Can somebody please explain this rule?

[mazbarth]

I like to walk mid-day in the sports pool near me. Often there is a water volleyball game in one-quarter to one-half of the pool during the middle of the day. The other half of the pool is totally empty while they play.

I was in walking in the pool last week and somebody with a Village REC shirt came over and told me I had to get out of the pool while group was playing.

I have been water-walking in this pool for almost two years. This is the first time I've been told I HAD TO get out - immediately.

This rule makes NO sense to me. I am not bothering them, & the players are not bothering me. We never intersect in this large pool & sometimes I can fetch their wayward balls.

Can somebody please explain why this rule exists? It seems rather silly and a waste of perfectly good weather, etc. for no explainable reason. (The guy who chased me out could not explain it either. Just kept answering "it is the rule!" )

Thanks for any knowledge you have on this!
Michele
Fenney

[Two Bills]

Probably Health and Safety, or private group pool use.

You could become a member of the volley ball group, walk up and down at back, and when challenged, say you are a player designated as the 'Wayward Ball Picker Upper'

[schwarz]

Probably Health and Safety, or private group pool use.

You could become a member of the volley ball group, walk up and down at back, and when challenged, say you are a player designated as the 'Wayward Ball Picker Upper'
At the LaHacienda sports pool the volleyball groups us part of the pool and the rest is open for swimming by anyone.

[Get real]

They just wanted to REC your day.

[Bogie Shooter]

I like to walk mid-day in the sports pool near me. Often there is a water volleyball game in one-quarter to one-half of the pool during the middle of the day. The other half of the pool is totally empty while they play.

I was in walking in the pool last week and somebody with a Village REC shirt came over and told me I had to get out of the pool while group was playing.

I have been water-walking in this pool for almost two years. This is the first time I've been told I HAD TO get out - immediately.

This rule makes NO sense to me. I am not bothering them, & the players are not bothering me. We never intersect in this large pool & sometimes I can fetch their wayward balls.

Can somebody please explain why this rule exists? It seems rather silly and a waste of perfectly good weather, etc. for no explainable reason. (The guy who chased me out could not explain it either. Just kept answering "it is the rule!" )

Thanks for any knowledge you have on this!
Michele
Fenney

Call the Rec department and get clarification of the rule. Or start with the director of the center.

[threeonemiles@outlook.com]

I like to walk mid-day in the sports pool near me. Often there is a water volleyball game in one-quarter to one-half of the pool during the middle of the day. The other half of the pool is totally empty while they play.

I was in walking in the pool last week and somebody with a Village REC shirt came over and told me I had to get out of the pool while group was playing.

I have been water-walking in this pool for almost two years. This is the first time I've been told I HAD TO get out - immediately.

This rule makes NO sense to me. I am not bothering them, & the players are not bothering me. We never intersect in this large pool & sometimes I can fetch their wayward balls.

Can somebody please explain why this rule exists? It seems rather silly and a waste of perfectly good weather, etc. for no explainable reason. (The guy who chased me out could not explain it either. Just kept answering "it is the rule!" )

Thanks for any knowledge you have on this!
Michele
Fenney
Don't kill the messenger. The guy is just doing what he is told to do. Go to the rec office and vent. Be nice about it, but be firm.

[Marathon Man]

You question should be directed at those that can answer it. Call the rec department.

[JohnN]

Probably Health and Safety, or private group pool use.

You could become a member of the volley ball group, walk up and down at back, and when challenged, say you are a player designated as the 'Wayward Ball Picker Upper'

That's a clever reply , use that if the rec center can't do better.
Not all Villages rules and regs make sense.

[mazbarth]

Exactly. I lived two yrs up that way & never had a problem in that pool!

[mazbarth]

No one mentioned about killing the staff member! I'm only asking why the inconsistency.

[mazbarth]

You question should be directed at those that can answer it. Call the rec department.

Will do!

[Jim 9922]

To my knowledge the "rule" is intended to protect an unsuspecting walker/non-participant from being forcefully struck by a hard driven ball, errantly sailing beyond the boundaries of the playing court. Getting hit in the head or face when not expecting it comes as quite a jolt.

[mazbarth]

Yes, that makes sense. In 4 yrs of water walking have never had it happen tho!

[fdpaq0580]

Yes, that makes sense. In 4 yrs of water walking have never had it happen tho!

There is always a "first time". Still, check with the director.

[BobnBev]

I would tell the guy to stick it, and keep walking. Sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about. What's he gonna do, jump in and drag you out?

[bowlingal]

the schedule for use at the sports pools are listed on the bulletin board outside of the locker room, or in the rec news in the sports pool page. Each group or session has the pool for themselves for the allotted time. These groups have a permit that they must fill out every April / October ( winter and summer sessions) to have use of the pool during their times. It doesn't matter if their session is full or not. You water walking during their time is not allowed. You can walk during combo swim times ( this is for water walkers and lap swimming) Respect the rules please.

[Hendrick22]

Agreed. Walking in the sport pools is during combo swim.
If you want to walk when you want to suggest you use the neighborhood pool.

[NavyBoy]

i like to walk mid-day in the sports pool near me. Often there is a water volleyball game in one-quarter to one-half of the pool during the middle of the day. The other half of the pool is totally empty while they play.

I was in walking in the pool last week and somebody with a village rec shirt came over and told me i had to get out of the pool while group was playing.

I have been water-walking in this pool for almost two years. This is the first time i've been told i had to get out - immediately.

This rule makes no sense to me. I am not bothering them, & the players are not bothering me. We never intersect in this large pool & sometimes i can fetch their wayward balls.

Can somebody please explain why this rule exists? It seems rather silly and a waste of perfectly good weather, etc. For no explainable reason. (the guy who chased me out could not explain it either. Just kept answering "it is the rule!" )

thanks for any knowledge you have on this!
Michele
fenney

yes....very stupid indeed

[sallyg]

I am astounded that you were asked to leave. Since when does the Rec department ever enforce any rules, or even have an employee on site? I have seen every type of violation at the sports pools, from La Hacienda to Spanish Moss without any intervention. Somebody must have complained about you. Volleyball rules the sports pools. The large number of players outnumber walkers or lap swimmers. When a group or class reserves the pool it's theirs for that time slot. Doesn't matter if half the pool is empty, you are not permitted to walk or swim. They are also not permitted to play when their time is up. They used to continue playing at Everglades for another 45 min after their schedule, funny how that works.

[NotGolfer]

I stopped going to my nearest sports pool for my water-walking because I'd been doing that for 2 yrs until one day (it was the open or combo time) when ALL the lanes were taken over by lap-swimmers. I'd been there for awhile until someone didn't want to share my lane apparently and took over. It was obvious to me that they didn't want anyone else "infringing" on their time, though I was in that lane first. My friends and I ended up going early (emphasis on early--before the sun-bathers and families began to show up) to our family pool and it worked out pretty well.

[garrykolb]

I like to walk mid-day in the sports pool near me. Often there is a water volleyball game in one-quarter to one-half of the pool during the middle of the day. The other half of the pool is totally empty while they play.

I was in walking in the pool last week and somebody with a Village REC shirt came over and told me I had to get out of the pool while group was playing.

I have been water-walking in this pool for almost two years. This is the first time I've been told I HAD TO get out - immediately.

This rule makes NO sense to me. I am not bothering them, & the players are not bothering me. We never intersect in this large pool & sometimes I can fetch their wayward balls.

Can somebody please explain why this rule exists? It seems rather silly and a waste of perfectly good weather, etc. for no explainable reason. (The guy who chased me out could not explain it either. Just kept answering "it is the rule!" )

Thanks for any knowledge you have on this!
Michele
Fenney

You don't mention what pool, what time, and on what day. If it was at Colony Cottage, that's where advanced water volleyball plays every day from 1-3pm.. Advanced intermediate plays at other pools on different days and times. Either of these groups have players that hit the ball hard enough to do some damage if they hit someone, even on the other end of the pool. The rule is for your safety because you can't be watching every play on all courts all the time.

It may seem silly, but the rule is there for a reason.

[Carms]

From what I heard, someone was walking and was hit in the head with a volleyball and knocked unconscious. It became a liability issue and the decision was made to have no walkers.

[SKBandME]

well, if you had taken the time to reserve a pool for your activity and someone infringed upon your time slot you would want the rec staff to support your time also. Rec staff was doing their job enforcing the volleyballs time slot. All these times are listed multiple places.

[HJBeck]

My guess it’s purely a legal issue. We live in a very litigious society. If you were to get hit with a hard spiked ball that hit your head and you lost an eye, caused a concussion, or worse, would you sue? Have you signed the liability waiver? Too complex to manage. Follow the rules!

[tophcfa]

well, if you had taken the time to reserve a pool for your activity and someone infringed upon your time slot you would want the rec staff to support your time also. Rec staff was doing their job enforcing the volleyballs time slot. All these times are listed multiple places.

I agree, when a pool has a reserved time slot for an activity it should be respected and not infringed upon. What gets my goat is that reserved time slots are sometimes not used, leaving the pool empty during the time slot, effectively leaving a valuable amenity underutilized. If someone doesn’t show up at an executive course for a t time that others could have utilized, they are accessed points that lower their priority for getting another t time. If a water volleyball or aerobics water class decides to cancel because it’s too cold, rain is forecasted, or some other reason, there are absolutely no repercussions. It very much annoys me to drive by an empty pool knowing that if people knew the pool was going to be empty they could be water walking or swimming laps.

[fdpaq0580]

Walking in sand is good exercise. If you can't walk in the pool while a volley ball game is in progress, maybe the golfers will let you walk in the sand traps. (Wear a helmet).

[Bellavita]

Yes this is a rule, another dumb one is you have to be out 10 minutes prior to the next event.

you can ask the volleyball players if you can walk and if they approve you are ok, but if no
one spoke out to say you were ok, perhaps someone in that group reported
you.

Hey what can I say, one day I went to the sports pool to swim laps and it was so full, one guy was in a lane and swam about every 5 minutes while he caught his breathe. I asked if he would share the lane and he said no, then he told me I could kill someone and that another villager let someone swim in the lane and then he sued him.

Its the Villages, not everything makes sense. I would find another pool close, there are 100 to choose from and you can walk anywhere.

I like to walk mid-day in the sports pool near me. Often there is a water volleyball game in one-quarter to one-half of the pool during the middle of the day. The other half of the pool is totally empty while they play.

I was in walking in the pool last week and somebody with a Village REC shirt came over and told me I had to get out of the pool while group was playing.

I have been water-walking in this pool for almost two years. This is the first time I've been told I HAD TO get out - immediately.

This rule makes NO sense to me. I am not bothering them, & the players are not bothering me. We never intersect in this large pool & sometimes I can fetch their wayward balls.

Can somebody please explain why this rule exists? It seems rather silly and a waste of perfectly good weather, etc. for no explainable reason. (The guy who chased me out could not explain it either. Just kept answering "it is the rule!" )

Thanks for any knowledge you have on this!
Michele
Fenney

[jjombrello]

Why be antagonistic? Ask the Rec Department what the rules are and get it settled without controversy.

[tophcfa]

Yes this is a rule, another dumb one is you have to be out 10 minutes prior to the next event.

Not a dumb rule, it takes that time to put in or take out the swim lanes and flags, volleyball nets, etc… (can’t play volleyball with the swim flags and can’t swim through volleyball nets) to prepare the pool for different scheduled activities. Plus it staggers the times when the participants in the various activities use the changing rooms. It’s a necessary rule.

[Reynoka]

I live out of state but when I took a water aerobics class, the time in the pool was reserved at the gym I attend and no one could use the empty end of the large pool. We were told that our instructor was CPR certified but not responsible for watching people swimming in the deep end who weren’t in the class…but if someone drowned, they could be sued. It seemed goofy since there weren’t any lifeguards on duty at the pool any time, but our instructor needed the training to teach the course, so no one else could be in the pool at the time of the class. If someone had a heart attack in the deep end while our instructor was present and wasn’t watching the person not in the class, the gym didn’t want the liability.

[jimjamuser]

To my knowledge the "rule" is intended to protect an unsuspecting walker/non-participant from being forcefully struck by a hard driven ball, errantly sailing beyond the boundaries of the playing court. Getting hit in the head or face when not expecting it comes as quite a jolt.
True, and if they got hit in the eye area that could hurt the retina. And if they were wearing wire-framed glasses, the nosepiece could be driven into the eye. It would be a freak situation, but it could happen.

[Two Bills]

True, and if they got hit in the eye area that could hurt the retina. And if they were wearing wire-framed glasses, the nosepiece could be driven into the eye. It would be a freak situation, but it could happen.

..........or have the metal frame driven up his nose into his brain and kill him on the spot.
or the ball could hit a Sand Crane flying over, kill it, then it falls to earth beak first and pierces the walkers skull.
Walking in water is so dangerous.
Perhaps that is why Jesus walked on the water.
So much safer, unless of course he had tripped over his sandals in the deep end, and couldn't swim. Then all the New Testament wouldn't have been written, and we would now all be Israeli's!
Funny old world.

[Sunny923!]

I like to walk mid-day in the sports pool near me. Often there is a water volleyball game in one-quarter to one-half of the pool during the middle of the day. The other half of the pool is totally empty while they play.

I was in walking in the pool last week and somebody with a Village REC shirt came over and told me I had to get out of the pool while group was playing.

I have been water-walking in this pool for almost two years. This is the first time I've been told I HAD TO get out - immediately.

This rule makes NO sense to me. I am not bothering them, & the players are not bothering me. We never intersect in this large pool & sometimes I can fetch their wayward balls.

Can somebody please explain why this rule exists? It seems rather silly and a waste of perfectly good weather, etc. for no explainable reason. (The guy who chased me out could not explain it either. Just kept answering "it is the rule!" )

Thanks for any knowledge you have on this!
Michele
Fenney

Just call the Rec Ctr and ask to speak with the aqua director. This is not the place for clarification.

[birdawg]

Let’s think about this. Suppose 2 other people start walking with you then 5 other people start walking with you should they also be allowed and who decides who is special. Play by the rules no one special

[Cfdettmer]

If you go to the bulletin board at your recreational pool or 10 lane pool, there will be a schedule when it is open swimming and sports competition. It will tell you what days or hrs in the day that you can do combo/swim. The days vary. Typically, with the exception of certain morning hours in between specific class or competition times, the schedule with have it all on a chart for every day of the week. I simply took a photo of that schedule and printed it at home. It is on the side of my refrigerator. That way, I can plan my day around the open swim times. Most of those are usually 3pm or later….but not all.

[Sandy and Ed]

Don't kill the messenger. The guy is just doing what he is told to do. Go to the rec office and vent. Be nice about it, but be firm.
Or maybe not……(?). sometimes the employee interprets rules slightly different than intended. Or maybe has or assumes more latitude than entitled. In any case, yeah, a big waste of good pool area. Me? I might have challenged but would have lost

[Ele201]

I like to walk mid-day in the sports pool near me. Often there is a water volleyball game in one-quarter to one-half of the pool during the middle of the day. The other half of the pool is totally empty while they play.

I was in walking in the pool last week and somebody with a Village REC shirt came over and told me I had to get out of the pool while group was playing.

I have been water-walking in this pool for almost two years. This is the first time I've been told I HAD TO get out - immediately.

This rule makes NO sense to me. I am not bothering them, & the players are not bothering me. We never intersect in this large pool & sometimes I can fetch their wayward balls.

Can somebody please explain why this rule exists? It seems rather silly and a waste of perfectly good weather, etc. for no explainable reason. (The guy who chased me out could not explain it either. Just kept answering "it is the rule!" )

Thanks for any knowledge you have on this!
Michele
Fenney
Someone in the water volleyball group either complained about someone in the pool that wasn’t part of the group, or someone got hit with the ball, again not part of the group. Otherwise, why would that guy make an issue out of it? For me, these pools have so many rules that I tend to avoid them anyway!

[tophcfa]

If you go to the bulletin board at your recreational pool or 10 lane pool, there will be a schedule when it is open swimming and sports competition. It will tell you what days or hrs in the day that you can do combo/swim. The days vary.

I wish they were all 10 lane pools (sports pools). Some are 6, others 8, and some 10. I have never seen more that three lanes roped off for lap swimming at La Hacienda. And the pool schedules are available in the weekly Recreation and Parks Publication available in Thursdays Daily Sun, online, and at all Regional Recreation Centers.

[PugMom]

well, if you had taken the time to reserve a pool for your activity and someone infringed upon your time slot you would want the rec staff to support your time also. Rec staff was doing their job enforcing the volleyballs time slot. All these times are listed multiple places.

yes. the sports pools require reservations for the lanes, or so we have been told. the people who do show are very serious swimmers doing quick laps

[loweglor]

Probably some legal liability if someone not involved in the water sport is accidentally hurt.

[Pairadocs]

Call the Rec department and get clarification of the rule. Or start with the director of the center.

Yes, just ASK at the location. It is confusing in T V's. In most places, the "rules" are "the rules", and of course there are slip ups from time to time. But over the years we've found it amazing how the "rules" for anything and everything differ for every golf course, pool, and rec center. You just can't depend on any kind of consistency. Some golf courses will allow you to give them your name, address, and number ONCE ONLY and you are allowed to play if you forget your ID card. At other courses, the 3 go out and you are sent home loosing your tee time and points ! It really confuses new people. Same with pool rules, it is true at some pools you can walk or swim while another part of the pool is used for water volleyball or similar game. There is no answer, no pattern, and each location has always seemed to have their own rules, and even then, you can go back a week later, and there might be a different starter or pool employee, and the rules are entirely different. Have to just roll with it and not get too upset ! Just shrug and have fun, life is short, tomorrow may not arrive, so not worth the discussion over it !

[El Gout Toe]

I like to walk mid-day in the sports pool near me. Often there is a water volleyball game in one-quarter to one-half of the pool during the middle of the day. The other half of the pool is totally empty while they play.

I was in walking in the pool last week and somebody with a Village REC shirt came over and told me I had to get out of the pool while group was playing.

I have been water-walking in this pool for almost two years. This is the first time I've been told I HAD TO get out - immediately.

This rule makes NO sense to me. I am not bothering them, & the players are not bothering me. We never intersect in this large pool & sometimes I can fetch their wayward balls.

Can somebody please explain why this rule exists? It seems rather silly and a waste of perfectly good weather, etc. for no explainable reason. (The guy who chased me out could not explain it either. Just kept answering "it is the rule!" )

Thanks for any knowledge you have on this!
Michele
Fenney
Quick story...

I was rehabbing my ankle after a bad skiing accident while competing on the pro circuit at Mount Glasserman in Skenekekee. My doctor from the US National Team told me that running in the pool was the perfect exercise. I am about three hours into my second round of two-a-days, when a rather large man with a badminton racquet confronted me about trespassing. Apparently I was moving in on their time and they had the whole pool reserved, even though they were only using a very small section. The man who called himself Axe told me that they had taken out their own liability policy and that it prohibited any spectators or others in the pool. Once he found out that I was a professional skier, he let me continue as he was a very patriotic American on vacation in the area and wanted to support the red, white, and blue.