My Swimming Pool

Being a regular swimmer I have been to many pools. Some old, some new all the same but slightly different. The vast majority of Swimming pools in the UK (and I think the world) are 25 metres long with some pools used for large competitions like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games being 50 metres long. Other pools can be of various lengths with some not just being a box with added features like slides and lazy rivers. Most swimming pools are indoors but some are outdoors. Most swimming pools are heated (thankfully) but others not. Every "heated" pool has its own unique temperature within a small but noticeable range, this goes from "are you sure the boilers are working" to "I didn't pay for a jacuzzi".

As I have been to many pools in my lifetime I (think I) know the small but useful details that make for a better experience. But as I mostly swim competitively I will have a distinctly different set of requirements compared to a leisure swimmer. Firstly I want a pool that has sufficient depth throughout. At most places the deep end is not a problem but is 0.9 metres really enough for me to do a tumble turn and get the best underwater distance possible? Is it also really necessary to have slippy walls so I get no grip whatsoever on my backstroke starts and turns?

The whole facility is also important in the swimming experience and I'm going to focus on the changing rooms, as that is the most influential part of my visit out of the actual pool. In a complex with a swimming pool there is generally one of two types of changing rooms format. The first, and definitely the best, is small individual rooms with a lovely thing called privacy. The second is when the changing rooms are split into two separate sections based on gender. Where in your half you just get changed in a medium sized room, casually, in front of other people. Now I've only been in the men's but the things you accidentally see are not good. Some men, especially older men, when getting changed have no thought for privacy or decency and, well, just take off everything, not just most things (as actual swimming has not much on) but everything (yes, Thomas this does mean you get to see, if you're looking, the **** and *****). This is also, mostly, not a masculinity thing as these men are not doing it for show but for convenience.

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