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September 3, 2004 > News > Three-week pool closure displaces teams, LPAPs

Three-week pool closure displaces teams, LPAPs

By Katherine Corley | Thresher staff

After three weeks out of commission, the Recreation Center pool remains closed due to high chlorine levels caused by an equipment malfunction.

The pool will be usable as soon as the chlorine levels return to normal, Recreation Operations Assistant Director for Operations Sean Towery said.

Recreation Programs Associate Director Daniel McMasters said the shutdown is due to a routine maintenance delay combined with mechanical problems.

“We shut the pool down every year at the end of the summer [to] drain it and clean it,” McMasters said. “After that, it just takes time to fill the pool up and get it balanced. The automated chlorine pump malfunctioned, and by the time we caught it, it had pumped too much chlorine. So at this point, we’re just lowering the chlorine level in the pool until it’s safe to swim in.”

The process usually takes one to two weeks, McMasters said.

When the high chlorine problem was first discovered, neutralizer was added to reduce the chlorine level, but it did not work, McMasters said. A fresh batch of chemicals was added to the water Tuesday, and the chlorine level is now dropping.

Swimmers have been disappointed to hear of the closure but have generally been understanding, Towery said.

“A lot of people who use the pool … know that water chemistry is not something that’s easy to deal with,” Towery said. “When you tell them that it’s a chlorine issue, they understand because no one wants to swim in a pool that’s not regulated.”

However, the lack of pool access has left several LPAPs, the varsity swim team and the club water polo teams homeless during the first two weeks of school.

Luke Gilman, president of the men’s water polo team, said the team’s first water polo tournament is in three weeks, and the team has not yet practiced in the Rice pool.

“We are unable to practice except for traveling to [the University of Houston] to play at their pool with their team,” Gilman, a Lovett College junior, said. “We are only able to run land practices at Rice currently, which unfortunately does not transfer well to the pool. To get in shape, we need to be in the pool, swimming, at least four to five times a week.”

So far, six men’s and three women’s water polo practices have been canceled.

Sid Richardson College senior Julia Follick, a member of the women’s water polo team, said the pool closure costs the team time and money because it is forced to use off-campus pools. For example, the team must pay $60 per hour to use the UH pool.

“As a club sport, there is absolutely no way we can support that,” Follick said. “[Gilman] has looked into getting money from the university for that, but so far I don’t think we’ve had any luck.”

McMasters said the water polo team has not contacted him with their concerns.

Like the water polo team, the varsity swim team has encountered problems with pool workouts. Swim team member Kiana Taheri said the pool closure has made the team’s once or twice daily practices logistically difficult.

“It takes about 10 minutes to drive off campus [to UH], which matters the most when you’re trying to get back on campus for an 8 a.m. class after a morning practice or one at 6 p.m. after evening practice,” Taheri, a Martel senior, said. ”That can mean sacrificing meal time and changing time. Who wants to stay in a wet suit or miss a meal after working out for two hours?”

Aquatic LPAPs also have been unable to start their in-pool curriculum. Brown College freshman Jessica Simon said her LPAP, Lifeguarding, has not yet started because the class has nowhere to take the mandatory swim test.

Chemical fluctuations in the water are not unusual, McMasters said.

“We’ve had problems in the past with the pool chemicals and stuff like that,” McMasters said. “There’s nothing that’s not normal. You’re always going to have chemical fluctuations in the pool. There are so many different things that can affect the chlorine level.”

Jess Schumer, president of the women’s water polo team, said the pool closes far too frequently.

“It’s almost a given that the pool is closed at some point during the spring season,” Schumer, a Hanszen College senior, said. “In the previous two seasons I have played, the pool has been closed at least three times, and sometimes for an entire week. Two years ago, it was closed the week before our regional championship competition. Luckily, we were able to get some pool time at the [Texas Medical Center] a couple of nights. Otherwise it could have really affected our chances of reaching the national championships.”

Even when the pool has remained open, chlorine levels have continued to be an issue. Taheri said chemical levels have posed safety problems in the past.

“In the past, practice has been cancelled or moved off campus due to varying chlorine levels — sometimes high enough to burn off your eyebrow and arm hair or low enough that it would be like we were swimming in a Port-A-Potty,” Taheri said. “Also, high levels of chlorine in an indoor pool will start to burn in your lungs. We have gotten out of the water on numerous occasions because everyone is coughing and unable to breathe.”

Assistant Director for Intramural and Club Sports Tina Villard said the age of the pool inevitably causes some problems.

“Basically, the pool’s 50 years old, and this is what happens,” Villard said. “I understand [the teams’] frustration, but the Rec Center is really working as hard as they can to get the pool open. … Things break down, they’re replacing pipes all the time, and the chlorine levels are changing on a daily basis.”

Assistant Vice President for Facilities Russell Price said a new pool would cost several million dollars.

When the Board of Trustees announced in May that Rice would continue to compete in NCAA Division I-A athletics, Board Chairman Bill Barnett (Lovett ‘55) said building a new recreation and convocation center is a high priority for the board. Villard said she has not yet heard of specific plans for a new building.

Gilman said a new pool would improve Rice’s ability to recruit swimmers.

“As we saw with the baseball team [and the construction of Reckling Park], ‘If you build it, they will come,’” Gilman said.

An improved pool would also allow Rice to host water polo tournaments, Follick said.

Regardless of the cost, Follick said the need for a new pool is urgent.

“The pool is over 50 years old and is completely unreliable,” Follick said. “We’re going to have to come up with some kind of permanent arrangement with another pool because we need to be able to practice on a regular basis. Right now, we’re just waiting indefinitely, and I’m certainly not holding my breath.”

End of article

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