Pool: France – The Paris Olympic Pool

Grade: A

The Good: A lovely blend of modern and history in the perfect town for such a thing.

The Ugly: The pool is located just off the inner ring road that runs around Paris. You try and park a camper van around there.

Reflections: The Paris Pool has a similar history to Auckland’s, Newmaket Pool. Both were built for a Games. In the case of Paris it was the 1924 Olympics. Both were originally outdoor pools. Both have been modernized but have preserved the traditions of their history. The Paris pool is 50m divided most of the time by a moveable 25m boom. The water is deep and the pool has a fast reputation. It is the home of five current New Zealand women’s open short course records and two men’s records. James Hickman, the British fly swimmer broke the World 200m record there a few years ago. The Pool’s most amazing feature is that it is built on the third floor. All the offices of Sport France and the French Swimming Federation are located under the pool. Imagine having Sparc under a million gallons of water. The punch line has to be something about a drill and putting the Sparc out. The poolstaff are helpful and patiently assist a New Zealander’s 5th form French. The pool provides kick -boards and pull buoys. All in all, it’s a lovely place to go for a swim.

Pool: France - Laon Pool

Grade: B+

The Good: The view, the service, the town, the food.

The Ugly: In winter it’s freezing

Reflections: There are a number of pools with fantastic views. The Formosa Golf Pool’s view of Waihiki Island and the Freyberg view of Wellington Harbour are good. But none get anywhere near the view from the pool in Laon. Laon is about 100kms north of Paris. It is the ancient capital of France and is built entirely on a huge mesa of rock.

A high stone wall surrounds the town and built into the wall is Laon’s modern 25m indoor pool. Full height windows along one side look out over miles of French farmland. We swam there for a week between FINA World Cup meets. When we arrived the pool manager found out we were on the World Cup circuit and demanded our presence in his office. He got our training times and issued an instruction that a lane was to be available for our exclusive use and at no charge. The Laon pool is modern. It is eight lanes, has good lane ropes and lots of good gear. The town has a wide range of charming French restaurants. In winter, when we were there, it is peaceful and quiet. So, if you have a week between World Cup meets and want to train somewhere a lot cheaper than Paris and where the pool staff will make you welcome – try the pool at Laon.

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