I walk by a pool service business. These types of businesses are very popular in warm-weather areas. My sister has a pool and has struggled with finding a good, reliable maintenance service. I took swimming lessons as a child and even took lifesaving classes where we had to jump in the pool with all our clothes on and swim, because that is often what happens in an emergency. We learned the cross-chest carry to swim with another person literally under your arm. Crystal Plunge, the pool in the town I grew up in — Stillwater, Oklahoma — was next to a granary, and grains were always blowing into the pool. I have been in some sparkling hotel pools and some with rough concrete bottoms that were mainly only for keeping you cooled off. The pool at the Addison Athletic Club in the town where I live has tall concrete columns that water pours out of, a whirlpool that the kids — and adults like me — love, a small waterfall from one level of the pool to the next, a basketball hoop to play the game in the water and built-in loungers that you can lie in and let the water wash over you. I stayed in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in the mountains for a month a few years ago. The housing development where I stayed had a pool which was lovely, but not well-maintained. It was not heated, and there were often leaves floating in the pool. Probably the best pool I have ever been in was at Disney World. There was a lazy river where you could just float and a very tall slide. I have enjoyed pools for many, many years, but I don’t really know much about the origins of the swimming pool. Let’s find out.
According to Wikipedia, a swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pol, or simply pool is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground — in-ground pools — or built above ground as a freestanding construction or as part of a building or other larger structure and may be found as a feature aboard ocean-liners and cruise ships. In-ground pools are most commonly constructed from materials such as concrete, natural stone, metal, plastic or fiberglass, and can be of a custom size and shape or built to a standardized size, the largest of which is the Olympic-size swimming pool.
Many health clubs, fitness centers and private clubs have pools used mostly for exercise or recreation. It is common for municipalities of every size to provide pools for public use. Many of these municipal pools are outdoor pools but indoor pools can also be found in buildings such as leisure centers. Hotels may have pools available for their guests to use at their own leisure. Pools as a feature in hotels are more common in tourist areas or near convention centers. Educational facilities such as high schools and universities sometimes have pools for physical education classes, recreational activities, leisure and competitive athletics such as swimming teams. Hot tubs and spas are pools filled with water that is heated and then used for relaxation or hydrotherapy. Specially designed swimming pools are also used for diving, water sports and physical therapy, as well as for the training of lifeguards and astronauts. Swimming pools most commonly use chlorinated water or salt water and may be heated or unheated.
History The "Great Bath" at the site of Mohenjo-Daro in modern-day Pakistan was most likely the first swimming pool, dug during the 3rd millennium BC. This pool is 39 by 23 feet, is lined with bricks and was covered with a tar-based sealant. Two wide staircases, one from the north and one from the south, served as the entry to the structure. A one-meter wide and 40 cm high mound is present at the ends of these stairs. A hole was also found at one end of the Bath which might have been used to drain the water into it. The floor of the tank was watertight due to finely fitted bricks and mud laid on edge with a kind of plaster, and the side walls were constructed in a similar manner. Brick colonnades were discovered on the eastern, northern and southern edges. The preserved columns had stepped edges that may have held wooden screens or window frames. Two large doors lead into the complex from the south and other access was from the north and east. A series of rooms were located along the eastern edge of the building, and in one room was a well that may have supplied some of the water needed to fill the tank. Rainwater also may have been collected for the purpose, but no inlet drains have been found. It may have had a long bathing pool built with waterproof bricks. Most scholars agree that this tank would have been used for special religious functions where water was used to purify and renew the well-being of the bathers.
Ancient Greeks and Romans built artificial pools for athletic training in the palaestras or wrestling, nautical games and military exercises. Roman emperors had private swimming pools in which fish were also kept, hence one of the Latin words for a pool was piscina. The first heated swimming pool was built by Gaius Maecenas in his gardens on the Esquiline Hill of Rome, likely sometime between 38 and 8 BC. Gaius Maecenas was a wealthy imperial advisor to Augustus and considered one of the first patrons of arts.
Ancient Sinhalese built pairs of pools called "Kuttam Pokuna" in the kingdom of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka in the 4th century BC. They were decorated with flights of steps, punkalas or pots of abundance and scroll design. These are considered one of the significant achievements in the field of hydrological engineering and outstanding architectural and artistic creations of the ancient Sinhalese. A garden was landscaped which separates the two ponds which is 18½ feet long. The larger pool of the two is 132 feet by 51 feet, while the smaller pool is 91 feet by 51 feet. The depths of the two pools are 14 feet and 18 feet for the smaller pool and the larger pool, respectively. The faces of the pools were cut granite slabs which includes the bottom and the sides of the pool. A wall was also built around the pool which encloses the compound. Embankments were constructed to enable monks to bathe using pots or other utensils. Water to the pools were transferred through underground ducts and filtered before flowing to the pool and in a similar fashion the water was emptied. Dr. Senarath Paranavithana was actively involved in the restoration of the ponds, in which small figures of fish, a conch, a crab and a dancing woman were found in the bottom.
19th century Swimming pools became popular in Britain in the mid-19th century. As early as 1837, six indoor pools with diving boards existed in London, England. The Maidstone Swimming Club in Maidstone, Kent is believed to be the oldest surviving swimming club in Britain. It was formed in 1844, in response to concerns over drownings in the River Medway, especially since would-be rescuers would often drown because they themselves could not swim to safety. The club used to swim in the River Medway, and would hold races, diving competitions and water polo matches. Th South East Gazette July 1844 reported an aquatic breakfast party: coffee and biscuits were served on a floating raft in the river. The coffee was kept hot over a fire; club members had to tread water and drink coffee at the same time. The last swimmers managed to overturn the raft, to the amusement of 150 spectators. The Amateur Swimming Association was founded in 1869 in England, and the Oxford Swimming Club in 1909. The presence of indoor baths in the cobbled area of Merton Street might have persuaded the less hardy of the aquatic brigade to join. So, bathers gradually became swimmers, and bathing pools became swimming pools. In 1939, Oxford created its first major public indoor pool at Temple Cowley.
The modern Olympic Games started in 1896 and included swimming races, after which the popularity of swimming pools began to spread. In the U.S., the Racquet Club of Philadelphia clubhouse in 1907 boasts one of the world's first modern above-ground swimming pools. The first swimming pool to go to sea on an ocean liner was installed on the White Star Line’s Adriatic in 1906. The oldest known public swimming pool in America, Underwood Pool, is located in Belmont, Massachusetts.
Interest in competitive swimming grew following World War I. Standards improved and training became essential. Home swimming pools became popular in the United States after World War II, and the publicity given to swimming sports by Hollywood films such as Esther Williams’ “Million Dollar Mermaid” made a home pool a desirable status symbol. More than 50 years later, the home or residential swimming pool is a common sight. Some small nations enjoy a thriving swimming pool industry. New Zealand with a population of 4,116,900 holds the record in pools per capita with 65,000 home swimming pools and 125,000 spa pools.
World records According to the Guinness World Records, the largest swimming pool in the world is San Alfonso del Mar seawater pool in Algarrobo, Chile. It is 3,323 feet long and has an area of 20 acres, containing some 66 million gallons of seawater. At its deepest, it is 11 feet deep. The water is pumped from the adjacent Pacific Ocean, then filtered and treated. Access to the pool is limited to resort residents only. It was completed in December 2006.
The largest indoor wave pool in North America is at the West Edmonton Mall and the largest indoor pool is at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in the Sonny Carter Training Facility at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.
In 2014, the Y-40 "The Deep Joy" swimming pool at the Hotel Terme Millepini in Padua, Italy became the deepest indoor pool at 138.3 feet, certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. It contains 1,136,000 gallons of thermal water kept at a temperature of 90–93 °F. The pool features underwater caves and a suspended, transparent, underwater tunnel for guests to walk through. It includes platforms at various depths, ranging from 4.3 feet to 39 feet, before the walls of the pool narrow into a well-like funnel which plunges straight down to 131 feet. The hotel offers tickets to freedive and scuba dive. Italian freediver Umberto Pelizzari first measured the depth before the pool was open. The recreational diving center Nemo 33 near Brussels, Belgium previously held the record at 113 feet from May 2004 until the Y-40 was completed in June 2014.
The Fleishhacker Pool in San Francisco was the largest heated outdoor swimming pool in the United States. Opened on April 23, 1925, it measured 1,000 by 150 feet and was so large that the lifeguards required kayaks for patrol. It was closed in 1971 due to low patronage.
The pool was built by philanthropist and civic leader Herbert Fleishhacker in 1924. It held 6,500,000 gallons of seawater and accommodated 10,000 bathers. It had a diving pool measuring 50 feet square and 14 feet deep with a two-tiered diving tower. The pool was used by the military for drills and exercises.
The water was provided by a series of pumps and piping at high tide, directly from the Pacific Ocean 650 feet away, filtered, and heated. The pool's heater could warm 2,800 gallons of seawater from 60 degrees to 75 degrees Fahrenheit each minute, in theory providing a constant pool water temperature of 72 degrees for AAU swim meets, but in practice tended to vary between 65 and 75 degrees, which was a chilly temperature for most swimmers.
In Europe, the largest swimming pool opened in 1934 in Elblag, Poland, providing a water area of 361,000 square feet.
One of the largest swimming pools ever built was reputedly created in Moscow after the Palace of Soviets remained uncompleted. The foundations of the palace were converted into the Moskva Pool open-air swimming pool after the process of de-Stalinization. However, after the fall of communism, Christ the Savior Cathedral was re-built on the site between 1995 and 2000; the cathedral had originally been located there.
The highest swimming pool is believed to be in Yangbajain, Tibet, China. This resort is located at 4,200 meters above sea level and has two indoor swimming pools and one outdoor swimming pool, all filled with water from hot springs.
Competition pools The Fédération Internationale de la Natation or FINA, International Swimming Federation sets standards for competition pools: 82 or 164 feet long and at least 4.4 feet deep. Competition pools are generally indoors and heated to enable their use all year round, and to more easily comply with the regulations regarding temperature, lighting and automatic officiating equipment. An Olympic-size swimming pool — first used at the 1924 Olympics — is a pool that meets FINA's additional standards for the Olympic Games and for world championship events. It must be 164 by 82 feet wide, divided into eight lanes of 8.2 feet each, plus two areas of 8.2 feet at each side of the pool. Depth must be at least 6.6 feet. The water must be kept at 77–82 °F and the lighting level at greater than 1500 lux. There are also regulations for color of lane rope, positioning of backstroke flags — five meters from each wall — and so on. Pools claimed to be "Olympic pools" do not always meet these regulations, as FINA cannot police use of the term. Touchpads are mounted on both walls for long course meets and each end for short course. A pool may be referred to as fast or slow, depending on its physical layout. Some design considerations allow the reduction of swimming resistance making the pool faster: namely, proper pool depth, elimination of currents, increased lane width, energy absorbing racing lane lines and gutters and the use of other innovative hydraulic, acoustic and illumination designs.
Exercise pools In the last two decades, a new style of pool has gained popularity. These consist of a small vessel — usually about 2.5 × 5 meters — in which the swimmer swims in place, either against the push of an artificially generated water current or against the pull of restraining devices. These pools have several names, such as swim spas, swimming machines or swim systems. They are all examples of different modes of resistance swimming.
Hot tubs and spa pools Hot tubs and spa pools are common heated pools used for relaxation and sometimes for therapy. Commercial spas are common in the swimming pool area or sauna area of a health club or fitness center, in men's clubs, women's clubs, motels and exclusive five-star hotel suites. Spa clubs may have very large pools, some segmented into increasing temperatures. In Japan, men's clubs with many spas of different size and temperature are common. Commercial spas are generally made of concrete, with a mosaic tiled interior. More recently with the innovation of the pre-form composite method where mosaic tiles are bonded to the shell this enables commercial spas to be completely factory manufactured to specification and delivered in one piece. Hot tubs are typically made somewhat like a wine barrel with straight sides, from wood such as California redwood held in place by metal hoops. Immersion of the head is not recommended in spas or hot tubs due to a potential risk of underwater entrapment from the pump suction forces. However, commercial installations in many countries must comply with various safety standards which reduce this risk considerably.
Home spas are a worldwide retail item in western countries since the 1980s, and are sold in dedicated spa stores, pool shops, department stores, online and catalog sales books. They are almost always made from heat-extruded acrylic sheet Perspex, often colored in marble look-alike patterns. They rarely exceed 65 square feet and are typically 3 feet 3 inches deep, restricted by the availability of the raw sheet sizes, typically manufactured in Japan. There is often a mid-depth seating or lounging system, and contoured lounger style reclining seats are common. Upmarket spas include various jet nozzles for massage, pulsating, etc.; a drinks tray; lights; LCD flat-screen TV sets; and other features that make the pool a recreation center. Due to their family-oriented nature, home spas are normally operated from 97 to 102 °F. Many pools are incorporated in a redwood or simulated wood surround and are termed "portable," as they may be placed on a patio rather than sunken into a permanent location. Some portable spas are shallow and narrow enough to fit sideways through a standard door and be used inside a room. Low power electric immersion heaters are common with home spas.
Whirlpool tubs first became popular in America during the 1960s and 1970s. A spa is also called a "jacuzzi" in the U.S. since the word became a generic after plumbing component manufacturer Jacuzzi introduced the "spa whirlpool" in 1968. Air bubbles may be introduced into the nozzles via an air-bleed venturi pump that combines cooler air with the incoming heated water to cool the pool if the temperature rises uncomfortably high. Some spas have a constant stream of bubbles fed via the seating area of the pool or a footwell area. This is more common as a temperature control device where the heated water comes from a natural uncontrolled heat geothermal source, rather than artificially heated. Water temperature is usually very warm to hot — 100 to 108 °F, so bathers usually stay in for only 20 to 30 minutes. Bromine or mineral sanitzers are often recommended as sanitizers for spas because chlorine dissipates at a high temperature thereby heightening its strong chemical smell. Ozone is an effective bactericide and is commonly included in the circulation system with cartridge filtration, but not with sand media filtration due to clogging problems with turbid body fats.
Ocean pools
In the early 20th century, especially in Australia, ocean pools were built, typically on headlands by enclosing part of the rock shelf, with water circulated through the pools by flooding from tidal tanks or by regular flooding over the side of the pools at high tide. This continued a pre-European tradition of bathing in rockpools with many of the current sites being expanded from sites used by Aboriginal Australians or early European settlers. Bathing in these pools provided security against both rough surf and sea life. There were often separate pools for women and men, or the pool was open to the sexes at different times with a break for bathers to climb in without fear of observation by the other sex. These were the forerunners of modern "Olympic" pools. A variation was the later development of sea- or harborside pools that circulated sea water using pumps. A pool of this type was the training ground for Australian Olympian Dawn Fraser.
There are currently about 100 ocean baths in New South Wales, which can range from small pools roughly 25 meters long and "Olympic Sized" or 50 meters to the very large, such as the 50 × 100 meters baths in Newcastle. While most are free, a number charge fees, such as the Bondi Icebergs Club at Bondi Beach. Despite the development of chlorinated and heated pools, ocean baths remain a popular form of recreation in New South Wales.
A semi-natural ocean pool exists on the central coast of New South Wales; it is called The Bogey Hole. The Bogey Hole, also known as the Commandant's Baths, is a heritage-listed sea bath in Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. It is thought to be the oldest surviving European construction in the city area. The pool was hewn from a sandstone/conglomerate rock shelf at the base of cliffs near Shepherds Hill. Lieutenant-Colonel James Thomas Morisset, the Commandant of Newcastle from 1818 to 1823 ordered the construction of the pool built by convict labor in about 1820 for his own use.
The word "Bogie" or "Bogey" purportedly comes from the Dharawal language meaning "to bathe" or "a place to bathe."
Infinity pools An infinity pool — also named negative edge or vanishing edge pool — is a swimming pool which produces a visual effect of water extending to the horizon, vanishing or extending to "infinity." Often, the water appears to fall into an ocean, lake, bay or other similar body of water. The illusion is most effective whenever there is a significant change in elevation, though having a natural body of water on the horizon is not a limiting factor.
Natural pools and ponds Natural pools were developed in central and western Europe in the early and mid-1980s by designers and landscape architects with environmental concerns. They have recently been growing in popularity as an alternative to traditional swimming pools. Natural pools are constructed bodies of water in which no chemicals or devices that disinfect or sterilize water are used, and all the cleaning of the pool is achieved purely with the motion of the water through biological filters and plants rooted hydroponically in the system. In essence, natural pools seek to recreate swimming holes and swimmable lakes — the environment where people feel safe swimming in a non-polluted, healthy and ecologically balanced body of water. Water in natural pools has many desirable characteristics. For example, red eyes, dried-out skin and hair and bleached bathing suits associated with overly chlorinated water are naturally absent in natural pools. Natural pools, by requiring a water garden to be a part of the system, offer different aesthetic options and can support amphibious wildlife such as snails, frogs and salamanders, and even small fish, if desired.
Hamilton Pool Preserve is a natural pool that was created when the dome of an underground river collapsed due to massive erosion thousands of years ago. The pool is located about 23 miles west of Austin, Texas off Highway 71. Since the 1960s, Hamilton Pool has been a popular summer swimming spot for Austin visitors and residents. Hamilton Pool Preserve consists of 232 acres of protected natural habitat featuring a jade green pool into which a 50-foot waterfall flows with water temperatures reaching 50 degrees F. The pool is surrounded by large slabs of limestone that rest by the water's edge; large stalactites grow from the ceiling high above. The ceiling and surrounding cliffs of the grotto are home to moss, maidenhair fern and cliff swallows. The Ashe juniper or cedar uplands of the preserve are home to the endangered golden-cheeked warbler. The natural pool and creek are not chemically treated, so water quality is monitored regularly and swimming is occasionally restricted. Hamilton Pool is part of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve and is a protected environment.
Zero-entry swimming pools A zero-entry swimming pool, also called a beach entry swimming pool, has an edge or entry that gradually slopes from the deck into the water, becoming deeper with each step, in the manner of a natural beach. As there are no stairs or ladders to navigate, this type of entry assists older people, young children and people with accessibility problems — e.g., people with a physical disability — where gradual entry is useful.
Other uses
Swimming pools are also used for events such as synchronized swimming, water polo, canoe polo and underwater sports such as underwater hockey, underwater rugby, finswimming — uses four techniques involving swimming with the use of fins either on the water's surface using a snorkel with either monofins or bifins or underwater with monofin either by holding one's breath or using open circuit scuba diving equipment — and sport diving as well as for teaching diving, lifesaving and scuba diving techniques. They have also been used for specialist tasks such as teaching water-ditching survival techniques for aircraft and submarine crews and astronaut training. Round-cornered, irregular swimming pools, such as the Nude Bowl, were drained of water and used for vertical skateboarding.
Comments