Isn’t a Pool a Pool?

"Next time you see a swimming competition on TV, or any other sporting event, know that design professional play a very important role in the success or failure of the competitors." That slice of engineering/land surveying in our lives comes from Jim Sullins, executive vice president of the Consulting Engineers of Oklahoma, swimming enthusiast, and director of an annual national swim competition.

Isn’t a pool a pool? No, insists Sullins. "Gutter and circulation systems, lane dividers, even the type surface on pool walls and bottom, can mean a big difference on how ‘fast’ the pool will be." According to national rules, accredited surveyors or engineers must certify that (in certain pools) "the tolerance against the required length is no greater than .03 meters in a vertical plane extending 12 inches above and 2 feet, 7.5 inches below the surface of the water."

Records in other sports float or sink, too, on the verifications of engineers and surveyors, Sullins reminds us. Basketball hoops must be precisely 10 feet above the court, football fields 100 yards from goal line to goal line. "While it is the competitors who must perform, the design professionals assure that facilities conform to highly defined rules."

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