What to Do When the Pool (Water Temperature) is Cold (Cold Pool Procedure)

Pool Temperature

When you arrive to the pool, it is mandatory that you take the water temperature with the temperature gun, even if there is a coach teaching before you. Each coach must take a temperature reading before they start teaching as conditions can change throughout the day and we want to catch a mechanical issue sooner rather than later. Remember: point the temp gun at the deep end drain and take 3 readings.

If the weather outside is cold (i.e. it's Winter): Clo has tried everything in her power (talked to the GM, maintenance, etc.) to make the pool and air temperatures better at the Clov-East pool, but it is not going to get better until it warms up outside. Thank you so much for your patience so far, you guys are superstars and it will get better! As Clo has done this job for 30 years, she has the following suggestions for Clov-East coaches while we wait for the weather to warm up:

1. 1. Invest in a wetsuit

   2. Do fall-ins in the shallow end of the pool (away from the fan), ideally they’re done in deep water, but use your discretion

   3. Bring extra bathing suits that you can change into in the 5mins between classes

   4. Bring a robe and inside flip flops that you can wear to go to the door to pick up kids for your next class

   5. Do a bit of your warm up outside the water, if you’ve changed into a dry suit and you’re a cold person, so you would teach the warm up from the deck with the kids in the water to buy you an extra 10min being dry

Contact the Office & Clo

If the water temperature is displaying 75 degrees or lower, you must follow these steps:

1.   Text 3 pictures of the water temperature reading to BOTH the business line and Clo's personal line in a GROUP text. The temperature gun should be pointed at the deep end drain.

2.    Include 1 picture of the water temperature log 

     (where you record water temperature). Make sure the whole page is displayed and we can see yesterday's temps.

3.    Reach down into the water and check to see if there is any warm water coming out of the jets: Tell us in the group text and let us know if the water coming out of the jets is cold, lukewarm, or warm. (let us know either way).

4.  Tell us how many kids from each class (out of 5) are shivering.

5.  After each class, tell us if you felt warm water coming out of the jets at all.

6.    Keep your phone close to you, with the ringer on, so we can contact you if necessary and get a hold of you.

7. Text water temperature picture updates every TWO HOURS to BOTH lines for the rest of your shift, and one final time before you leave.

How to Conduct a Lesson in a Cold Pool (Cold Pool Procedure)

If the water temperature is displaying 75 degrees or lower, lessons continue – we do not cancel lessons for a cold pool. We do change the format of the lessons in order to still provide a good, quality lesson for the kids. Please follow the Cold Pool Procedure laid out below (if the kids are cold-blooded, if they are warm-blooded, don't do cold pool procedure, it sounds like most kids are ok in the water but they are cold with the air):

DO NOT:

1.    Tell the parents or kids anything about the pool temperature.

2.  Invite any parents onto the pool deck for your lessons (ever).

3.    Under no circumstance are you ever permitted to put the kids in the hot tub. We do not have insurance for the hot tub. If we hear that you have let any of your kids into the hot tub, you will immediately be removed from your shift as this compromises our hotel contract and is a very serious liability issue. If it is absolutely necessary, you may warm up your kids with a warm shower, but we ideally don’t want you to do this.

DO:

  1. Shower the kids: The hotel is very strict about everyone showering before going into the pool, no matter what. You must continue with this procedure. We recommend showering the kids after dry land and before entering the pool. 

      2. Set an alarm: Every 2 lessons of your shift, send 3 new pictures of 3 new water temp readings to both the business line and Clo’s personal line in the group text. Make sure to send one final picture of 3 final water temp readings before you leave the pool for the day.

a. We use this information to help us determine if the pool temperature is going up or down so that we know what actions we need to take to fix the situation.

b.  Tell us out of the 10 children you just saw, how many were shivering?

3.  Warm-up: Run your warm-up from outside the pool to buy you an extra 10 minutes where you can stay dry and warm in a robe before needing to go in the water.

4. If it's cold outside, keep the kids moving: The air temperature is going to be what's making the kids cold at this location if the weather is cold outside. Make sure you do your fall-ins away from the fans. Ideally you do them in deeper water. Coaches find that it's best when the kids are in the water and moving as the water will be warmer than the air outside.

5. If it's warm outside, for the first 25min of your 40min lesson: Do Water Smart Education and Dry Land (see below). Do whatever you need to keep the kids warm (have them wrapped in towels). If your kids are warm-blooded, don't do dry land. Some examples of Water Smart Education and Dry Land drills you can do for your class are: 

Water Smart Education:

a.    Ask to go in the pool

b.    Hands to yourself in the pool (never touch anyone)

c.     How to rescue someone that’s drowning (call for help, get an adult)

d.    Never take off your learning belt

e.    Wear a lifejacket

f.      Swim with a buddy

g.     Stay in your lane

h.    No jumping in the pool

i.       No running

j.       No walking or standing in flippers

k.     Check the ice

Dry Land Training:

l.       Kicking drills on front and back

m. Front crawl long arm pulls

n.    Back swim body position

o.    Back crawl arms (thumb out, pinky in)

p.    Side swim position for front crawl breathing, kicking to the side

q.    Whip kick (if it's in their level)

r.      Eggbeater (if it's in their level)

s.  Any safety skills found in their report card (i.e. choking procedure, CPR, etc...) 

3.    For the next 10 minutes of your 40 minute lesson: You will get your kids into the water for the next 10 minutes, following these proven steps (getting the kids into the pool is mandatory):

a.    You must shower your kids before they go into the pool (hotel rules).

b.    Sit all your kids on the side of the pool, like you would for fall-ins.

c.     Have the kids fall in (away from the fan - ideally in deep water, but use your discretion) and immediately start playing tag with them so they don’t notice the cold.

d.    Play tag for the full 10 minutes to keep them moving and warm.

4.  Next 5 minutes of your 40 minute lesson: Get your kids out of the pool and dried off as normal.

5. Don’t get chilled yourself (keep yourself warm!)

Please Make Sure You Know This Procedure!

We know that shifts where the pool is cold will be tough for you. We believe in you and that you can make it work with the steps outlined above. Please make sure you set alarms to keep us updated on the pool temperature as this is the fastest way that you can help us fix the problem.

PLEASE NOTE: Pools take a very long time to heat up. If the pool is cold when you get there, it will most likely not be warmed up by the time you leave, as pools typically only go up approximately 1 degree every 2 hours once the underlying issue has been fixed. Thank you so much for your patience. By following the procedure above, you will help us fix the issue as quickly as possible so that lessons can get back to normal!