With the summer Olympics coming up again, you want to make sure your future competitive swimmers are in safe water and with ideal conditions. We want to create an environment that allows the swimmers the best chance they have to be the best athletes they can be. What exactly does that look like?
Factors that Affect Competition Pool Safety
Competition Pool Temperature
According to the USWFA, “leisure” swimming temperatures should be between 82-84 degrees Fahrenheit (29-30 degrees celsius). For kids, they recommend a slightly higher temperature of 88-94 degrees Fahrenheit (31-34.5 degrees Celsius). What would you guess for competitive swimmers? Warmer temperatures so their muscles don’t cramp up? Or cooler water because of all the physical exertion? If you guessed cooler temps, you would be correct!
Typically they like the water between 77-82 degrees Fahrenheit (25-27.5 degrees Celsius). You may be wondering why a 2-degree difference between “leisure” and competitive swimming would even matter, right? The main reason is to keep the athletes from overheating. You can’t be the best in the world if you are uncomfortable. Since temperature is part of the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI), you’ll have to adjust other levels in the pool to keep the water within range. This requires testing and adjusting as needed. The Pool Shark H20 App can help you with the needed adjustments.
Competition Pool PH and Water Clarity
The PH should be between a 7 and an 8. There should be no visible oils or foam on the surface. One has to be able to see the bottom of the pool clearly. These can be controlled chemically. Once again, you should test the water at least daily and make any necessary adjustments. Cloudy water can come from a number of things. Unbalanced PH and ALkalinity are one reason. The Pool Shark H20 App should be any successful pool operator’s go-to for proper measurements.
Competition Pool Sanitizer
A pool operator should not add chlorine less than one hour before an event. What about shocking the pool? A minimum of 24 hours is required to ensure chlorine levels are in the ideal range of 0.5-3 although this may vary for your region. So you wouldn’t want to shock the pool with a chlorine shock between a 2-3 day competition. Non-chlorine shock is acceptable as long as the free available chlorine reading is in range. You should have a test kit for every chemical you put into the pool. Non-chlorine shock (Monopersulhate) is no exception. Test and record your findings in your Pool Shark H20 App.
Competition Pool Swimmer Safety
As we talked about in a previous article, the very air the swimmers are breathing could be dangerous due to chloramines rising above the surface. The constant movement and splashing these water warriors create only aggravate the problem. Keeping chloramines out of your pro pool is uber important. Check your combined chlorine levels often by testing, reading your results, and logging them into your pool log on your PoolShark H20 App. Proper ventilation is also a must.
Proper handling of Accidental Fecal Releases (AFR) is important because even swimmer celebrities can have accidents. Luckily the PoolShark H20 App has response instructions. Did you know many well-known pro swimmers openly admit to peeing in the pool? Gross, but true. We don’t want anyone getting sick prior to or during a meet. It is your job as the pool operator to keep the water safe. The best way to do this is to have healthy, balanced water. The best way to get, and maintain said water is with the use of the Pool Shark H20 App. Any guess on which app gets the gold medal for helping keep pools safe nationwide? Yup. Pool Shark H20 to the rescue…yet again!
See you poolside!
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