Revised fall 2008
The Swimming Pool
Description
People come to a private gym's pool with different purposes and desired outcomes. It could be to train for a competition in which the person’s goal could be to win or to simply finish. If people are not training for a competition they could be at the pool for a cardio/strength workout to get in or maintain shape either individually or with a class put on by the facility. A person can also be using the pool for relaxation or to just sneak a peak at the opposite sex/same sex in their bathing suits.
OZ Fitness pool is a private pool and gym. The fitness center's pool is open to all members 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is only closed on Christmas Day, during an instructed class, or during repairs. The Olympic size pool is 50 meters in length, by 25 meters in width. In the pool, there are four lanes measuring 2.5meters in width. There are three entrances into the pool area, one from both the Men’s and Women’s locker room and one from the main gym. Since there is no life guard on duty, there is a surveillance camera which transmits a signal from the pool back to monitors at the front desk. Many private pools also have water-weights, kick-boards, and noodles.
Juridic Controls
The private pool at OZ fitness has many juridic controls from the most basic to the more complex unspoken laws associated with the pool, people, and equipment involved. The most basic laws involved with the people would be following the plaque red signs posted on the various walls surrounding the pool. These laws prohibit diving and running. They also warn that there is no lifeguard on duty, which means that no children under the age of 14 are allowed without parental supervision. It is also posted that swimmers are to shower before and after entering or leaving the pool and that a limit of 25 patrons is all that is allowed at one time. Horseplay, foul language, or the use of the pool while a class is in session is not permitted.
The more complex laws, usually the unspoken laws, can be seen in action every day. Swimmers are supposed to stay off the ropes that separate the lanes of the swimming pool and they aren’t allowed to take these lane ropes down without permission. Courtesy needs to be shown by taking turns when swimming laps, waiting until everybody from the classes are out of the pool before entering, and not using other patron’s goggles/nose plugs/towels without permission. Swimmers are to wear appropriate attire in and around the pool area and are not to tamper or destroy the pool or its equipment. Misbehaving patrons should be reported to management.
It depends on the magnitude of the rule as to whether a law is enforced or not. Lesser laws, such as showering before entering, are hardly enforced, especially since there is no lifeguard on duty to deal with minor rule breakage. However, vandalism is more strictly enforced because this crime is actually worth it for the people watching the surveillance camera to make a trip to the pool. If people do get caught breaking enough serious rules, they may get kicked out and even lose their membership.
The pool itself has laws that it has to follow as well. These rules include having a certain amount of chemicals such as Chlorine, Alkaline, Sodium Bi-Carbonate and other various chemicals that have to be at a certain level at all times. Chemical laws are regulated by a janitor or pool specialist who is in turn monitored by the management or other public safety officials who would shut the facility down if not regulated correctly. The pools temperature is also regulated by the same janitor or pool specialist involved with the chemicals.
Burdensomeness
Most of the laws/regulations involved with the pool are not normally burdensome. The three most burdensome, not followed laws at a private pool facility are showering before entering the pool, showering before leaving the pool, and the no horse playing rule because they are not usually strictly enforced. They find showering before entering the pool burdensome because it takes time, a person has to wait for the shower to warm up, and then rinse off, only to feel freezing on the walk to the pool. It seems pointless to get wet before jumping into a pool of water anyway. People do not follow the no horseplay rule either because when they are in the pool with friends all they want to do is have fun.
Being a lifeguard, I can see first hand the rules people follow and the rules they find burdensome and do not follow. However, all in all many people agree with the laws, even if they do break certain ones because they are rules to protect the people. Most of the unposted rules coincide with a lot of people’s ethical values, such as being courteous and not vandalizing, so these rules usually go unbroken.
Ways We Escape
To escape the many juridic laws and burdensome loads involved with using a private gym’s swimming facility people can simply break the laws. Since there is no lifeguard on duty and seeing as some of the rules aren’t strictly enforced, it is probable that people will get away with this.
Another option, if people can not get over the juridic load of a private pool, is to participate in alternative activities. People could attend other classes that are not in the pool or people can swim in another swimming facility or in a river or a lake.
