In the US, the Racquet Club of Philadelphia clubhouse (1907) boasts one of the world's first modern above-ground swimming pools. The modern Olympic Games started in 1896 and included swimming races, after which the popularity of swimming pools began to spread. In 1939, Oxford created its first major public indoor pool at Temple Cowley. So, bathers gradually became swimmers, and bathing pools became swimming pools. The presence of indoor baths in the cobbled area of Merton Street might have persuaded the less hardy of the aquatic brigade to join. The Amateur Swimming Association was founded in 1869 in England, and the Oxford Swimming Club in 1909. The last swimmers managed to overturn the raft, to the amusement of 150 spectators. The coffee was kept hot over a fire club members had to tread water and drink coffee at the same time. The South East Gazette July 1844 reported an aquatic breakfast party: coffee and biscuits were served on a floating raft in the river. The club used to swim in the River Medway, and would hold races, diving competitions and water polo matches. It was formed in 1844, in response to concerns over drownings in the River Medway, especially since would-be rescuers would often drown because they themselves could not swim to safety. The Maidstone Swimming Club in Maidstone, Kent is believed to be the oldest surviving swimming club in Britain. As early as 1837, six indoor pools with diving boards existed in London, England. Swimming pools became popular in Britain in the mid-19th century. They were decorated with flights of steps, punkalas or pots of abundance, and scroll design. Īncient Sinhalese built a pair of pools called ' Kuttam Pokuna' in the kingdom of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, in the 6th century AD. Gaius Maecenas was a wealthy imperial advisor to Augustus and considered one of the first patrons of arts.

The first heated swimming pool was built by Gaius Maecenas in his gardens on the Esquiline Hill of Rome, likely sometime between 38 and 8 BC. Roman emperors had private swimming pools in which fish were also kept, hence one of the Latin words for a pool was piscina. Īncient Greeks and Romans built artificial pools for athletic training in the palaestras, for nautical games and for military exercises. This pool is 12 by 7 metres (39 by 23 feet), is lined with bricks, and was covered with a tar-based sealant. The ' Great Bath' at the site of Mohenjo-Daro in modern-day Pakistan was most likely the first swimming pool, dug during the 3rd millennium BC. Swimming pools most commonly use chlorinated water or salt water and may be heated or unheated.Īncient Roman baths in Bath, England Pre-modern

Specially designed swimming pools are also used for diving, water sports, and physical therapy, as well as for the training of lifeguards and astronauts. Hot tubs and spas are pools filled with water that is heated and then used for relaxation or hydrotherapy. Educational facilities such as high schools and universities sometimes have pools for physical education classes, recreational activities, leisure, and competitive athletics such as swimming teams. Pools as a feature in hotels are more common in tourist areas or near convention centers. Hotels may have pools available for their guests to use at their own leisure. Many of these municipal pools are outdoor pools but indoor pools can also be found in buildings such as natatoriums and leisure centers. It is common for municipalities of every size to provide pools for public use. Many health clubs, fitness centers, and private clubs have pools used mostly for exercise or recreation. In-ground pools are most commonly constructed from materials such as concrete, natural stone, metal, plastic, or fiberglass, and can be of a custom size and shape or built to a standardized size, the largest of which is the Olympic-size swimming pool. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as a freestanding construction or as part of a building or other larger structure), and may be found as a feature aboard ocean-liners and cruise ships.

Rectangle hot tub.Olympic-sized swimming pool and starting blocks used for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, AustraliaĪ swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities.

Rectangle swimming pool