The Best Three-Ring Circus: Programming Your Leisure Pool to Within an Inch of its Life

It became clear years ago that the single high-school-sized competition pool would no longer suffice for most community aquatics centers. So nowadays, virtually all new facilities are designed and built with an array of water bodies and features — zero-depth entry areas, waterslides, lazy rivers, vortexes, climbing walls, etc. Most renovations will introduce at least a couple of those features, too.

In doing this, aquatics managers seek to attract as many populations as possible. It’s crucial to the survival of aquatics centers — without such a combination of attractions, experts say, it is nearly impossible to draw enough traffic.

But even those who appreciate this cast-a-wide-net approach can miss another layer of opportunity by not maximizing the pool’s programming potential.

“I don’t think we’re effectively using the water that we have,” says Mick Nelson, facilities development director with USA Swimming in Colorado Springs, Colo.

As he and other aquatics experts see it, this is a serious matter of facility sustainability and, therefore, survival. “For any leisure pool to be successful, it has to operate like a three-ring circus,” says Kevin Post, principal and director of aquatic operations with St. Louis-based aquatics firm Counsilman-Hunsaker. “So you need different programs and activities going on in all the different areas all day.”

Here, experts explain how to make the most of your leisure pool.

Programming gold

Whether you are in the process of designing a new leisure pool, renovating one, or simply working with the one you have, look at the various spaces and features and how they can be programmed.

“Whenever I’m looking at business plans for leisure pools, I’m always looking at where we can do different programs, what type of programs, how can we do them concurrently, and what overlaps,” says Post, who consults during the design process as part of his job.

Fortunately, leisure pools often afford more opportunities than a traditional rectangle. There is more shallow water, higher temperatures, and more defined spaces, making it easier to hold multiple programs at a time.

“We can spread out – I’m going to take the zero-depth entry area, you take the catch pool area, you take the lap lane area — and we’re going to have privacy and we’re not competing,” Post says.

Mick Nelson and his wife Sue Nelson, USA Swimming’s aquatic programming specialist, visit pools around the country to help managers maximize programming possibilities. When looking at a leisure pool, they try to find at least three uses for each feature.

“If it doesn’t have three uses, it’s probably going to have to either be subsidized for operational costs or it will be dependent on another area in the facility to help support it,” says Mick Nelson. “So when I look at a waterslide, for instance, I look at the recreation part of it, I look at the learn-to-swim part of it, and I may look at the adult vertical exercise opportunities for that specific water depth.

“Then I can justify saying, ‘This area of the center is going to be financially sustained through programming.’”

If you’re in the design process and you’re considering an area that only presents two possibilities, that’s fine. But if you can’t find a second use, Mick Nelson says, you may want to reconsider whether that feature is contributing to the property’s sustainability.

Post also likes to develop facilities so they make it possible to run three to 10 programs at any given time. That can include different swim-lesson programs geared toward different age groups or abilities. So look at shallower bodies of water for beginners, and consider which will allow more experienced students the ability to swim for longer lengths.

When doing this, try to fill the pool in non-peak hours as well. “See what hours of the day [a program would work for],” says Mick Nelson. “Is it good for home school, is it good for day care, is it good for special needs children? We need to fill these pools during non-prime hours.”

Evaluating a space

If you’re designing or renovating a pool, start by going back to your mission statement and thinking about the populations you serve or plan to serve.

“If I’m marketing to seniors, a wave pool isn’t going to do much,” Sue Nelson says. “We have a pool in Colorado Springs that has a wave pool inside, but every time we’ve been there, it has always been turned off, because it wasn’t appropriate for the people in the pool. So you have to know what you’re doing and whom you’re serving when you put these different bells and whistles in your pool.”

When pairing spaces with programs, apply the TAD principle: Consider each space’s Temperature, Access and Depth. A program’s success depends on matching these three factors correctly.

“Once you have those, you know what kind of programming can go on,” says Sue Nelson. “If we’re working with infants, babies and toddlers, you’re going to have a higher temperature; if you work with seniors you’re going to have yet another. If you have any kind of training in the pool for sports, that’s another temperature.”

If you do this during the design process, it should help determine how many spaces you need to accommodate the various target temperatures, depths and access methods.

Also look for staging areas, Post recommends. Stairs and benches can serve this purpose well. They can not only hold children while they wait to enter the water, but they also can help define instruction spaces.

“When we look at some of the larger lazy rivers that are 15 feet across and have multiple stair access points, we recommend taking the two stair access points, and using the lazy river in between as an area for a class,” he says. “Kids can stage on one set of stairs, swim over to the next set of stairs, stage there and then swim back, getting instruction in between.”

Double and triple duty

With these considerations, look at each feature in your leisure pool. Consider these suggestions for converting fun features into settings for classes and programs.

Lazy rivers and channels: At the right depth and temperature, these features can house various types of instruction. First, they make the perfect place for water walking. Consider your audience: Keep the current on for stronger walkers; turn pumps off for less-stable patrons. If you have the ability, you can adjust the flow to suit the class.

Depending on the length, these areas also can provide a more interesting swimming run for more experienced students.

With pumps running, rivers and channels can support a completely different population — athletes interested in resistance training.

And if the river or channel is wide enough, it could even accommodate a learn to swim class. “A channel that’s 36- to 42 inches deep is a phenomenal tool to teach swimming,” Mick Nelson says.

Waterslide catch pools: These areas generally have a near-optimal depth for learn-to-swim classes. In fact, the Nelsons have seen facilities where the slide is turned off at least as much as it is on to accommodate this programming. It’s a great way to use the area when the kids are in school and the slide goes unused. Post finds this area particularly suitable for intermediate classes.

Wave pools: The ability to use this feature for programming (with the pump turned off) depends on the specific pool. They often can work for water safety swim lessons, Mick Nelson says. But it may not be appropriate for smaller children or newer swimmers, as they generally slope non-stop to the deep area and don’t have staging areas to help contain children, Post adds.

Zero-depth-entry areas: With the very shallow water, these areas make perfect sense for Mommy and Me classes and other programs geared to toddlers. For slightly older children afraid of the water, instructors can use the space to help them gradually become accustomed to more depth. This could become problematic if there are play structures in the space, which can provide a hindrance and distraction.

Splash pads: For the most part, these areas are made for unstructured time. However, with the right specialist, Sue Nelson says, it also can provide a good spot for developmentally disabled children to go through individual therapy or learning. Reaching for water sprays, for instance, can engage the child and help increase their stretch and dexterity.