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Swimming pools
To view our properties with private or communal pools in the Paphos region, please
visit our Property page.
A swimming pool, swimming bath, or wading pool is an artificially enclosed body of
water intended for recreational or competitive swimming, diving, or for other bathing activities that do not
involve swimming, e.g. play, wading, water exercise, floating around on inner tubes, or merely cooling off on
hot days. It usually contains the chemical Chlorine to control bacteria.
One can distinguish between private and public pools: in warm parts of the world private ones are usually
outdoors, while public ones can be outdoors or indoors, with some complexes having both. In some parts of the
world, a swimming pool for private use is considered a status symbol (an indoor private pool even more so).
Swimming pools can be constructed either above ground (generally constructed from plastic and metal), or in the
ground (usually formed either out of reinforced concrete and lined with special plaster, a one piece fiberglass
shell, or prefabricated sectional walls and a vinyl liner)
History
Artificial swimming pools are known to have been built by the ancient Greeks and Romans who used them for
athletic training in the palestras as well as for nautical games and military exercises. Roman emperors had
private swimming pools in which fish also were kept, whence the Latin word for pool, piscina.
Types of pools
Public pools
Casual fun in a swimming pool.Public pools are often found as part of a larger leisure centre or recreational
complex. These centres often have more than one pool, e.g. 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 area. In the swimming pool area and/or in the sauna area there may be one or more jacuzzis.
If a swimming pool (sometimes combined with facilities for allied sports and activities, such as a diving tank)
is located in a separate building, the building is called a "natatorium".
Many public swimming pools are rectangles either 25 m or 50 m long, but a backyard pool can be any size and
shape desired. There are also very elaborate pools, with artificial waterfalls, fountains, splash pads, wave
machines, varying depths of water, bridges, and island bars; they may belong to a hotel or holiday resort.
There are often lockers for clothing and other belongings. The lockers generally require a coin to be inserted
as deposit or payment outright.
Competition pools
FINA sets widely recognized standards for competition pools, which must be 25 m or 50 m long and at least 1.35 m
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 Swimming Pool is a pool that meets FINA's additional standards for the Olympic Games and for world
championship events. It must be 50 m in length by 25 m wide, divided into eight lanes of 2.5 m each plus two
areas of 2.5 m at each side of the pool. The water must be kept at 25–28°C and the lighting level at greater
than 1500 lux. Depth must be at least 2 m, and there are also regulations for color of lane rope, positioning of
backstroke flags, and so on. Pools claimed to be "Olympic pools" do not always meet these regulations, as FINA
cannot police use of the term.
Length
Most pools in the world are measured in metres, but in the US pools are sometimes measured in yards. In the UK
most pools are in metres, but older pools measured in yards still exist. In the US pools tend to either be 25
yards (short course yards), 25 metres (short course metres) or 50 metres (long course). United States high
schools and the NCAA conduct short course (25 yards) competition. There also exist many pools 33⅓ m in length,
so that 3 lengths = 100 m. This is sometimes jokingly referred to as "inter-course".
United States Swimming (USS) swims in both metric and non-metric pools. However, the international standard is
metres, and world records are only recognised when swum in 50 m pools.
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.
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 go under several names, such as swim spas,
swimming machines, or swim systems. They are all examples of different modes of resistance swimming.
Hot tub
In the swimming pool area and/or in the sauna area there may be one or more hot tubs (small pools in which
people sit on an underwater bench along the edge with water streams and air bubbles). The water temperature is
usually very warm to hot, 30 to 40 °C (86 to 104 °F), so that one can only stay a limited amount of time in it,
but sometimes only mildly warm, in which case one can stay as long as one likes.
Infinity pools
An infinity pool is a swimming pool which produces a visual effect of the water extending to the horizon or to
"infinity". In reality the edge of the pool is below the water level, the water spilling into a trough from
where it is pumped back into the pool. The effect is particularly impressive where the invisible edge appears to
merge with a larger body of water such as the ocean, or with the sky (if the pool is located on the side of a
hill or mountain).
Other pools
Many hotels provide swimming pools for guests who like exercise.Motels often have pools, often outside, as an
amenity for the recreation of their guests and children, especially motels in warmer climates. Larger pools
sometimes have a diving board as an accessory affixed above the water at the pool's edge. Diving pools should
meet minimum depth requirements to prevent diving injury.
Home pools can be permanently built-in, but non-permanent pools are often assembled above ground and can be
disassembled. They are used mostly outdoors in yards. For toddlers and small children, small temporary-use pools
made of plastic can be blown up with air to form the sides of the pool and the inside filled with water. When
finished, the water and air can be let out and this type of pool can be folded up for convenient storage.
A variety of toys are available for children (and other people) to play with in pool water. Such toys are often
blown up with air so they are soft but still reasonably rugged, and can float in water.
As an alternative, some people use hot tubs at home for recreationally soaking their bodies in water.
Wading pools, also called "baby pools", are usually small, shallow plastic pools that usually cost around $10.00
and can be found at department stores. These pools can be inflatable or made of hard plastic.
Water cleanliness and disinfection
Swimming pool water must be maintained with very low levels of bacteria and viruses to prevent the spread of
diseases and pathogens between users. Strong oxidising agents are often used, especially simple chlorine
compounds such as sodium hypochlorite. Other disinfectants include bromine compounds and ozone generated on site
by passing an electrical discharge through oxygen or air. When chlorine is used, these can be in the form of
hypochlorite solutions and by dissolving chlorine gas in water. Maintaining a safe concentration of disinfectant
is critically important in assuring the safety and health of swimming pool users. When any of these pool
chemicals are used, it is very important to keep the pH of the pool within a certain range (7 to 8), because
either acid or alkali can cause chlorine gas to be produced. This is especially important in installations using
chlorine gas itself because the reaction with water produces hypochlorous acid and hydrochloric acid which would
make the water dangerously acidic if not neutralised.
Where the water is sanitised by means of oxidisers, some suppliers of electronic monitoring equipment recommend
that the efficacy of the oxidiser be measured by the oxidation-reduction potential of the water, a factor
measured in millivolts, where the minimum acceptable ORP level is 650 millivolts. This is supposed to ensure a
1-second kill rate for microorganisms introduced into the water. Unfortunately, a commonly used non-chlorine
supplemental oxidizer, potassium monopersulfate, can produce measured 650 mV levels even in the absence of all
sanitizing residuals.
Below ground, outdoor, irregularly shaped salt water pool. Automated cleaner visible at far end.Some recent
studies have suggested that swimming pool chlorination may contribute to higher rates of childhood asthma,
leading to the development of (currently expensive) chlorine-free pool filter systems which sterilise the water,
exposing it to powerful ultraviolet light. Most people would not want to swim in a pool that appears dirty even
if germs were under control. Therefore pools must be filtered to remove dirt. Also, to prevent buildup of
chemicals, some water must be let off and renewed. Water in larger pools is sometimes automatically recirculated
through drains at the bottom of the pool.
The proper management of a backyard swimming pool can be a difficult and time-consuming task. The chemical
balance of the water has to be carefully monitored to make sure that it not become fouled with algae or
bacteria. Either of these will make the water smell and look unpleasant and can be a serious health hazard. The
water must also be kept clear of debris such as fallen leaves and sticks, as these encourage fouling and become
very slippery and dangerous as they start to decompose. Most people keep their pool either covered over or
drained entirely during the months of the year in which it is not in use, as this is the easiest way to keep it
sanitary (draining however can be a serious safety hazard with deeper pools and re-filling can be fairly
expensive in areas where water is scarce). Public and competitive swimming pools are therefore often, especially
in colder climates, indoor pools—covered with a roof and heated—to enable their use all year round.
Saltwater pools are very popular in Australia as an alternative to chlorine or ozone systems. This system uses
electrolysis to break down the salt (NaCl) and free the chlorine.
Safety
It is always advisable to keep a close watch on small children around swimming pools, especially private pools
that do not have professional lifeguards, as drowning is a major cause of childhood death. 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.
In public pools there is a much higher level of safety, with trained lifeguards on duty whenever the pool is
open. Because of the risk of drowning and the desire for greater safety, combined with technological advances
that make such safety possible, more and more public pools are equipped with computer-aided drowning prevention
or other forms of electronic and sometimes automated safety and security systems. Among these are the Poseidon
system, Swimguard, and the Drowning Early Warning System (DEWS). Where safety and privacy are concerned, the
trend seems to be toward safety.
The best way to ensure safety around swimming pools is to be educated. Knowing how a swimming pool works greatly
improves safety. For instance, long haired individuals must avoid water inlets. These inlets, also known as
"skimmers", are rectangular holes on the wall that are sometimes partially or completely underwater. In private
swimming pools there can be one to two inlets; on public pools there can be five to twenty "skimmers". Another
thing to avoid are the "main drains" which are usually identified as round mesh covered objects on the pool
floor. These drains are possibly the number one causes of accidental drowning in swimming pools.
Also the bigger the body of water, the greater "force" it needs to have the water circulating. Stronger water
pumps are used on large bodies of water to keep the swimming pool healthy and so extra care must be taken when
swimming along the sides or floor of the swimming pool.
Dress code
In public swimming pools dress code may be somewhat 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, especially one indoors. See also swimsuit. A reversal of this strictness is also
common, e.g. undress code in pools is stricter than beaches. Wearing shoes, and a shirt, on a beach is
acceptable, but often not in a pool. Indoor pools have stricter undress codes than outdoor pools: in outdoor
pools, men are often allowed to wear t-shirts for modesty or for protection from sunburn, but in indoor pools,
men are not ordinarily allowed to wear t-shirts. Swimming with clothes on (for example, as practice for the
prevention of drowning, as one might fall off a boat clothed) often results in objections from lifeguards at
pools, especially at indoor pools. At beaches, many people swim with their clothes on and wear beachwear,
whereas at pools (especially indoor pools) more minimal forms of bathing attire, such as lycra briefs for men or
lycra one-piece tanksuits for women, are often worn. For diving from towers perhaps 10m high, sometimes bathing
suits are doubled up (i.e., men will often wear one brief inside another) so that the swimsuit does not rip on
impact with the water. While splashing around on beaches, especially on urban beaches, looser fitting bathing
attire that is more modest is often worn.
Some public swimming pools have regular hours for nude swimming, and some pools even require nudity. Until
recently, many YMCA pools required users to be naked or to have a bathingsuit made of materials that will not
contaminate the pool; the words often used were "nylon bathingsuit or no bathingsuit". More recently, dress
codes in many pools have been relaxed to allow for additional modesty. Many pool operators allow people to swim
fully clothed if they can prove that they have a second set of clothes that are only for use in the pool, and if
they are willing to go through the showers in this second set of clothes prior to entering the pool.
Other uses
An astronaut prepares to descend into a swimming poolSwimming pools are also used for events such as
synchronized swimming and water 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 helicopter crews and
astronaut training.
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