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IC's New Swimming Pool to be Too Shallow?

Oct 17 2003 09:31

Leonora Lang

Discussions of plans for the depth of the pool have included suggestions that would render it unsuitable for some clubs that currently use the pool.

The Sports Centre Pool

Plans for the new sports centre (which are displayed inside the existing sports centre) include a '5 court' (badminton) multi-sport hall, a 320m2 state of the art fitness suite, a 200m2 studio and an 8m high climbing wall and the current swimming pool will be completely refurbished to provide a nicer better pool.

According to Neil Mosley, Head of College Sport and Leisure, the new pool will be a depth level pool with blocks for racing, and will keep its original length and width dimensions ? 25m long and 10m wide. It will be shallower and slope towards the deeper end. The present shallow end is arguably too deep for non-swimmers and children and so will be made shallower to accommodate those people. The deep end which is currently approximately 3.5m will be made shallower, but by how much is not certain.

Rich Walker, Union Deputy President for Clubs and Societies, has confirmed that he is asking the Sports Centre Users Group to change the current plans, which suggested the pool depth may be as shallow as 1.5m. This lack of depth may cause difficulties for the Underwater Club who use the pool for training new scuba divers before venturing out into open waters. Various numbers for the depth of the pool have been discussed, anything between 1m down to 2.5m.

The sports centre closes on the last day of March and construction starts in May with a month to finalise the design and development. The deadline for pool decisions will be around December and January and the agreed design will be an on going process with the user groups and architects.

Mr Mosley stressed that the Union has been consulted extensively as have Sports Governing bodies, with four committees discussing the plans. The Indoor Users Advisory Committee, Central Sport and Leisure Committee, Sport and Leisure Committee and the new Sports Centre User Group have amongst their members the Union's Deputy President for Clubs and Societies, Deputy President for Education and Welfare, the Union President, the Indoor Users Representative and the Union's Student Activities Manager. The final depth of the pool will be confirmed when discussions between all the groups have finished and the plans have been finalised, and approved by the College Council.

Other clubs may also be affected by the proposed plans; the rifle range, which is used by the rifle club and the archery club does not yet appear on the plans for new centre, although the archery club may be allowed to use the new sports hall.

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Discussion about “IC's New Swimming Pool to be Too Shallow?”

The comments below are unmoderated submissions by Live! readers. The Editor accepts no liability for their content, nor for any offence caused by them. Any complaints should be directed to the Editor.

1. Atul Rana

Oct 17 2003 11:22

Well, I was a non swimmer when I started me swimming lessons. The shallow end definately isn't that shallow for adult non-swimmers, I never drowned, not yet anyway.

2. Rob

Oct 17 2003 11:30

I don't see why they are refurbishing the pool of all things... it's certainly one of the best I've been in.

3. Starbuck

Oct 17 2003 14:16

Ah, to be fair, I remember going to the pool as a non swimming kid and I couldn't stand up in the shallow end and I was always very tall for my age. Still made me learn how to swim quicker. Along the lines of marines getting thrown off the boat into the sea until they could swim, I suppose.

4. Admissions Tutor

Oct 17 2003 14:50

I propose we use the "throwing them in the swimming pool and seeing if they drown" test to replace the A-level as the most effective means of assessing applications to the college.

5. Zebedee

Oct 17 2003 15:07

Yeah the pool is pretty good, by being deep it makes swimming more enjoyable. The biggest problem has always been the gym (size/equipment and temperature/sweat/smell of air), the changing rooms/showers and the never working spa that could be replaced by a little paddling pool.

6. amram

Oct 19 2003 00:06

The pool is fine it doesn't need changing. The disgusting changing room and the toilets do! Why does refurbishment start in March? If they cared one iota about students they would close it in July after the end of the academic year!

The money spent refurbishing the pool could be better spent on a whole host of other things :

a) better food outlets in college- the existing ones offer poor selection, high prices, unhealthy food and are little more than vending machines.

b) better toilets- almost all the toilets are old, poorly ventilated, smelly and frankly a disgrace- note for example those in Sherfield, Mech Eng, RSM and even Chemistry... (not to speak of Huxley!!!!)

c)more course textbooks in the central librarym - including perhaps textbooks for humanities and modern languages!

d)Improving hal;ls of Residence...

e) improving the Union whose bars are a terrible eyesore...

f) building larger lifts in Sherfield and Mech Eng buildings!

7. Edward Piggott

Oct 19 2003 11:41

Amram,

The toilets in Chemistry have just been refurbished (at least the mens has). Also, the whole of Chemistry is currently undergoing a rolling program of refurbisment (starting with levels 5, 6 and 8) to which money has already been alocated.

8. amram

Oct 19 2003 12:50

My sources tell methat the toilets in Chemistry have been repainted but remain dingy. as to the refurbishment I understand that this includes the closing down of the popular "Greenfields"Cafe replacing the odd sandwich and fruit option with yet more chocolate vending machines

Oct 19 2003 14:36

Amram,

Didn't you say you wanted healthier options? Maybe like sandwiches and fruit rather than bacon rolls?

10. Atul Rana

Oct 19 2003 15:17

College lunchtime food, arrrghhhhh

11. amram

Oct 19 2003 16:40

to the unnamed person above-editor? what is your point?

12.

Oct 19 2003 19:13

The unnamed person's point is that you complained about there being a lack of healthy food. Then you complained about the bacon sandwich shop in Chemistry closing and being replaced by somewhere selling normal sandwiches.

13. amram

Oct 20 2003 00:35

My sources tell me that "Greenfields" the Chemistry canteen is not to be replaced! The room is going to be some sort of "common room" for PhD students and the only food available will be a vending machine. Greenfields did at least sell fruits and the odd healthy (salad or coronation chicken) sandwiches although admittedly it was a bit of a dump. The money should have been spemt refurbishing the place not closing it down but it seems that the long serving staff would have been entitled to pension funds that college was unwilling to fork out...

14. woodstock

Oct 20 2003 10:29

Greenfields in Chemistry was not paying rent to college for the space they occupied (but this meant their prices were still reasonable), and there were complaints from visitors that the smell of bacon sandwiches was off-putting (I suspect this smell was coming from the old works canteen portakabin instead, but anyway). So yes, instead of getting cheap, nice coffee (the BMS stuff tastes filthy) and a choice of original sandwiches and wraps rather than the tired old options that circulate college catering, they are being replaced by vending machines. If the caff was so offensive, why not put the head of department's office there instead and move the caff to the back of chemistry, where the head of department's office is currently situated?

As for the swimming pool, I am completely fed up with it being overrun by posh brats. I appreciate that renting the pool out for their swimming lessons brings in money but does it have to be every day?

And whilst we're on the subject, are any other girls fed up with mummies and nannies brining their (male) hrats into the female changing rooms? I don't mind for small kids, but recently I've seen kids who were at least 11 or 12 in there because their nanny wanted to fold up their clothes properly...

Argh!

Is there a sports centre user committee or something?

15. Sam

Oct 20 2003 10:38

Yeah, there are two Sports Centre related groups:

Indoor USers Group - covers sports centre, mary's gym and rec centre etc.

Sports Centre Usage Group (or something similar) - plans for usage of the new sports centre.

Contact your local deputy president for details.

However if older boys are being brought into the ladies changing rooms, complain. Directly. To the Sports Centre Manager (n.mosley@imperial.ac.uk) - that's an outrageous abuse of the facilities by unthinking people.

16. Starbuck

Oct 21 2003 13:31

I'm really disappointed now. I met an old friend last night, graduate from Imperial, who worked for the company that tested the foundations of the sports centre recently. It seems that the foundations are strong enough to take extra floors after all. I'd always wanted to beleive the urban myth about someone forgetting to include the weight of the water of the pool in their design of the building. But it seems they just ran out of cash. Oh. Boring!

Closed This discussion is closed.