Source: My UM

If you love swimming, you must be thrilled to learn that the Olympic-sized swimming pool in the UM Sports Complex has opened for trial use since 21 January. As a swimming lover, perhaps there is nothing you care about more when it comes to a swimming pool than safety and water quality. How does the university ensure water quality and the safety of the swimmers?

 

Ozone Disinfection

UM’s swimming pool is the second Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool in Macao (the first is in the Macau Olympic Aquatic Centre). The pool uses a combination of chorine and ozone disinfectants, which not only reduces the typical pungent swimming pool smell, but also causes less irritation to swimmers’ eyes and skin.

 

Water Quality Tested Every Two Hours

According to the Office of Sports Affairs (OSA), the water in the swimming pool is tested every two hours.

The Office of Health, Safety and Environmental Affairs (HSEO) also conducts a thorough water quality testing on a regular basis. Tested items include water temperature, free chlorine residual, pH levels, turbidity, and microbial population. In addition, the swimming pool is cleaned on a daily basis and receives a thorough cleaning every Monday morning.

 

Students Happy with Water Quality

Faculty of Education postgraduate Song Lili loves swimming and has been using the pool almost every day since it opened for trial use. She is very happy with the facilities. ‘The facilities here are better than those outside UM. The water is also very clean.’ Faculty of Business Administration student Liu Kaiying hopes the university will extend the pool’s opening hours, from 9:00am to 10:30pm everyday, so that more students can enjoy the facilities. The Swimming Pool is open Monday through Sunday. From 1 March to 30 April, the opening hours will be extended, from 3:00pm to 10:00pm Monday through Friday; from 11:00am to 1:00pm and 3:00pm to 9:00pm on weekends and public holidays.

 

5 Must-Know Facts about UM’s Swimming Pool:

  • Macao’s second Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool
  • Equipped with an ozone disinfection system
  • Equipped with Omega Touchpads, the standard timekeeper used in Olympic games
  • Glass on two sides of the complex for natural lighting
  •  Swim aids available free of charge

Professional Lifeguards

At least two lifeguards are on duty during opening hours. Life-saving drills are conducted on a monthly basis. All staff members in the Sport Facilities Management Team (Swiming Pool) have obtained lifeguard certification.