Swimming Pool Temperature

[bazzard]

Mentioned to someone that the public swimming pool was cool. Was told by staff that it was cooler because lots of school children had just had a session in it.
Is this scientifically correct?

[TheChair]

The recommended temperatures are lower when swimming for fitness than when swimming for recreation. The attendant might have meant that they lower the temperature for school classes. I've been to some pools in the UK which are so warm that they are suitable only for flopping about.

[Sqad]

Right......body temperature is 37deg C.........swimming pools are about 27-28degC.........so ai would have thought that a crown of children would have raised the temperature of the water, rather than cooling it.

[IJKLM]

Sqad

you are absolutely right, if the heating/cooling system is not in operation.

A bunch of schoolkids flogging up and down the lengths would raise the temperature.

However, if you have ever flogged up and down the pool swimming lengths as fast as possible, then you would know that this makes one sweat quite a lot - especially if the water is warm.

SO the pool managers reduce the temperature of the water, in order to make it more comfortable while exercising.

When I was training (many, many years ago), I always found it odd to feel as though I was sweating in the pool, but then the coach explained it to me.

[Sqad]

IJKLM......I didn't know that the pool water temperature was lowered during aquarobics class, so thank you for that.

However..sweating or not , the kinetic energy in the form of heat, remains the same, the body and the sweat contributing to the transfer of heat to the pool water, so the pool water should heat up and the body temperature, remains the same......the whole object of sweating.

I suppose one should take into account the loss of heat due to flow of the pool water.

Whichever way, i cannot see how the pool should be cooler unless as you say, the manager controls the heat himself.

[bazzard]

Makes sense. Thank you for the answers

[Canary42]

Rather than schoolchildren, I would have thought a bunch of Senior Citizens, with their usually considerably inferior circulation, coming in from today's colder temperatures would need considerable body-surface warming, thus reducing the water temperature.

Just a thought from outside the box ;-)

[derekpara]

Slightly off topic, I know, but the pool temperature for teaching young non-swimmers/learners should be comfortably and invitingly warm
( not quite bath temperature). A normal training temperature can sometimes be a deterrent for learners as they won't look forward to going again - and that's to be avoided.

Pool temperature for training and fitness should be as as IJKLM says,and for his excellently explained reasons. I was also a competitive swimmer many years ago and later a National Coach and recall pool temperatures being between 63 - 70 degrees in old money.

D

[spathiphyllum]

Depends how many kids pee’d in the pool i guess

[Hopkirk]

Ugh!

[mibn2cweus]

Sure ^ but you float better.

[Rev. Green]

I'm surprised that pool temperatures can be adjusted depending on the activity. When the local pool was re-filled, it took about two weeks for it to reach 29 degrees, which, incidentally, is the maximum allowed temperature - anything higher encourages legionairre's disease.

[JF85]

It would not be feasible to raise or lower the temperature of a swimming pool (as opposed to the tiny ones in some gyms) for specific periods. Imaging pouring a kettle of boiling water into a pool: the effect would disappear in seconds. The difference between a warm and a cold pool is very small, but it would take several hours to change.

[Flonska]

This paper has some pertinent information regarding the temperature of swimming pool water - especially some of problems that may become associated with operating a pool with water at higher temperatures:-

http://test.ukactive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Pool_temperatures.pdf