Swimming Hats

Its got less to do with hygiene than maintainance and peoples preference, ever swim thorugh a random 2 foot long hair that gets caught in your mouth or eyes...pretty nasty, hats keep those buggers in until you get to the shower, the short and curly ones rarely get caught somewhere they get noticed, so no one cares. Also skimmers and filter baskets tend to get gunked up extra fast when long hair gets involved, they attract other gunk, which turns sticky, and suddenly you have to clean out all of your skimmers and filter basket every two days instead of once a fortnight. so not technically hygiene, just good practice. Besides, after using a hat for a while do you really notice it being there? or are you one of those people that never remembers to bring one, and has to buy a new one every time they go for a swim and then gets the sh1ts over it......:rolleyes:

BUt then again, we used the rule if you use shampoo or conditioner on your head, you wear a hat, If you use soap....no hat
So if you are completely bald, then NO hat for you

I'm pretty sure it would be an excercise in how to waste the courts time, and most judges would see it that way too. Bald people don't have to wear hats, but anybody daft enough to try and sue a pool over it would end up paying the legal costs. There is precedent there for people taking ridiculous cases and wasting time and having to foot the bill. Judge finds for the plaintiff, who doesn't have to wear a hat, but ends up forking out a couple of grand for thinking that he needs a court to decide it, instead of having a reasonable discussion with the pool manager.:eek:

I like to think of it as casey syndrome

Spare a thought for me who will be going swimming with 27 eight year olds in the morning and at least 25 of them will turn up with the latex swim hats! 25, I repeat 25, of them will stand in front of me, totally unable to put on their own swim hats! It wrecks my head but I have it down to a fine art at this stage and can snap those bad boys on in seconds now!!!

Mandos wrote: »

My wife is from Ireland and we intend to immigrate from Australia in the not too distant future… the thing that irks me, being aware of the swim cap rule from the many visits I have enjoyed in Ireland and being I'm an avid swimmer – is the fact I will need to wear a swim cap.

The very thought of this grinds me to the bone.

As an Australian, who has swam most of my life in public pools, the worst you'll ever see in the pool is not a strand of hair OH MY GOD! no, I have seen much much worse, like the floating band-aid… and other things not worth mentioning… AND this is why there is a thing called chlorine which actually kills bacteria!

Do they ban wearing band-aids into the pool in Ireland? Do they give you a body scan prior to dipping in the toe?

It is just so old fashioned and archaic to uphold this concept based on the fact filtering systems are saved from the odd strand… how does the REST OF THE WORLD cope with their blocked filters? Think of the lost man hours! We could be living on Mars now if we hadn't wasted all of that time...

Funny thing is, I don't see too many Irish upholding this 'rule' when swimming in the pools here in Australia… you'd think if they have lived with it so religiously throughout they're lives, it wouldn't be a problem to pop the cap on before decontaminating the pool water.

I think it is because people would laugh at you if you were to suggest there was an issue with the hair in the water and the filters wouldn't be able to cope with the strain.

Mark my words, this is the very first step in my campaign to rid Ireland of this profoundly ridiculous rule.

Even more ridiculous when people with not a single strand on their head are also forced to wear one… Keep the faith Joey!

The vast majority of pools in Oz are outdoor. Not much point in stressing out about random hairs in the pool when you have leaves, bugs, snakes and even ducks! randomly getting into your pool. The pool systems in oz are more robust to deal with this sort of gear.
The majority of public pools in Oz, are also deck level pools, which removes the need for pain in the butt skimmer baskets and makes them far easier to clean and maintain.
Private pools in Oz on the other hand are generally walled, generally use a skimmer based filtration system and are for the most part a pain to keep clean, between leaves bugs, black spot mold and dust.

Ultimately the hat situation in Irish pools is a bit of a labor saver, but from a business perspective, it is also an exercise in revenue generation, by getting that secondary spend from those who are hatless, that is undeniable, for the majority of public pools, they are funded by local councils, so it's hard to grudge them the extra spend, ultimately they are running at a loss (Learn to swim is generally the only real profit generation) due to heating, plat maintenance and wage bills. The situation in Oz is very different and is a false comparison as the overall inputs to the running of a pool are proportioned totally differently.

Hi AngryHippie

It reads to me like you have a vast knowledge regarding the pools here in Australia. I'm interested to know if you have worked over here. Which local pool complex and if so when, so I can get an idea where you comment is based on.

Otherwise your comment is taking this thread totally out of context.

It's about having the choice whether to wear a cap or not because the lame excuse the Irish swimming board has, is antiquated.

Don't focus on Australia, as you have, as it doesn't make for good debate... leaves, duck and snakes?? Really?

If you want to focus on something then take the perspective of the people visiting Ireland, from around the world, Swedes, Americans, South Africans, the like who are mostly tourists spending their money assisting the Irish economy.

It shouldn't be mandatory for them to wear a swimming cap if they are purely entering the pool on a casual basis, as tourists do. It takes the joy out of going for a swim.

shave your head - job done

Mandos wrote: »

Hi AngryHippie

It reads to me like you have a vast knowledge regarding the pools here in Australia. I'm interested to know if you have worked over here. Which local pool complex and if so when, so I can get an idea where you comment is based on.

Otherwise your comment is taking this thread totally out of context.

It's about having the choice whether to wear a cap or not because the lame excuse the Irish swimming board has, is antiquated.

Don't focus on Australia, as you have, as it doesn't make for good debate... leaves, duck and snakes?? Really?

If you want to focus on something then take the perspective of the people visiting Ireland, from around the world, Swedes, Americans, South Africans, the like who are mostly tourists spending their money assisting the Irish economy.

It shouldn't be mandatory for them to wear a swimming cap if they are purely entering the pool on a casual basis, as tourists do. It takes the joy out of going for a swim.

I worked for a company in Australia for a number of years with over 40 pools & leisure centers in 4 states, which also had another branch with a nationwide chain of gyms & teaching pools, I worked in a dozen or so of their pools on different occasions.

I also worked in a half dozen pools in Ireland (all in Leinster) while I was living there, and swam regularly in countless others.

I'm not going to start naming names of places I have worked, as some were private companies, and some were local authorities, either way it is a ball of snakes I'm not going to touch. Some will be able to see a few of them from previous post history (without saying too much)

I'm not really taking the thread out of context as I've been attempting to address the OP

how come it is compulsory in Ireland but the rest of the world doesn't bother

by pointing out why Ireland in particular does, and some places in the rest of the world don't bother.

I'd be interested to hear who you consider to be the "Irish Swimming Board" to actually be ?

http://www.swimireland.ie/about-us/swim-ireland-board-2012-2013/

perhaps ?

If you want to focus on something then take the perspective of the people visiting Ireland, from around the world, Swedes, Americans, South Africans, the like who are mostly tourists spending their money assisting the Irish economy.

I have no idea why anybody would focus on this. Not anyone working in the industry or with business awareness in any case. Having worked extensively in the Irish pool business for a decade, I can assure you that the portion of income (and repeat business in particular) coming from

Swedes, Americans, South Africans, the like who are mostly tourists

is absolutely minimal compared to the number of regular swimmers, squaddies, tri-clubs and learn-to-swim programmes. You can choose to ignore this commercial reality if it fits the point you are attempting to make though:rolleyes:
If all of your regular pool users have an issue with it, then it would be a concern. One-off and casual users while still customers, have exponentially less influence over what is done and how it gets done.

It shouldn't be mandatory for them to wear a swimming cap if they are purely entering the pool on a casual basis, as tourists do. It takes the joy out of going for a swim.

Again, you are ignoring the realities because you have a personal preference and axe to grind.

Anyhow, Thanks for the eh...feedback ?

Took my son to the local (indoor) pool today… plenty of people but noticed only one person wearing a swim cap.. they were doing laps. Didn't see one strand of hair in the water.

^^^ have seen this done by the lifeguards at the pool. Knowing my luck I'd miss and they'd lose an eye! Explain that one to mammy and daddy!

there is nothing worse when swimming and you catch a long hair in your fingers- yuck

How is it a bother to wear a swim hat?
5 seconds after I put one on I forget it's there.