To think the manager of our local pool is being ridiculous?

[Swimmalong]

The manager of our local pool has always been what I would consider OTT with her policies around ‘germs’.

She has a policy of people wearing shoe covers (not staff), these would be washed and reused so would mean putting soggy wet plastic covers on your shoes and sliding around all over the place.

During lockdown we weren’t allowed into the premises with our young children and they were sent out into the car park in midwinter in swimwear and towels after lessons. Not sure if this was the same everywhere else?

She wants people to continue wearing masks and today we’ve received an email re. children's lessons to say no shoes on the poolside, everyone must be barefoot, and that all belongings must be removed from the changing room and taken with you to the poolside to keep the changing room ‘germ free’. Presumably germs are just as easily transferred at the poolside seating? Anything left in there during the lessons will be put in lost property.

Is this standard in other places?

No shoes at poolside or in changing rooms is standard. The bag thing is a bit odd, do thet not have lockers?

All the fun has been sucked out of going swimming if you ask me. The number of rules still in place has really put me off. Total overkill.

That's all fucking ridiculous. Challenge all of it

No there aren’t any lockers, it’s quite a small pool. I have three children to take and going to be laden with bags which will invariably get wet as will have to be put on the floor.

I think her use of language is a bit OTT (germs) but shoe covers or no shoes are standard at our LA pool and although there are lockers it's also standard for parents to take the bags for kids in swimming lessons round to the side of the pool.
I've been doing it pretty much every week for the past 9years (multiple children spread in age) and it's not a problem. Bags rarely get that wet and if they do 🤷‍♀️ they dry fairly quickly.

I’ve never known a swimming pool where you could wear shoes on the pool side, they all have to be taken off at the entrance to the changing rooms.

You can see when someone hasn’t because there will be brown watery footprints through the changing room which I’d guess eventually makes it’s way to the pool.

Shoe covers are normal. The rest isn't. Our pool is back to normal now and nobody's died. To my knowledge

Where I go most people wear flip flops or similar poolside that are only for that purpose. Other than that, no rules at all

Show covers and bare foot normal.

Although all the swimmers walk poolside in their shoes at ds 'lessons' because they are club swimmers and go pool ready (and its 5am!)

So do club staff.

Have to say parents delivering children to lessons are asked to wear them in changing rooms onwards but don't and they deliver their kids to the entrance to pool.

It's really relaxed now at ds pool tbh. No masks. Full of spectators.

It's really nice to see so many involved in sport and exercise.

I think her reasoning of germs is silly but the rules aren't. No shoes in changing rooms and poolside is standard and for general cleanliness/hygiene. If there are no lockers bags being left lying around the changing rooms is just asking for things to go missing (either accidentally or on purpose) and also taking up bench space for people wanting to get changed.

I hate people who wear shoes poolside. Not so much germs more the dirt, it's just nasty.

The bag thing, if it's a small pool, is there enough space in the changing room to leave bagscetc? With ours, if people leave their stuff in the changing room, there's no space for the next lot of kids to get changed. I agree the language is a bit ott but I can understand the policies themselves.

No shoes around poolside has been known about for 50 years. People do walk through dog poo and other nasties so why would you want that where other people will be barefoot?

If there are no lockers then taking your belongings benefits you the most surely? There's always thefts otherwise.

pool chemical prices have shot up so there is good reason to try to keep pool side areas as clean and free from contaminants as possible. The germ-free thing in changing room is bonkers, though.

I'm half-surprised she's not trying to devise a mask system while in the water.