its primary purpose is to serve students. Its secondary purpose is to serve the surrounding community. Since the pool is a big box full of water, and is very deep (18 feet) in the diving tank, it’s terrific for competition. However, it’s not much good for kids because the shallowest part is still 4 feet deep.
Do What You Can
Acknowledge what you can do well and what you cannot do well with what the facility has to offer. Here are some things competition pools can do well:
Lap Swimming – Offer the activity as many times during the day as possible to fit customers’ varying schedules. This idea is not super cool or creative, but if you do it better than everyone else, people WILL notice.
Make sure the water is absolutely pristine and the bottom is spotless.
Ensure there is no chlorine smell (chloramines) and everything is clean, sparkling, and as much like new as possible.
Provide towel service for anyone with legitimate entry.
Offer pro-shop items for convenience that are priced right (this is more for convenience than for revenue).
Employ staff members who know the customers and greet them by name.
Have kickboards, pull buoys, hand paddles, and fins readily available for loan and/or purchase.
Swim teams – Although my town is small, three swim teams use the pool regularly. Often, there are two at a time, and sometimes all three at once. I also have a local diving club regularly using the diving tank at the same time.
Diving – Most competition pools also have diving boards, but some have had them removed (much to my chagrin). There are two diving programs here: a drop-in program called Diving Clinic and a local Diving Club that rents the diving tank regularly.
Killer equipment – One thing we do well is have the best equipment for competition, such as Anti-wave lane lines, Maxiflex B diving boards on Durafirm stands, and track start blocks. The obvious problem with this is the cost. This stuff isn’t cheap. Expect to pay about $6,000 for a Maxiflex B board, up to $12,000 for a 1M Durafirm stand, and up to $4,000 for each track start block. With an 8-lane pool, that will set you back over $32,000 for a set of new starting blocks!
Pristine water under a Maxiflex B 1M board.
Polo and synchro – These sports are great in the right locale. If there is interest, they’re a delight for spectators and thus a terrific showcase for a facility. Since competition pools are often quite deep, they are ideal for these sports.
Water volleyball and hoops – Easy to set up, and cheap to offer, they’re great for birthday parties, youth groups, or fraternity/sorority functions.
Fraternity/sorority functions are a hit for competition pools.
Dive-in movies – Competitive pools can work well for this event. Bring in a sound system to supply subwoofers for that rich movie sound. Note: Boost the water temperature closer to 90 degrees for this event to work. Otherwise, the swimmers will all watch from the deck. Another caveat is the lighting requirement. The local health code likely will not permit the lighting level to be low enough for this event without paying for a site visit; plan for a variance. The variance may require double or even triple the number of guards normally scheduled for the number of people present. Remember that public viewing of a movie requires a license that you may not already have. SWANK is a good choice for that. All of these events have fees attached, so plan in advance.
EWU students watch “Jumanji” on a rear-projection screen. The sound system was brought in to supply subwoofers for a rich movie sound.
April Pool’s Day/Water-Safety Day – As part of the April Pool’s Day celebration, a game of SKWIM might be added, with all players wearing personal flotation devices that they just learned about. Typically, this event is set up in stations around the pool for teaching an individual aspect of water safety.
Water Aerobics – Since shallow water is usually chest-deep in a competition pool, there is plenty of deep water for suspended/flotation-belt workouts. This is an ideal environment for such a class. An 84-degree temperature will work better than 80 to 82 degrees.
Sports team conditioning/rehab – Volleyball, basketball, football, soccer, and ROTC can effectively use a competition pool for cross-training and rehab—especially with water at 84 degrees. Encourage the training staff or local physical-therapy clinics to use the pool for water rehab. It’s easy to fit into an existing lap swim because it usually requires only one lane.
Lifeguard competitions/public exhibitions – A lifeguard exhibition can be virtually no cost, and can be offered simply as an open in-service. Inviting local emergency medical services (EMS) to participate makes the training more valuable for staff members, and helps the public understand that guards are an integral part of an EMS system.
Swimming lessons – Swimming lessons at a competition pool are like fitting a round peg in a square hole, but they can be successful if set up correctly. First, the water temperature must be compromised. If the temperature is increased from the swim team’s ideal 80 to 82 degrees to 84 degrees, 30-minute swim lessons can be conducted without the kids (and the instructors) freezing. The swim team members will frown, but the temperature will still work for them. Instructors for the lessons would rather have 88 degrees, but 84 degrees works for them, too. However, don’t extend blocks of time to more than two hours because instructors will get too cold. Next, tot docks (teaching platforms) will be needed for the shallow end, so small children can stand without hanging onto a wall. Those who have a fabrication shop in their agency can have these docks made. Ours were made in-house for a fraction of the cost, and they’re just as nice, if not better. Fiberglass, aluminum, or combinations of those are good materials to use.
Combined programming – Don’t limit a pool to only one activity, or one activity at a time. Think instead of space vs. program. What space is required to run a specific program, or rent to a group? For example, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, we have two swim teams, lessons, lap swim, and diving going on at once. The key is to carefully map out spaces for the groups so they don’t conflict.
Know Your Limits
Although there is a lot that can be done with a competition pool, there are some limitations. In short, you can’t offer what you don’t have. There are no lazy river, hot tub, sauna, slides, waves, or zero-depth, splash pad features. Because these leisure-pool features attract a completely different user group, those people may not visit your facility. That’s OK. It’s simply not your niche. So, should these potential users be ignored? If you have another facility reasonably close that offers these features, those users may not be left out. However, if there is no leisure pool within a reasonable distance, and if there is financial support, you may consider adding some leisure components.
One addition that requires no significant facility modification is a huge inflatable. It is expensive, but nowhere near the cost of renovation. Hang the unit from the ceiling on a pulley system so people see it as a large advertisement for the activity. Put a banner on the inflatable to display the times the unit will be in use. This helps solve the problem of where to store it, as well as reducing the time of set-up and take-down.
One other addition might be a climbing wall. It comes in clear panels so guards can see through it, and it doesn’t mess up guard-station sightlines. Again, a climbing wall is not cheap—but nothing is in aquatics!
Lastly, for those with financial support to add some structural changes that can accommodate leisure components, please reread the first paragraph and think about the potential users you currently don’t have. What leisure components will get them to your place, and at what cost vs. benefit? Will adding a sauna and deck shower bring in a new group? Will a spa in a corner of the natatorium work? Will a waterslide that is primarily outside the building and exits back inside work? Will you have to build an entirely new natatorium to accomplish what you need?
Embrace what you can do with an existing competition pool, and do it better than everyone else. Word will get out that the facility is the best competition/lap pool around, and dedicated lap swimmers will come, even if the pool is a little out of the way.
Greg Schmidt is the Aquatic Center Manager for Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash. Reach him at leos@ewu.edu.