Diving boards and slides can add to the fun and enjoyment you get from your pool but there are also important safety issues to consider.
Dive in.
Most people who have been taught to swim have also been taught to dive. It looks more elegant than just jumping in and its certainly more fun and more satisfying.
Everyone first learns to dive by jumping from the edge of the pool.
For some swimmers that’s enough but some want to graduate to using the diving board.
A diving board takes you out further over the water away from the edge and its spring gives your dive greater height. There are a greater number of different types of dive that you can do from a board than from the edge of your pool – and its simply more exhilarating.
Although there are aluminium diving boards available, most boards are made of wood covered in fibreglass and finished with a non-slip tread on the upper surface.
Attached to the edge of the pool by a mounting block or steel stanchions and sometimes incorporating handrails, they clearly mark which end of the pool is meant for diving into.
Diving safety.
Diving boards for home swimming pools are usually between 6 and 10 feet in length and about 18 inches wide.
They will be raised by no more than a foot above the pool surround and there are strict guidelines regarding the size and depth of the pool that they can be fitted to.
SPATA – the Swimming Pool and Allied Trade Association – have designated a ‘cage of safety’ that applies to all diving board installations and defines the body of water that is necessary for someone to dive into from a board.
The dimensions of the safe water volume differ from board to board – as larger boards can give a diver more height and therefore they need a greater volume and depth of water to safely dive in to.
However, the smallest available board needs a pool that has a depth of at least 7.5 feet and should be more than 28 feet long and 15 feet wide.
You should always have a diving board installed by a qualified and approved pool professional who will advise you on the size of board that is appropriate for your pool.
Making a splash.
Pool slides are another fun way to get into the water.
There is a huge range of swimming pool slides and flumes on the market starting from the very simplest which just has steps up to a straight slide down into your pool, to a flume that turns bathers through 360deg on their way to the water and speeds their way with water jets driven by a connection to your pool pump.
Slides need a minimum pool depth of 3.5 feet at the entry point of the slide.
Pool slides can be permanently concreted into position or fixed using deck anchors. It is recommended that all larger flumes be permanently fixed for safety reasons.
Diving boards and slides add an extra element to your pool and let you enjoy some of the thrills of the waterpark in your own home.
Children should never be allowed to use the slide or diving board without adult supervision.
We hope this article has been of use to you. There are many more articles on this site that will give you information on almost every aspect of your pool.
If you would like some specific advice about diving boards, flumes or slides for your pool then we can help you find a pool professional with the appropriate skills and experience.
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