Swimming pool means a basin or a tank, made of impervious material containing water. It is used for swimming, bathing, water exercising and cooling off on hot days. A chemical for hygiene is used in the pool for the control of bacteria and algae. Usually Chlorine is used as a sanitizer. The history of swimming pools starts from Mohenjo-Daro. A pool of twelve by seven meters was discovered during the 3rd millennium BC, by excavation of Mohenjo-Daro. It is named as “Great Bath”. Ancient Greeks and Romans had also built swimming pools. They used the pools for athletic training and military exercises. Word “pool” is derived from Latin word “piscina”, because Roman emperors built their private swimming pools in which they stored fish. Gaius Maecenas of Rome built the first heated swimming pool in first century BC. He was a very rich Roman Lord.
The ancient Sri Lankan Sinhalese also built pair of pools, called "Kuttam Pokuna" in the 4th century BC. Those pools were decorated with scroll design, pots of abundance and flights of steps. Then as the time passed, swimming pools became popular in the world. Swimming pools became popular and got fame in Britain in mid 19th century. There were six indoor pools with the diving boards, which were built in London, England in 1937.
Then slowly and steadily swimming pools began to spread and got more popular due to the inclusion of the swimming race in the modern Olympic Games in 1896. The 1896 Olympic Games played a very big role in the popularity and knowledge of swimming pools and people showed great interest in swimming pools after the Olympic Games. The first major public indoor swimming pool was built in Oxford in 1939 at Temple Cowley, and after the construction of this swimming pool, the swimming began to take off. Then with the passage of time, there was more and more advancement in the swimming pools and swimming. In 1869, in England, The Amateur Swimming Association was founded. And the oxford swimming club was founded at Temple Cowley Pool in 1909.
The indoor baths in London had a great effect on swimming, because the bathers then gradually became swimmers. Deep Eddy pool is the oldest concrete swimming pool that was built in 1915 in Texas, USA. The standard of swimming improved a lot and training became an essential part of swimming. The interest in competitive swimming developed after the First World War and after the departure the of "Long John" style swimming costumes. Then after the Second World War, the home swimming pools got a lot of popularity in USA and the publicity to the home swimming pools was provided by many Hollywood films. The national swimming pool institute of USA was founded in the year 1956. Then it was renamed and the new name of the institute is the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals. Now, home swimming pools are very much popular in most of the countries of the world and home swimming pools have become an industry. |
