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Diving mask banned in pool

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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A

Aber

Well-Known Member
May 3, 2005
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In one of the pools I visit, use of diving mask (masks covering the nose) is not allowed. One of the reasons they give is that both airways should be open. A noseclip is easy to take off, they say, so this is allowed. Is there anything to what they say?
 
They want to invent a safety reason (both airways open), but then contradict themselves when saying a noseclip is easy to take off. This tells me that the first safety reason given is a fallacy (lie). I think it's an excuse to ban diving. This is most likely to ban perverts from enjoying the underwater view of women.

Mask or Noseclip do not make much of a difference in regard to drowning or the rescue.

I'm afraid that the owners of the pool are irrational, and negotiation with management only will have them alarmed. With the pool staff, lifeguards on the other hand you might have a chance on creating a good rapport/relation with the them and the fellow pool users, so they will allow you (look the other way) to enjoy your dives with a mask.
Using a fully transparent Sphera (looks innocent) I think works best. Your excuse can be that chlorine in the nose is irritating and was not allowed by your doctor. A noseclip is not sufficient as it does not allow your mucus to be drained, creating infections. Both are real and valid reasons.

I hope this helps and you can enjoy the local pool water.
 
Reactions: xristos and Aber
Why not a pair of Aqualung Seal goggles (like a sphera without the nosepiece) and a noseclip.

Pretty much the same as a mask, for pool purposes / depths.
 
 
I was primarily wondering if there are any plausible safety reasons at all for banning use of mask in a pool.
 
Aber said:
I was primarily wondering if there are any plausible safety reasons at all for banning use of mask in a pool.
Click to expand...

I have heard about some pools banning masks with glass lenses as they can shatter and create sharp shards. If the mask as plastic lenses it would be ok.

So a Sphere with clear skirts is discreet and should be allowed anywhere.


A mask is just as easy to take of as a nose clip.


I hate it when they don’t tell you why something is banned and instead just make up resons…
 
I remember how, when I was in my teens during the early 1960s, nobody batted an eyelid at the local public swimming pool when I put on my fins, mask and snorkel. Nowadays the same pools in England not only ban diving masks but snorkels and fins as well. Health and safety legislation is invoked by the pool attendants or they justify their ban with a reference to other swimmers' welfare. The upshot is that I swim in the sea instead and the city pool where I used to go on Saturday mornings in my youth is threatened with closure.

Some health and safety regulations here in England have become something of a laughing stock. A notable example is the traditional game of "conkers", which schoolchildren here play in the autumn months. Conkers are the product of the horse-chestnut tree. A hole is bored through the hard, inedible horse chestnut then a piece of string is threaded through the hole and knotted. The object of the game is to break the other person's horse chestnut with yours:

Well, one public official was said to have decreed that children must put on goggles when they play conkers because their eyes would otherwise be at risk. The story may be an urban legend, but the damage was done, even when the health and safety authorities insisted it was all a hoax.

Getting back to your diving mask, I don't see why the people who supervise swimming sessions shouldn't consider a compromise, such as allowing its use when there are very few people in the pool or during an hour each day or week when such equipment is permitted. I would return to my old public pool, now under threat, if the "powers that be" made provision for me to use fins, mask and snorkel at some time to be agreed. In the meantime, I'll stick to outdoor swimming where there are no bans or people to enforce them.
 
Reactions: E-P
I have always been told that masks (and fins) are not allowed because they don't want you doing apnea without proper guidence (someone making sure you don't BO). You aren't allowed to swim laps underwater either. However, some pools have apnea clubs with monitors/coaches and there you are allowed to, but often you have to be a member.
 
This is primarily how I swim at my local college's pool; with a mask, small snorkel, and pool fins. I was told once that I was not able to swim with scuba equipment on by a lifeguard. I went to the building's dean and asked why all the sudden I couldn't use my mask, fins, and snorkel. She replied that the guard was new, and didn't understand the difference. I was okay, for now.

I'm always thinking about the implications of that day, waiting for the time when I can no longer use the facilities. Maybe the guard thought I was a pervert? Maybe she felt like she had to watch me the whole time I was underwater in the pool, and didn't feel like it that day.

I try to be considerate when I swim with my equipment. I hold my hand over my snorkel when clearing it. I listen for splashes with my fins and keep them to a minimum if not eliminated. I keep my mask pointed down, and don't look side to side; I'm fully aware that I might be causing someone else discomfort and try my best to mitigate it.

I was diving since I was twelve years old, and really don't know how (or care to know how) to swim well without them. I tried to swim the modified stroke, but I always mess up the breath timing and can swim much faster than I can breath. Hence, I just swim laps underwater when not using the snorkel.
 
These days I do not have the patience to award these control hungry people with my compliance. Like people have said above, regulators have gone overboard. It's time to sharpen our civil disobedience skills. I'm picking up middle finger weight lifting, just as a precaution.
 
Reactions: xristos, HydroApprentice and Apneaddict
I must agree
<-- check avatar...
 
 
Regulators have gone overboard, but fighting with them is kind of like mud wrestling with a pig. After a while you figure out that the pig enjoys it. Better to figure out how to get them on your side.
 
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