A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming Swimming is movement through water, usually without artificial assistance. Swimming is an activity that can be both useful and recreational. Its primary uses are bathing, cooling, fishing, recreation, exercise, and sport or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest and deepest is the Olympic An Olympic-size swimming pool is the type of swimming pool used in the Olympic Games and other "long course" events . The size is commonly used as a casual measure of volume size. A pool can be built either above or in the ground, and from materials such as metal A metal is a chemical element that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat and forms cations and ionic bonds with non-metals. In chemistry, a metal is an element, compound, or alloy characterized by high electrical conductivity. In a metal, atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions (cations). Those ions are surrounded by, plastic A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic amorphous solids[citation needed] used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce costs. Monomers of plastic are either natural or synthetic, fiberglass Fiberglass, , is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. It is used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products; the resulting composite material, properly known as fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) or glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), is called "fiberglass" in popular usage. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented or concrete Concrete is a construction material composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate (generally a coarse aggregate made of gravels or crushed rocks such as limestone, or granite, plus a fine aggregate such as sand), water, and chemical admixtures.

Pools that may be used by many people or by the general public are called public, while pools used exclusively by a few people or in a home are called private. Many health clubs A health club is a place which houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise, fitness centers and private clubs have public pools used mostly for exercise. Many hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning or climate control and massage parlors A massage parlor is a business where customers can receive a massage. Sometimes the term is synonymous with brothel as the term "massage" may be used as a euphemism for paid sexual favours have public pools for relaxation. Hot tubs A hot tub is a large home-made or manufactured tub or small pool full of heated water and used for soaking, relaxation, massage, or hydrotherapy. In most cases, they have jets for massage purposes. Hot tubs are usually located outdoors, and are often sheltered for protection from the elements, as well as for privacy. Other variants in naming and spas The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe and Japan. Day spas are are pools with hot water, used for relaxation or therapy, and are common in homes, hotels, clubs and massage parlors. Swimming pools are also used for diving Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime and other water sports, as well as for the training of lifeguards A lifeguard is a person responsible for overseeing the safety of the users of a body of water and its environs, such as a swimming pool, a water park, or a beach. This differentiates them from life savers who partake in similar activities as a sport or practical life skill. Lifeguards are qualified strong swimmers, trained and certified in water and astronauts An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. While generally reserved for professional space travelers, the term is sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists.

Chemical disinfectants such as chlorine Chlorine (pronounced /ˈklɔəriːn/ KLOR-een, from the Greek word 'χλωρóς' , is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is a halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17 (formerly VII, VIIa, or VIIb). As the chloride ion, which is part of common salt and other compounds, it is abundant in nature and necessary to, bromine Bromine (pronounced /ˈbroʊmiːn/ BROH-meen or /ˈbroʊmɨn/ BROH-min; from Greek: βρῶμος, brómos, meaning "stench "), is a chemical element with the symbol Br and atomic number 35. A halogen element, it is, along with mercury, the only strictly liquid element at room temperature, but cesium, rubidium, francium and gallium are or mineral sanitizers, and additional filters are often used in swimming pools to prevent growth and spread of bacteria The bacteria ( [bækˈtɪəriə] ; singular: bacterium)[α] are a large group of single-celled, prokaryote microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in every habitat on Earth, growing in soil, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste,, viruses A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Most viruses are too small to be seen directly with a light microscope. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea. Since the initial discovery of tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, about 5,, algae Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds. They are photosynthetic, like plants, and "simple" because they lack the many distinct organs found in land plants and insect Insects are a class within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax, and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are among the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million described species and represent more than half of all known living larvae A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Alternatively, pools can be made without chemical disinfectants by using a biofilter with additional carbon filters and UV Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3eV to 124 eV. It is so named because the spectrum consists of electromagnetic waves with frequencies higher than those that humans identify as the colour violet disinfection. In both cases, pools need to be fitted with an adequate flow rate.

Contents

History

Ancient Roman baths in Bath Spa Bath is a city in the ceremonial county of Somerset in the south west of England. It is situated 97 miles (156 km) west of London and 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Bristol. The population of the city is 83,992. It was granted city status by Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1590, and was made a county borough in 1889 which gave it, England The area now called England has been settled by people of various cultures for about 35,000 years, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant, United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land.

The "Great Bath" at the site of Mohenjo-Daro Mohenjo-daro was one of the largest city-settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization of South Asia situated in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BCE, the city was one of the early urban settlements in the world, existing at the same time as the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Crete. The archaeological ruins of was most likely dug during the 3rd millennium BC. This pool is 12 by 7 meters, is lined with bricks and was covered with a tar-based sealant.[1]

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC, at first under Athenian and Romans Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world built artificial pools for athletic training in the palaestras The palaestra was the ancient Greek wrestling school. The events that did not require a lot of space, such as boxing and wrestling, were practiced there. The palaestra functioned both independently and as a part of public gymnasia; a palaestra could exist without a gymnasium, but no gymnasium could exist without a palaestra, for nautical games and for military exercises. Roman emperors had private swimming pools in which fish were also kept, hence one of the Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native, fluent speakers, Latin continues to be taught in schools and has been, and currently is, used in the process of new word production in modern languages from many words for a pool, piscina. The first heated swimming pool was built by Gaius Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas 13 April 70 BC –October 8 BC was a confidant and political advisor to Octavian as well as an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets. During the reign of Augustus, Maecenas served as a quasi-culture minister to the Emperor of Rome in the first century BC. Gaius Maecenas was a rich Roman lord and considered one of the first patrons of arts.[2]

Ancient Sinhalese Sri Lankan people,Sri Lankan Tamil,South Indian Tamil, Indo-Aryans, Bengali people built pairs of pools called "Kuttam Pokuna" in the kingdom of Anuradhapura Anuradhapura, , is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and known as Ceylon (/sɪˈlɒn/) before 1972, is an island country in South Asia, located about 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) off the southern coast of India in the 4th century BC. They were decorated with flights of steps, punkalas or pots of abundance and scroll design.[3]

Deep Eddy Pool Deep Eddy Pool is a historic, man-made swimming pool in Austin, Texas. Deep Eddy is the oldest swimming pool in Texas and features a bathhouse built during the Depression era by the Works Progress Administration. The pool began as a swimming hole in the Colorado River, became a resort in the 1920s, and is today a popular swimming pool operated by, built in 1915, is the oldest concrete swimming pool in Texas Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and sixth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin—the, United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language.

Swimming pools became popular in Britain in the mid 19th century. By 1837, six indoor pools with diving boards were built in London London is a leading global city being the world's largest financial centre alongside New York City, and has the largest city GDP in Europe. Central London is home to the headquarters of most of the UK's top 100 listed companies and more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest. London's influence in politics, finance, education, entertainment, media,, England The area now called England has been settled by people of various cultures for about 35,000 years, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant.[4] After the modern Olympic Games The Olympic Games are a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Games are currently held every two years in even-numbered years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating, although they occur every four years within their respective seasonal began in 1896 and included swimming races, the popularity of swimming pools began to spread. In 1839, Oxford Oxford (pronounced /ˈɒksfərd/ ) is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. For a distance had its first major public indoor pool at Temple Cowley, and swimming began to take off. The Amateur Swimming Association was founded in 1869 in England,[5] and the Oxford Swimming Club in 1909 with its home at Temple Cowley Pool.[6] The presence of indoor baths in the cobbled area of Merton Street, London may have persuaded the less hardy of the aquatic brigade to join. So, bathers gradually became swimmers, and bathing pools swimming pools.

In the USA, the Racquet Club of Philadelphia clubhouse (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 The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated luxury flagship, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of her sister ship, Britannic. In 1934 the line merged with its chief rival, Cunard Line,'s Adriatic in 1907.[7]

Interest in competitive swimming grew following World War I World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 15 million people were. Standards improved and training became essential. Home swimming pools became popular in the United States after World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland · and the publicity given to swimming sports by Hollywood Hollywood is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California - situated west-northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word "Hollywood" is often used as a metonymy of American cinema, and is often interchangeably used to refer to the greater Los films like Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star. Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the outbreak of World War II, Williams joined Billy Rose's Aquacade, where she Million Dollar Mermaid made a home pool a desirable status symbol. More than fifty years later, the home or residential swimming pool is ubiquitous and even small nations enjoy a thriving swimming pool industry (e.g. New Zealand pop. 4,116,900 [Source NZ Census 7 March 2006] - holds the record in pools per capita with 65,000 home swimming pools and 125,000 spa pools). A two-storey, white concrete swimming pool building composed of horizontal cubic volumes built in 1959 at the Royal Roads Military College Royal Roads Military College was a Canadian military college (1940 to 1995) located in Hatley Park, Colwood, British Columbia near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The facility is currently being used as the campus for Royal Roads University, a public university that offers applied and professional academic programs via distance education. The is on the Registry of Historic Places of Canada [8]

Swimming pool records

Moskva Pool, at one time the largest swimming pool in the world (1980).

According to the Guinness World Records Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The book itself held a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted series of all-time. It is also one of the most stolen books, the largest swimming pool in the world is San Alfonso del Mar Seawater pool in Algarrobo, Chile Chile (traditional English pronunciation /ˈtʃɪli/, also pronounced /ˈtʃiːleɪ/ ), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈtʃile] ( listen)), is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders. It is 1,013 m (3,323 ft) long and has an area of 8 ha (20 acres). It was completed in December 2006.[9]

The largest indoor wave pool in North America is at the West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall , located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is the largest shopping mall in North America and the fifth largest in the world, founded by the Ghermezian brothers who emigrated from Iran in 1959. It was the world's largest mall for a 23 year period from 1981 until 2004 and the largest indoor pool is at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in the Sonny Carter Training Facility at NASA JSC in Houston.[10][11] The recreational diving center Nemo 33 near Brussels, Belgium is home to the world's deepest swimming pool. The pool has two large flat-bottomed areas at depth levels of 5 m (16 ft) and 10 m (33 ft), and a large circular pit descending to a depth of 33 m (108 ft).[12]

The Fleishhacker Pool in San Francisco, California was the largest swimming pool in the United States. Opened on 23 April 1925, it measured 1,000 by 150 ft (300 by 50 m) and was so large that the lifeguards required kayaks for patrol. It was closed in 1971 due to low patronage.[13]

One of the largest swimming pools ever built was reputedly in Moscow after the Palace of Soviets remained uncompleted. The foundations were converted into the Moskva Pool open air swimming pool after the process of de-Stalinisation.[14] After the fall of communism, Christ the Saviour Cathedral was re-built (it had originally been on the site) between 1995 and 2000.

Dimensions

A boy in a shallow children's pool. A private swimming pool.
See: #Competition pools (below)
Length

Most pools in the world are measured in metres, but in the United States pools are almost always measured in feet and yards. In the United Kingdom most pools are in metres, but older pools measured in yards still exist. In the US pools tend to either be 25 yards (SCY-short course yards), 25 metres (SCM-short course metres) or 50 metres (long course). US high schools and the NCAA conduct short course (25 yards) competition. There also exist many pools 33⅓ m long, so that 3 lengths = 100 m. This pool dimension is commonly used to accommodate water polo.

USA Swimming (USA-S) swims in both metric and non-metric pools. However, the international standard is metres, and world records are only recognized when swum in 50 m pools (or 25 m for short course). In general, the shorter the pool, the faster the time for the same distance, since the swimmer gains speed from pushing off the wall after each turn at the end of the pool.

Width

Most European pools are between 10 m and 50 m wide.

Depth

The depth of a swimming pool depends on the purpose of the pool, and whether it is open to the public or strictly for private use. If it is a private casual, relaxing pool, it may go from 1.0 to 2.0 m (3.3 to 6.6 ft) deep. If it is a public pool designed for diving, it may slope from 3.0 to 5.5 m (9.8 to 18.0 ft) in the deep end. A children's play pool may be from 0.3 to 1.2 m (1.0 to 4 ft) deep. Most public pools have differing depths to accommodate different swimmer requirements. In many jurisdictions, it is a requirement to show the water depth with clearly marked depths affixed to the pool walls.

Types

Private pools

Private pool located in Royal Perth Hospital.

Private pools are usually smaller than public pools, on average 12 × 24 ft (3.7 × 7.3 m) to 20 × 40 ft (6.1 × 12 m) whereas public pools usually start at 80 ft (24 m).[citation needed] Home pools can be permanently built-in, or be assembled above ground and disassembled after summer. Privately owned outdoor pools in backyards or gardens started to proliferate in the 1950s in regions with warm summer climates, particularly in the United States.

Rooftop pool in Manhattan, United States.

Private pools are increasingly a feature of homes in greater latitudes. For example, in London many larger homes are now refurbished with indoor pools, usually in the basement or in a conservatory. In some European cities, including Munich, it is relatively common for people living in older properties to convert existing internal motorcar garages into indoor pool areas.[citation needed]

An above ground pool.

Construction methods for private pools vary greatly. The main types of in-ground pools are concrete, vinyl liner, and fiberglass. Above-ground pools (also called "on-ground pools") are usually cheaper to build. They are especially popular in places where ground freezing makes excavation difficult and threatens damage to the pool structure. Inexpensive temporary PVC pools can be bought in supermarkets and taken down after summer. They are used mostly outdoors in yards, are typically shallow, and often their sides are inflated with air to stay rigid. When finished, the water and air can be let out and this type of pool can be folded up for convenient storage. They are regarded in the swimming pool industry as "splasher" pools intended for cooling off and amusing toddlers and children, not for swimming.

A swimming pool at a small hotel in the Dominican Republic.

Many toys are available for children and other people to play with in pool water. They are often blown up with air so they are soft but still reasonably rugged, and can float in water.

Many countries now have strict pool fencing laws for private swimming pools, which require pool areas to be isolated so that unauthorized children younger than six years cannot enter. Many countries require a similar level of protection for the children residing in or visiting the house, although many pool owners prefer the visual aspect of the pool in close proximity to their living areas, and will not provide this level of protection. There is no general consensus between states or countries on the requirements to fence private swimming pools, and in many places they are not required at all, particularly in rural settings.

Public pools

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The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with English-speaking territories and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page.

Public pools are often found as part of a larger leisure centre or recreational complex. These centres often have more than one pool, such as an indoor heated pool, an outdoor saltwater or unheated chlorinated pool, a shallower children's pool, and a paddling pool for toddlers and infants. There may also be a sauna and one or more hot tubs or spa pools ("jacuzzis").

Swimming pool of a resort in Curaçao, Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Public pools may belong to a hotel or holiday resort, as an amenity for the recreation of their guests. If a pool is in a separate building, the building is called a "natatorium". The building sometimes also has facilities for related activities, such as a diving tank. Outdoor pools are common in warmer climates. Larger pools sometimes have a diving board affixed at one edge above the water. Diving pools should be deep enough that divers are not injured.

Many public swimming pools are rectangles 25 m or 50 m long, but may be any size and shape desired. There are also elaborate pools with artificial waterfalls, fountains, splash pads, wave machines, varying depths of water, bridges, and island bars.

There are often lockers for clothing and other belongings. The lockers often require a coin to be inserted as deposit or payment. There are often showers ready for use - sometimes mandatory - before and/or after swimming. There are often also Lifeguards to protect the public.

Wading pools are shallow bodies of water intended for use by small children, usually in parks. Concrete wading pools come in many shapes, traditionally rectangle, square or circle. They are filled and drained daily due to lack of a filter system. Staff chlorinate the water to ensure health and safety standards.

Competition pools

A simplified diagram of the FINA long course swimming pool standard, used at the World Championships and Summer Olympics. Olympic swimming pool and starting blocks used for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.
See: #Dimensions (above) and Swimming (sport)#Competition pools

Federation Internationale de la Natation (FINA, International Swimming Federation) sets widely recognized standards for competition pools: 25 or 50 m (82 or 164 ft) long and at least 1.35 m (4.4 ft) 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 sized 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 50 m (160 ft) in length by 25 m (82 ft) wide, divided into eight lanes of 2.5 m (8.2 ft) each plus two areas of 2.5 m (8.2 ft) at each side of the pool.[15] The water must be kept at 25–28 °C (77–82 °F) and the lighting level at greater than 1500 lux. Depth must be at least 2 m (6.6 ft), and there are also regulations for color of lane rope, positioning of backstroke flags (5 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.[16] 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 m x 5 m) 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

Indoor swimming pool with mineral water, Carolus Thermen, Aachen, Germany.

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 centre, 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. Hot tubs are typically made somewhat like a wine barrel with straight sides, from wood such as Californian 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, the Internet, 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 8 sq ft (0.74 m2) and are typically 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) 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 (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 36 to 39 °C (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 70's. A spa is also called a "jacuzzi" in USA 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 — 38 to 42 °C (100 to 108 °F), so bathers usually stay in for only 20 to 30 minutes. Bromine or mineral sanitizers 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.

An Ocean pool at Coogee in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

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. 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 come without fear of observation by the other sex. Segregated changing sheds and showers were provided.[17] These were the fore-runners of modern 'Olympic' pools. A variation was the later development of sea- or harbour-side pools that circulated sea water using pumps. A pool of this type was the training ground for Australian Olympian Dawn Fraser.

Infinity pools

An infinity pool at a hotel in Gran Canaria, Spain.

An infinity edge 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. Having a natural body of water on the horizon is not a limiting factor, as many strikingly beautiful vanishing edge pools have been built with forests or vegetation in the background.

Natural pools and ponds

This German swimming pond highlights how NSPs can be designed to resemble a part of the surrounding environs.

Natural pools were developed in central and western Europe in the early and mid 1980's by designers and landscape architects with environmental concerns. They have recently been growing in popularity as an alternative to traditional swimming pools.[18] NSPs 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, NSPs 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 NSPs, being 100% chemical free, 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 NSPs. NSPs, by requiring a water garden to be a part of the system, offer different aesthetic options and can support amphibious wild life such as snails, frogs, and salamanders.

Zero-entry swimming pools

A zero-entry swimming pool, also called a beach entry swimming pool, is a swimming pool having 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 where gradual entry is useful.

Other uses

An astronaut prepares to descend into a swimming pool.

Swimming pools are also used for events such as underwater hockey, synchronized swimming, water polo and canoe polo as well as for teaching diving and lifesaving 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.

Sanitation

Main article: Swimming pool sanitation

Swimming pool water must maintain low levels of bacteria and viruses to prevent the spread of diseases and pathogens among users. Bacteria, algae and insect larvae can also enter the pool without help from swimmers, and cause disease to swimmers and other people in the area.

Pumps and mechanical filters are often used to filter such pathogens out of the water. Chemical disinfectants, such as hypochlorous acid, sodium hypochlorite (household bleach), bromine, table salt or mineral sanitizers, are used to make the water inhospitable to pathogens. These substances also turn the water into a faded blue/green color.[19] Chemical disinfection produces disinfection byproducts called trihalomethanes.

Chemical free, electronic oxidation water sanitation offers an alternative to chlorine, salt chlorination and ozone ((O3)), though it typically relies upon metals which can be toxic to aquatic life in minute quantities. Oxygen pools are produced via the electronic oxidation of the water molecule itself to generate the natural oxidisers hydroxyl (HO), atomic oxygen (O), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and molecular oxygen (O2). All of these have a higher oxidation reduction potential (ORP) value than chlorine. Electronic oxidation generates more oxidisers in under 1 minute than salt, chlorine, ozone or UV can generate in an hour. Electronic oxidation combined with low levels of copper ionization (0.5 PPM) provides a very effective pool sanitation that is 100% chlorine free, but not environmentally advantageous, as the metals are far more persistent than chlorine and are toxic to aquatic life in the parts per billion range.[20]

Covers

Swimming pool heating costs can be significantly reduced by using a pool cover. Use of a pool cover also can help reduce the amount of chemicals (chlorine, etc) required by the pool. Outdoor pools gain heat from the sun, absorbing 75%–85% of the solar energy striking the pool surface. Though a cover decreases the total amount of solar heat absorbed by the pool, the cover eliminates heat loss due to evaporation and reduces heat loss at night through its insulating properties. Most swimming pool heat loss is through evaporation.[21]

The heating effectiveness of a cover depends on type. A transparent bubble cover is the most effective, as it allows the largest amount of solar flux into the pool itself. Thermal bubble covers are lightweight UV stabilized floating covers designed to minimize heat loss on heated swimming pools. Typically they are only fitted in spring and fall (autumn) when the temperature difference between pool water and air temperature is greatest. They raise temperature of a pool by around 20 °Fahrenheit, or 11 °Celsius, after being on the pool for a week. Bubble covers are typically applied and removed by being rolled up on a device fitted to one side of the pool (see illustration). Covers fall apart after 4 or 5 years due to sun exposure, overheating in the sun while off the pool, and chlorine attacking the plastic. Bubble covers should be removed during super chlorination.

A vinyl cover absorbs more sunlight directly, allowing temperature to rise faster, but ultimately prevents the pool from reaching as high a temperature as a clear cover.[22] Vinyl covers consist of a heavier material and have a longer life expectancy than bubble covers. Insulated vinyl covers are also available with a thin layer of flexible insulation sandwiched between two layers of vinyl.[22] These covers are mandatory (citation needed) to be fitted to all pools in areas of Australia that have experienced drought since 2006. This is an effort to conserve water, as much water evaporates and transpires.

An alternative to a continuous sheet of pool covering is multiple floating disks which are deployed and removed disk by disk. They cover most of the surface of the pool and offer evaporation reduction similar to continuous covers. Various types are available, for example opaque (for UV resistance and possible reduced algal growth), transparent (for esthetics), heavy and solid (for wind resistance), light and inflatable (for ease of handling).

Safety covers

These covers are typically attached all winter, by hooked bungee cords or hooked springs connected to the pool deck, and are usually made in a variety of materials including coated or laminated vinyl or polypropylene mesh. They are custom designed to stop leaf debris from entering the pool but more importantly they also provide safety for animals and small children when designed and installed properly. The custom safety cover was invented in 1957 by Fred Meyer Jr. of Meyco Pool Covers when he found a dead animal in his pool. Today covers are made to meet ASTM safety barrier standards and have kept animals, people and even large vehicles out of the pool. They are not popular in warmer climates, due to the five to ten minutes it takes to fit/remove them, making them inconvenient for repeated application and removal.

Pool cover automation

Automatic Pool Cover.

A pool cover can be either manually, semi-automatically, or automatically operated. Manual covers can be folded and stored in a convenient location. Pool cover reels can also be used to help manually roll up the pool cover. The reel, usually on wheels, can be rolled in or out of place.

Semi-automatic covers use a motor-driven reel system. They use electrical power to roll and unroll the cover, but usually require someone to pull on the cover when unrolling, or guide the cover onto the reel when rolling up the cover. Semi-automatic covers can be built into the pool deck surrounding the pool, or can use reels on carts.

Automatic covers have permanently mounted reels that automatically cover and uncover the pool at the push of a button. They are the most expensive option, but are also the most convenient. These reels can be run from either an external motor requiring a pit to be dug beside the pool or using an internal motor that spins the reel.

Some pool covers fit into tracks along the sides of the pool. This prevents anything or anybody from getting into the pool. They even support the weight of several people. They can be run manually, semi-automatically, or automatically. Safety covers may be required by inspectors for public pools.[22]

Winterization

In areas which reach freezing temperature, it is important to close a pool properly. This varies greatly between in-ground and above-ground pools. By taking steps to properly secure the pool, it lessens the likelihood that the superstructure will be damaged or compromised by freezing water.

Closing vinyl and fibreglass pools

A rolled up Thermal Bubble pool cover, used to reduce water loss from evaporation and heat loss from the pool.

In preparation for freezing temperatures, an in-ground swimming pool's pipes must be emptied. An above-ground pool should also be closed, so that ice does not drag down the pool wall, collapsing its structure. The plumbing is sealed with air, typically with rubber plugs, to prevent cracking from freezing water. The pool is typically covered to prevent leaves and other debris from falling in. The cover is attached to the pool typically using a stretch cord, similar to a bungee cord and hooks fitted into the pool surround. The skimmer is closed off or a floating device is placed into it to prevent it from completely freezing and cracking. Floating objects such as life rings or basketballs can be placed in the pool to avoid its freezing under the cover. Drain plugs on the pool filter are removed after the filter has been cleaned. The pool pump motor is taken under cover. Winter chemicals are added to keep the pool clean.

In climates where there is no risk of freezing, closing down the pool for winter is not so important. Typically, the thermal cover is removed and stored. Winter sunlight can create an algae mess when a cover that has been left on all winter is removed. The pool is correctly pH-balanced and super-chlorinated. One litre algaecide for every 50,000 litres of pool water should be added, and topped up each month. The pool should be filtered for one to two hours daily to keep the automated chlorination system active.

Safety

This article contains instructions, advice, or how-to content. The purpose of Wikipedia is to present facts, not to train. Please help improve this article either by rewriting the how-to content or by moving it to Wikiversity or Wikibooks. (June 2009)
Trained Instructors teach children how to swim in Swifts Creek, Victoria, Australia.

Pools present a significant risk of infant and toddler death due to drowning. In regions where residential pools are common, drowning is a major cause of childhood fatalities. Therefore it is advisable to closely watch small children around swimming pools, especially private pools that do not have professional lifeguards. Adults are more likely to be aware of risks, but it is still a good idea to have more than one person around when using a private pool. As a precaution, many municipalities have by-laws that require that residential pools be enclosed with fencing to restrict unauthorized access. Many products exist to help parents protect their children when they are near the pool, such as removable baby fences, floating alarms and window/door alarms.

In public pools there is a lower risk of accident, with trained lifeguards on duty whenever the pool is open. Because of a desire for greater safety and technological advances in video monitoring, some pools are equipped with computer-aided drowning prevention or other forms of electronic safety and security systems.

The best way to ensure safety around pools is to be educated. Knowing how a swimming pool works greatly improves safety. Long haired individuals must avoid water inlets. These inlets, also known as skimmers, are rectangular holes on the wall that are sometimes partly or completely underwater. In private pools there can be one to two inlets, in public pools five to twenty. Also to be avoided are the main drains, usually identified as round mesh covered objects on the pool floor, as poor design can occasionally cause a safety problem. Building codes and product standards have eliminated these hazards for current designs, but not all pools are up to standard. One significant law to increase safety of pools is the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool And Spa Safety Act which regulates pools to reduce the risk of entrapment.

Also the bigger the body of water, the greater force it needs to have the water circulating. Stronger water pumps are used on large pools to keep them healthy, so extra care must be taken when swimming along the sides or floor of the pool, where drains are present. Some pools are designed without drains, which will 100% eliminate the potential of suction entrapment.

People with recent piercings are advised to keep those from being submerged in pools, to avoid them being infected.

Suspended ceilings in indoor swimming pools are safety-relevant components. As was demonstrated by the collapses of the ceiling of the Uster (Switzerland) indoor swimming pool (1985) and again at Steenwijk (Netherlands, 2001), attention must be paid to selecting suitable materials and inspecting the state of such components. The reason for the failures was stress corrosion cracking of metal fastening components made of stainless steel.[23]

There is also the problem with chemical exposure from chlorinated swimming pools. Numerous scientific studies have shown increased instances of asthma of those who swim regularly or those who work in and around indoor swimming pools. Another study with children found that kids who swam in indoor swimming pools for 1.8 hours or more a week had lung conditions similar to those of a heavy smoker. Also chlorine exposure from swimming pools has been shown to increase the risk of bladder and kidney cancer by more than 56% and it was also noted in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney Australia, where 25% of the U.S. Olympic swim team suffered from some level of Asthma.[24]

Dress code

In public swimming pools dress code may be stricter than on public beaches, and in indoor pools stricter than outdoor pools. For example, in countries where women can be topless on the beach, this is often not allowed in a swimming pool, and a swimsuit must be worn. For men, wearing shoes, and a shirt, on a beach is acceptable, but often not in a pool.[citation needed]

At beaches, many people swim with clothes on and wear beachwear, but at pools (especially indoor pools) more minimal attire is often worn, such as lycra briefs for men or lycra one-piece tanksuits for women. Swimming with clothes on often results in objections from lifeguards at pools, especially indoor pools. In France and some other European countries, board shorts are usually not allowed for hygiene reasons. In Scandinavian countries and in particular Iceland, rules about clothing and hygiene are especially strict.[25] Bathing suits are sometimes doubled up (wearing one brief inside another) when diving from a high board, so that the swimsuit does not rip on impact with the water.

See also

References

  1. ^ Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro
  2. ^ Gaius Maecenas, or Gaius Cilnius Maecenas (Roman diplomat and patron) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  3. ^ WWW Virtual Library: ANURADHAPURA
  4. ^ Lidos: Links and References
  5. ^ British Swimming & Amateur Swimming Association: History of the ASA
  6. ^ History
  7. ^ TGOL - Adriatic
  8. ^ Registry of Historic Places of Canada - Swimming pool building
  9. ^ "World's Largest Swimming Pool". Guinness World Records. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/amazing_feats/big_stuff/largest_swimming_pool.aspx. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  10. ^ Edmonton.com: Travel, Tourism & Leisure accessed 15 April 2007
  11. ^ NASA, Behind the Scenes: Training, accessed 7 May 2007
  12. ^ BBC, World's deepest pool set to open accessed 15 April 2007
  13. ^ "San Francisco Zoological Society - About the Zoo - Historic Sites". The San Francisco Zoo. http://www.sfzoo.org/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=14106&orgkey=1900#fleishhackerpool. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  14. ^ DESTRUCTION (1931-1990)
  15. ^ "FINA Facilities Rules 2009-2013". Federation Internationale de la Natation. http://www.fina.org/project/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=119#fr4. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  16. ^ "Zesiger pool design", Zesiger sports and fitness center, MIT, accessed 2007-02-04
  17. ^ "Stories from the Yamba ocean pool", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, [] accessed 2006-12-28
  18. ^ Kurutz, Steven (April 5, 2007). "From Europe, a No-Chlorine Backyard Pool". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/garden/05pools.html. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  19. ^ The theory of colors of water in the swimming pool by Sahatchai Wanawongsawad
  20. ^ ECOTOX Database
  21. ^ Department of Energy: Conserving Energy and Heating your Swimming Pool with Solar Energy (PDF)
  22. ^ a b c "EERE Consumer's Guide: Swimming Pool Covers". Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13140. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  23. ^ M. Faller and P. Richner: Material selection of safety-relevant components in indoor swimming pools, Materials and Corrosion 54 (2003) S. 331 - 338.(only online in German (3.6 MB)) ()
  24. ^ Chlorinated Swimming Pools Can Cause Asthma in Swimmers
  25. ^ Visit Reykjavík - The official tourist website of Reykjavik, accessed 24 December 2009

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