Endless Pools

Endless Pools are brilliant if you don’t have enough space for a normal swimming pool or want to minimise the cost of buying and running a pool. It is also great for improving swimming technique and for exercise.

Many families like the idea of a swimming pool, but either don’t have the space for one or don’t have the budget to buy or run one. They may have considered a smallish pool, but decided against it because a small pool normally offers limited swimming for those who like a proper swim.

The answer is the Endless Pool, invented by John Murdock who wanted to capture his childhood excitement in Arizona, USA, of swimming against the rush of water from a storm water channel when the sluice gates were opened. Although relatively small (Endless Pools range from 7ft wide x 14ft long, up to 10 ft wide x 16ft long), they offer limitless swimming without ever having to turn, due to the unique patented Swimming Propulsion unit, which enables the swimmer to vary the current from a gentle trickle, to a raging current of 6mph, simulating open sea cross current swimming.

Endless Pools are used by triathletes the world over as there is nothing to compare with the way they work. You may be familiar with swim spas, or counter current units in other pools that are often vaunted as swimming units. There is just no comparison with these and the Endless Pool system. Whilst the hydraulically operated Endless Pool system produces a smooth and even current which is as wide as your shoulders, a foot deep, free of turbulence and very easy to control, most other counter current units use a large pump to force water through a nozzle or large 3 inch diameter jet in the pool, resulting in a bumpy swim which is very hard to vary or control as the small channel of water fights with air to get out of the pipe work.

Swimming against one of these pump driven units is like swimming into a high pressure jet of water from a fire hose! It constantly tries to push you out of the stream as the curve of your head deflects the jet sideways. They are a sharp contrast to the wide and smooth Endless Pool current, which feels more like swimming up a river or against the sea’s current and you can easily change the strength of the current with a hand held floating remote.

An Endless Pool can be sited indoors or outdoors, in ground or above ground and they come either as a complete shell or as a galvanised steel panel system, which means they can be built almost anywhere without problems of access. They can be heated by a heat pump or a regular pool boiler and can be run on a chlorine free system if desired.

There are a number of different training options available including steps, hydraulic underwater treadmills for running and resistance training (enabling you to run weightlessly without damaging your knees ankles and feet, while simulating uphill, flat and cross country running).

Your pool can also include speed gauges, timers and mirrors to view your stroke. A mirror is the most brilliant way to improve your technique as you can immediately see exactly how you swim and what you could do better. No wonder so many top swimmers use an Endless Pool to perfect their stroke.

Why not come and try swimming in an Endless Pool? Here at Azure Pools we have an Endless Pool in a special private suite complete with changing room to enable you to experience swimming in an Endless Pool.

In addition to building or installing an Endless Pool, we can also design and build a building to house it, or supply an enclosure to cover it, or adapt an existing structure.

Equally, if you would like the Endless Pool experience in a normal pool, a specially modified version of the Endless Pool Swimming Propulsion unit (also manufactured by Endless Pools and called a “Fastlane”) can be fitted in a normal pool.