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Comment by newaccount74 | Hacker News Reader

Public pools are also disappearing in my country (Austria).

It's mostly a cost issue. Towns see the huge maintenance bill and decide to close their pool. Half the indoor pools I went to in my childhood are now closed. No new public pools have been built.

When I was a kid, I had swimming classes every other week in school. My kids have swimming classes 4 times a year because the few remaining pools that schools can go to are overbooked.

The completely predictable result is that the number of kids and adults who can't swim is growing every year.

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Unrelated but thought to follow up. When I grew up, in the 70s - 80s, I have fond memories of going to the public indoor swimming pool where I lived in a suburb to Stockholm. The smell of chlorinated water, the sounds of kids playing echoing on the tiled walls, sweating the sauna afterwards. Above all, a strict hygiene regime. No underwear in shower, sauna or pool. Just swim pants in the pool, naked in the sauna.

Somehow, this has changed. Kids don't give a shit and swim with their underwear underneath their swimpants. I don't know what the staff are doing but seems they have lost control. I am disgusted and will not visit public pools anymore. I wonder if this is a more global trend.

Why is underwear more disgusting than the bare body that it contains? It’s not like taking your underwear off makes you sterile no?

Swedish pools at the time required you to shower, naked [1], before entering the pool, and to use soap while showering, with special attention to the hair, armpits, crotch, and feet. This helps get rid of the dirt and urea (which when combined with chlorine makes the 'swimming pool smell'), keeping the pool clean and with little odor.

It is difficult to wash underwear with the same thoroughness. I have not seen people laundering their underwear before swimming.

[1] Our local pool changed to allow showering in one's bathing trunks. I personally don't like the rule, as I think people will skimp on washing their crotch before entering the pool.

Pools in Austria have signs asking you to shower before swimming, but not everyone does (lots of people with dry hair in the pool). Kids just run through the shower and jump right into the pool.

For some reason most pools don't have the strong smell that I remember from my childhood anymore. Either it's because they are better ventilated, or because they check the chlorine levels more diligently (they sample the water every hour or so), or maybe I'm just not as sensitive to smells anymore.

Could be more pools are being bromine treated. A quick google search yields some (not super trustworthy) sources that seem to claim bromamines are less odoriferous than chloramines.

The chlorine level isn't the issue - it's the urea reacting to the chlorine.

There was even some neat research a few years back to figure out how much came from urea from pee, vs. from other bodily secretions: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/01/5177859... .

> The scientists calculated that one 220,000-gallon, commercial-size swimming pool contained almost 20 gallons of urine

After reading that NPR article, I can suggest another possible alternative; the pools might drain and refill their pools more often, rather than top-off when it gets low.

Dry hair might not be that good of an indicator? I mean, I see people doing breast stroke with their head completely out of the water.

That's really sad. The article is also surprising to me because in my area there are a lot of public pools, many of which have been recently built. Staffing and maintenance isn't a problem either - for example [1]. I'm in the suburbs instead of the city, and the current trend is for every suburb to compete to have the nicest pool and amenities. The one nearest to me has water slides and a lazy river, a diving well that includes a 3-meter diving board, etc.

But if you want to know why they take swimming seriously, it's a safety issue: [2]

[1] https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicagos-77-public-poo...

[2] https://glsrp.org/statistics/

https://www.collectivites-locales.gouv.fr/files/Accueil/Etud... In France shows how crazy expensive / heavily subsidized public pools are.

In places without good jobs that pay good salaries, people are either going to have to pay more taxes, or accept that the public services are going to suck :-/

Or you could reduce costs while trying to maintain quality?

Fully booked…sounds like you can raise prices, or capture unmet demand building a new one.

Public pools in Austria are very cheap, because the pools are paid for by tax payers. Schools/students pay almost nothing to use them. Raising prices would be counterproductive, because the result would just be that even fewer students would learn to swim.

Is there anything wrong with not knowing how to swim? It's a handy skill but not needed to the majority.

I live in the middle of my country, there aren't even any rivers nearby. I'm not going to drown.

Yes. I think in general. It's a significant case of death.

My undergrad (supposedly) will not graduate you unless you pass a swim test, have a waiver, or take a swim class.

ADDED: Something I've observed in the UK is rescue lifebuoys along rivers. Not saying it's a bad idea at all but never seen in the US.

Generally said to be people who can swim who get into trouble and drown. People who can't stay out of the water. So if you can't swim you are missing out on fun but are probably safer in practice.

No. I'm going to say you can't always avoid getting into water. So at least minimal (with an emphasis on that word) skills are important.

"No. I'm going to say you can't always avoid getting into water."

True but accidentally ending up in water is rare. Deliberately putting yourself in water because you can swim is common. I'd still rather swim personally, but if I stayed out of the sea I would be safer.

That seems completely crazy.

What does one ability to swim has to do with whether they are a good computer scientist, doctor or lawyer? Insane.

>I'm not going to drown.

Because you're never going to leave your home. So, yes, you don't need to be an Olympic athlete but if you can't basically swim you're stupid.

This is puerile melodrama.

I get out in my urban metro with rivers and ponds all over.

I’ve never almost accidentally drown.

What is wrong with peoples risk assessment these days?

Maybe you should have a balance test done. Might be a tumor pushing on something.

BRB going for a bike ride. If I don’t reply I drown.

> if you can't basically swim you're stupid.

That's a ridiculous statement. There are so many other skills that could save your life one day, not knowing how to do that particular one isn't any stupider than not knowing how to climb a tree to escape a bear.

I agree people should be given the opportunity to learn how to swim but let's look at reality for a moment: Worldwide, almost 60% of humans do not know how to swim and they still get by fine... Wild, isn't it?

That's a nice completely uncalled ad hominem

Lots if people get by without knowing how to read too. That doesn't make it a good idea.

Like reading, knowing how to swim can save your life or the life of someone nearby. And swimming is much easier to learn than reading. There's no good reason not to learn to swim if you have access to a pool.

Two weeks ago we were at a local lake where lots of people go to swim. There was some commotion suddenly, with lots of people shouting around. Apparently someone disappeared. Then fire trucks showed up, divers jumped in the lake, the police blocked of a part of the lake, ambulances arrived.

The next day we read in the local paper that a 26 year old man had drowned. Apparently he was a poor swimmer. They found him at the bottom of the lake, just 30m from the shore.

The only way to prevent tragedies like this is to make sure every kid learns to swim.

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