Pooling resources in Torrevieja
TORREVIEJA is the first municipality on the Mediterranean coast to have an ‘intelligent swimming pool’, according to the town hall.
A council spokesman noted that the system had only been set up at pools in Japan, the US and ‘a few other towns in Spain’. Mayor Eduardo Dolón and councillor for sport Diana Box were given a briefing by the director of the company which has installed the system at the sports centre.
Nagi Smartpool boss Javier Bosch revealed that it offers additional safety for users as it can prevent drownings and ensure that swimmers keep a minimum distance away from each other.
He noted they use a tracking system which allows staff to pinpoint the position of each swimmer with the click of a mouse.
If a swimmer is submerged for ‘longer than usual’ then the lifeguard will be alerted by a signal. Also, if a swimmer is too close to another person a buzzer will sound.
The system also keeps a check on the number of people who can enter the facility, ‘which is so important during the pandemic’.
Sr Dolón stated that Torrevieja’s Olympic-sized 50-metre pool is the first in the world to use the technology as the others have been 25-metre facilities. It also allows swimmers to see ‘all the statistics relating to their time in the water’ on a screen installed on a wall.
The system measures the distance they have swum, their best times, rest times, amongst other data.
Sr Bosch added: “Safety is paramount in the times we are living in and the setting up of the intelligent pool in Torrevieja has ensured that the town is pioneering in this regard on the Mediterranean coast.”