At the recent United States Aquatic Sports Convention in Dallas, Swimming World caught up with S.R. Smith’s Larry Mazzenga, who explained the company’s new air-infused retractable wall system that can partition a pool in minutes. The system allows for better usage of an aquatic facility to run multiple programs, such as swim practice, water polo, swim lessons, and recreational swimming. The S.R. Smith SwimWall System can instantly reconfigure a pool for other activities.
S.R. Smith recently purchased an Australian company that had developed these walls, which fold into the bottom of the pool and then back into position in 90 seconds or less. These walls are designed so that lane lines can remain in the pool or attached after inflation.
Mazzenga explained some of the benefits of these instruments and why they can so easily installed in either new or existing pools. Watch the full video interview below.
SwimWall Systems™ provide unprecedented swimming pool flexibility, and thus more revenue opportunities. The SwimWalls are positioned on the pool floor when not in use. By filling the wall with air, it moves into a vertical position, forming a pool wall that is designed to fit around lane lines. This system effectively doubles the number of lanes, or offers the flexibility to have some swim lanes 50 meters in length, and others 25 meters.
Unfortunately you lose the thickness of the partition in the pool length.
Todd, it’s true one side of the pool wouldn’t be regulation 25M or 25Y, but if a facility’s objective is to get more bodies in the pool by providing more space and programming options then it doesn’t really matter if the other side is shorter by 8-10 inches. The aquatic fitness class won’t mind!
Usually that’s good because you’re going from 50m to two 25 yd lengths, you would not be able to have 25m length, though
It shouldn’t make a difference for training. It doesn’t look like it would be used for competition anyway.
what is it like to do a turn on an inflated wall? do you bounce off?
Air is held inside a very sturdy fiberglass wall panel, so there is very little deflection when a swimmer pushes off after a flip turn.
Hi have videos of these turns if you care to view some.
Where does the official stand?
I can see the value for just practice, but if you want to run a meet with two pools, can the partition be wider? where does the official stand? can it take the weight of swimmers, officials, timers on a 2 pool partition format?
The SwimWall isn’t intended for officials and coaches to walk on, though it can support the weight it is relatively narrow (approx 8-10″). In addition, it doesn’t take the place of a bulkhead that can carry starting blocks or allow swimming or water polo coaches and officials a wide path to walk on. The main benefit of a SwimWall System is to provide separate pool spaces easily and quickly – to allow more aquatic programming throughout the day. In Australia, some facilities have created a simple pontoon system on one side of the SwimWall for coaches to stand on at times when the other side of the pool’s programming didn’t require swimming in and out of the end wall.
We have a 25m 3.5in pool that we want to change to a 25yd pool. Could this product be used to solve our problem? Our pool is eight lanes. It is 32yrs old.
Hello Carolyn, there may be a SwimWall solution for your pool. It would be best to contact our director of commercial sales directly to discuss: Larry Mazzenga – lmazzenga@srsmith.com
Yes. Send us details for quote. Regards