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In Canada we’ve been removing them. Probably because some kid drowned at school in 1990-something. Now they drown more outside of school because they don’t lea

In Canada we’ve been removing them. Probably because some kid drowned at school in 1990-something. Now they drown more outside of school because they don’t learn to swim unless your parents have the planning, logistics interest and budget to enrol in paid lessons (or teach them yourself). Doesn’t help that we have a lot of immigrants from places that also didn’t teach people how to swim. https://www.lifesavingsociety.com/media/239967/2016newsreleasefinal.pdf https://www.lifesavingsociety.com/media/239967/2016newsrelea...

amanaplanacanal 3y ago
My town (in the US) has no more public pools, they’ve all been closed down. Liability issues? I don’t know.
- bombcar 3y ago
  Liability is the big one now, for sure. The closest you get is usually some quasi-private (but basically open to anyone with a dollar) pool. Even the fully-owned city public pools often have an entrance fee (at least based on one near me). In many parts of the country the swimming areas are provided by lakes and rivers. Fun fact: most hotels that have a pool will let you use it for free or a small charge even if you're not staying there; ask at the desk.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    I should add that liability is a solved problem, you just have to get insurance. But people don’t want to bother figuring it out.
    - Scoundreller 3y ago
      Every school/school board in Canada will have liability insurance. But the premiums will vary. Budget tight and need to save a dollar? Remove swimming or limit/cut the number of students covered under it. We were even banned from going to the waterpark when going to amusement parks.
      - bombcar 3y ago
        The college I went to got a discount on their insurance for some relatively obscure activity being banned, and we only ever found out about it because someone asked why. It was something like "no canoes in the pond" or something, I cannot recall. But it was enough of an excuse for the friendly insurance agent to get the quote dropped down (and by more than the actual actuarial tables would suggest I suspect).

amanaplanacanal 3y ago

My town (in the US) has no more public pools, they’ve all been closed down. Liability issues? I don’t know.

bombcar 3y ago
Liability is the big one now, for sure. The closest you get is usually some quasi-private (but basically open to anyone with a dollar) pool. Even the fully-owned city public pools often have an entrance fee (at least based on one near me). In many parts of the country the swimming areas are provided by lakes and rivers. Fun fact: most hotels that have a pool will let you use it for free or a small charge even if you're not staying there; ask at the desk.
- bombcar 3y ago
  I should add that liability is a solved problem, you just have to get insurance. But people don’t want to bother figuring it out.
  - Scoundreller 3y ago
    Every school/school board in Canada will have liability insurance. But the premiums will vary. Budget tight and need to save a dollar? Remove swimming or limit/cut the number of students covered under it. We were even banned from going to the waterpark when going to amusement parks.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      The college I went to got a discount on their insurance for some relatively obscure activity being banned, and we only ever found out about it because someone asked why. It was something like "no canoes in the pond" or something, I cannot recall. But it was enough of an excuse for the friendly insurance agent to get the quote dropped down (and by more than the actual actuarial tables would suggest I suspect).