They let me swim in my tail!

[Slee]

I've only had my monofin for about two weeks now, and I admit, I kind of took the "don't ask, just get in" approach at one of my pools, and it worked. I only use it during adult swim, and it's a pretty tame adult swim- always the same group of about 8 of us, and we've been a pretty reliable group for quite a long time. Anyway, after the lifeguards seemed fine with me mermaiding about with my rapid, I thanked them for letting me "bring my toys," and that was all fine and dandy. Fast forward to today. This morning, while it was storming, I was in my sewing dungeon making my first (fabric) tail. I did ask before getting in, and the lifeguard just shrugged.
Long story short, they're cool with it, it was AMAZINGLY WONDERFULLY FUN, and one of the pool regulars took pictures. I hope she shares them with me so I have something to post here, there, everywhere.

Of course, I'm already eyeing neoprene.

[Echidna]

Grats!
I never ask about my tail, I just bring it and don it in the water.

Never had problems, guards here are usually snoozing on duty all day long. :rolleyes:

I'm surprised none of them has ever asked me whether the materials are watersafe, but then people here are allowed to swim in normal shorts, burkas, shoes, and bring their bicycles into the deep pool, so...

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Bicycles? What kind of pool is that??

Oh and grats Slee! Isn't it fun? Feels so relaxed and natural huh.

[Echidna]

Bicycles? What kind of pool is that??

a daft one!
(it's for "aquacycling", which is all the rage. No one here seems to be interested to just swim.
My reasoning is though, should one ever complain of my tails, that they're better suited for water than the stuff others are allowed to bring in.)

[Mermaid Corabelle]

I am hoping the folks at my local pool will be as lenient.. I am thinking of taking this approach when I get my first tail. Really... what's the worst they could do? Say no? ;P

[Mermaid Jaffa]

I hope its not regular bicycles cos the oil used on the chain comes off in water.

The worst they'll tell you is, that they did a risk assessment and say no to all kinds of fins, even fabric tails with no fins. I had the lifeguard manager tell me this over the phone when I called about swimming at a Sydney pool. I'm moving house soon, and of the three that I called, two said "Yes" very happily!

[Lydia Lobster]

Congrats, Slee! :D

I am so exited if i will have luck, like you.
Germany, sometimes, is a little... stuffy...? I have the sea arround, so in summer its no problem to swim in a tail. But autumn and winter are coming :/
Other German Mers reading this?

[Slee]

In the past this pool has been very stuffy. Heck, this is the first year that kids were allowed to have fun noodles and diving rings in the pool. It really was the most fun I've had swimming in a long time, and swimming really is my favorite activity. As we joke, it's so much cheaper than therapy.

In any case, I have two other pools, well, three other pools, and I've yet to find out what their stances will be. I figure, there's no guard at those, and one has approved my monofin already at the door, and the other two allow regular fins, so, since it's a fabric tail, I suppose I just will not even bother to say anything, because really, what's the difference between swimming with my fins and a swimsuit and swimming with my fins and a swimsuit with an unconventional skirt, if I am swimming safely?

Per bicycles- seriously?! I can't imagine the oil and the rust in the pool being a good thing. Yikes.

[Mermaid Morgann]

I was shocked when I emailed my favorite local pool (the very pool I learned to swim in!) and they approved my tail and all my gear. They'd been extremely uptight in the past and hadn't allowed fins of any kind. I don't know when that changed but one of the lifeguards came up to ask me about it because he recognized me from school, and he mentioned that people usually only swam in the monofin and not a full tail. It never hurts to ask because the people at the pool might surprise you! They'd done their homework on dragonskin silicone too, though, and knew it was pool safe, which is nice. A lot of pools simply refuse because they think it will be damaging and don't believe you when you let them know that it's safe.

So glad to see mermaids finding pools for swimming! It can be hard when you don't have an ocean or warmer lake nearby.

[Slee]

23790 It's an awful picture, but hey, photographic evidence is a good thing, right?

[Echidna]

It's an awful picture, but hey, photographic evidence is a good thing, right?

it's not awful! :thumbs-up: Funny how the swimmer below you automatically grins into the camera! xD



Other German Mers reading this?

Living there, in the south.
Pools here are for my liking too lenient. Fun and entertainment for kids comes first. Safety and hygiene second.
I bet it's not the same for all pools though, I'm looking to relocate and find a better one.

Remember when you swim in the sea, that both north and baltic sea are very dangerous to swim in (and even just walk nearby) due to the remnants of WWII!
Incidents of people getting hurt or killed by the leakage of now-rotting barrels with ammunition and chemical warfare stuff are steadily increasing.
And if that wasn't enough, large volumes of bacteria (vibrionen) have been found lately in both seas that can be deadly if you happen to have a wound.

[Slee]

Laurie always smiles into the camera- any camera.