I REFER to two recent letters concerning public swimming pools, one from S. Ross, of Sai Kung (South China Morning Post, September 13), on the subject of swimming caps and lane dividers and another from Ms Ingrid Lipa (Post, September 11), who suggested a ban on spitting in pools.
All Urban Council pools are governed by the Public Swimming Pools (Urban Council) By-laws and in addition to this, there are also house rules which are drawn up for the smooth and safe operation of pools.
In respect of stray hair being found in pools, I should explain that our main effort to overcome this is to have swimmers shower before entering the pool.
The pre-swim shower not only removes loose hair, but also body oil and dirt. The idea of imposing a swimming cap rule at pools has been considered in the past. However, the response from the general public was that they would not like to wear them. As an alternative to wearing swimming caps, we are hoping to encourage and persuade swimmers to shower.
To facilitate this, more high pressure shower outlets at entry points leading into the pool deck are presently being considered.
With regard to roping off lanes for lap swimming, pool lanes are roped off whenever possible.