Swimming for Hammers and Spoons

I very nearly went for an Endless Pool during LD1 . The High Performance model that has a max speed of ~1:00/100 would have set me back about 38k with basic installation, and I’d have needed to build some sort of cabin and heated it also adding costs. A friend I first met at Luffbra at BTF has one in Surrey, his was 50k and has the treadmill / cameras / mirrors etc. Its great but at that time it was costing him £300 a month to heat, in a full heated brick building (a section of his gym!) I dread to think what that is with todays heating costs. An outdoor 2 lane 25m pool (25x5) would set you back ~250k down south, base price is ~2k per sqm.

I sometimes dream about having my own pool… I reckon a 20m would be OK, you’d get better at turns if nothing else ! !
But, as you say, you need the room in your garden, and the planning permission, then there’s heating it… I also remember reading that installing a pool is one of the few things that doesn’t tend to put much value on ones house, in fact it can sometimes cut its value…

That’s interesting, one of the reasons the Duty Manager at our local pool said we couldn’t use the SonR was “you can’t have electronics of the pool side”. Don’t get me wrong that’s just jobsworth bollox (esp considering all their staff have radios on the poolside…) but I do wonder how long it’ll be before they ban MP3 players. That’s the way of the world these days, unfortunately, ban everything

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UK is terrible, i got told in one public pool i couldnt use inflatables. I had a pull buoy! My pool above i can do as i like, fins, paddles, whatever.

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The only thing we can use in public sessions are kickboard and pull buouy. We could use paddles until covid but now they’re too dangerous to use. Although Jess Learmonth used a full range of toys in a public session. :man_shrugging:t4:

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I would say to them that means all watches have to be banned

If said device is IP rated then it shouldn’t be an issue.

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Surely that shoudl be in inverted commas :

We could use paddles until covid but now they’re too dangerous to use

Well yeah but not if you work for Leeds city council. It’s a farce of inconsistency. In a public session that has three coached Masters lanes I can wear them. In the next lane along I can’t. In a public session Jess Learmonth was using a snorkle, fins, paddles throughout her swim.

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That’s annoying! I was told off for swimming too fast in the fast lane by the lifeguard. Slow lane only had a couple in it! Public swimming sessions are a good place to practise mass starts!

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The only rule I can see the point of is no hard hand paddles as they could potentially hurt someone in an accident, indeed I have seen that happen before

Ludicrous.
It’s quite simple, in the fast lane slower swimmers should give way to faster swimmers. But, if a decent swimmer ever finds themselves in the (emptier) slow lane, then in the slow lane they should be giving way to the slower swimmers.
But we all know lane discipline / courtesy is generally appalling anyway. The worst ones are those who push off just as you are coming in to a turn (which is ignorant enough on its own), then compound their cheek by complaining when you overtake them !
I am going to be a bit controversial here… “Head up” breast strokers aren’t usually a problem, they tend to try and stay out of your way. No, undoubtedly, the worst swimmers to swim with are freestylers who think they’re faster then they are

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I have had an answer from the pool, the main point of which is:

The issue now seems to be its use in a public session/your coaching from poolside in a public session.
Should the frequency not interfere with our radios, you are welcome to use the kit at stocksbridge but not in a public session. You would need to hire a lane in order to use specialist kit.

The basic points in my reply are:

The only time we would really be wanting to use it is the Saturday 11.30 session and we are usually the only ones in the end lane. The odd time there may be one other swimmer in there but they have never been averse to Daniel’s swimming, quite the opposite, they are very supportive, as I would expect Stocksbridge pool to be…

I am not averse to the idea of hiring a lane if that is feasible (cost wise and time wise) but I would like to know exactly why the management say my Sonr cannot be used in the session I have mentioned bearing in mind at Stocksbridge pool there is often a swim school in at the same time as a public session. I do not see how the fact it is in a separate lane makes any difference, particularly, as on a Saturday morning we more or less get the end lane to ourselves anyway.

As for hiring a lane I can see two potential issues :
1 - When ? Daniel is a 9 (soon to be 10) child so he has to be at school, plus he needs his sleep so cannot be swimming really early (certainly on a school day) or really late in the evening.
2 - The cost, how much would it be ? And what discount would I get bearing in mind I am already paying to swim at Stocksbridge anyway ?

Lastly, the implication that I should not be coaching Daniel in a public session makes no sense. There is no form of words that could ban me coaching my lad whilst allowing other parents to teach their kids to swim. And if you banned all parents from teaching their kids to swim in a public session you’d have hardly anyone in your pool at all !

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The mistake you’re making is applying some logic to their position. Rulez innit :wink:

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It seems their position is you can use it as long as there is no-one else in the lane - hence hiring your own lane. I would expect this to be prohibitively expensive, especially on a Saturday. Based on the inconsistencies of pool policies, your best option is probably to find another pool that is happy for you to use it.

Particularly this paragraph !

Lastly, the implication that I should not be coaching Daniel in a public session makes no sense. There is no form of words that could ban me coaching my lad whilst allowing other parents to teach their kids to swim. And if you banned all parents from teaching their kids to swim in a public session you’d have hardly anyone in your pool at all !

Maybe but that should apply to everyone. Secondly, I can be in a late session and the nearest person is two lanes away and they say “no”.

I can use those neoprene glove paddles but I really don’t think they’re as useful and the pair I have fell apart fairly quickly.

If there is nobody else in the lane then flexibility should apply, but, in my experience, that is the last commodity available in the modern world…

For what it is worth I never found hand paddles worthwhile, same as all that kicking, particularly for people who are only doing a few hours a week swimming. Much better to train as you’d swim in a race

Ask them when they will ban perfume from the water buffalo classes. :grin:

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You win the internet today, just spat my coke out (the drink, haven’t resorted to that yet) :rofl:

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TT comment of the day. I’m going to steal that phrase.

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