Canham Natatorium Review
May
18Canham Natatorium Review
Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 3:53am (May 18th, 2009)
Since there was no swim practice today, I tried to enjoy the beautiful weather. Last night I did a "Legs and Back" workout which consisted of lots of squats, lunges and pullups. Tonight I'll do a "Kempo" workout which is a combination of kickboxing and karate!
I thought I would write a little about Canham Natatorium and the "Matt Mann" pool. The facility at the University of Michigan isn't a new by any means, however I'm rarely there to swim, so it always seems foreign to me. Somehow I get this feeling of guilt when I'm there. U of M was always sort of a rival to EMU, certainly more so in my college swimming era though. Practicing there makes me feel like I'm "cheating" on EMU... an odd sensation, I'll admit it.
If you can stomach quite a bit of Maize and Blue... looking at it objectively, it's a fantastic facility. You can really tell that this place was designed to breed top notch swimmers. It's almost surreal to walk through the hallway and see the swim caps of all the former Olympians that trained there. The entire place feels like it's a scaled down version of IUPUI's Natatorium in Indianapolis. Everything from the pool depth, tile size, gutters, roof structure... even the hot tub is in the same place. The pool is a medium depth at around 9 feet. The tiles are also the same large style as IUPUI, at first it throws your depth perception off a bit if you're used to looking at normal 1" size tiles on the walls and floor of the pool. It's not too tough to get acclimated to though. My one gripe is the tall metal gutters. As you can imagine, the gutters to support the movable "bulkhead" must need a lot of support once clamped down. The metal is stainless steel and therefore slippery. This means that when you flip on the wall, your feet have a high probability of landing (and slipping) on the metal portion that sticks down 10" in the water. I still haven't gotten used to it and probably never will.
The corporate sponsorships are evident everywhere. I see "Speedo" logo's on each wall. The "USA" and Olympic Rings are prominently displayed as well. It's hard to miss the huge digital display on the far wall counting down the days, hours, and minutes till "London 2012". It read 1165 days. Seeing it invoked my memory of sitting in the bleachers during Eric Namsnik's memorial service, watching it count down to "Beijing 2008" and making my decision to train for the Olympic Trials.
The diving well has multiple high definition cameras and FOUR 46" LCD monitors with TIVO systems to replay dives. Looking up in the balcony you can view many different workout systems such as VASA trainers and aerobic machines. There are countless "BIG TEN" championship banners on 3 walls of the Natatorium. They're actually running out of space for them! The weight room, with it's plate glass windows overlooking the pool is well planned. The coaches offices, all with the names on the windows is another reminder of the coaching talent that has been present since the programs inception.
I'm really glad I went to the Saturday practice at U of M. It was a nice change of scenery and makes me appreciate my favorite facility for what it is. After all those amazing features I listed, I still like Jones Natatorium at Eastern Michigan University the best :)
I thought I would write a little about Canham Natatorium and the "Matt Mann" pool. The facility at the University of Michigan isn't a new by any means, however I'm rarely there to swim, so it always seems foreign to me. Somehow I get this feeling of guilt when I'm there. U of M was always sort of a rival to EMU, certainly more so in my college swimming era though. Practicing there makes me feel like I'm "cheating" on EMU... an odd sensation, I'll admit it.
If you can stomach quite a bit of Maize and Blue... looking at it objectively, it's a fantastic facility. You can really tell that this place was designed to breed top notch swimmers. It's almost surreal to walk through the hallway and see the swim caps of all the former Olympians that trained there. The entire place feels like it's a scaled down version of IUPUI's Natatorium in Indianapolis. Everything from the pool depth, tile size, gutters, roof structure... even the hot tub is in the same place. The pool is a medium depth at around 9 feet. The tiles are also the same large style as IUPUI, at first it throws your depth perception off a bit if you're used to looking at normal 1" size tiles on the walls and floor of the pool. It's not too tough to get acclimated to though. My one gripe is the tall metal gutters. As you can imagine, the gutters to support the movable "bulkhead" must need a lot of support once clamped down. The metal is stainless steel and therefore slippery. This means that when you flip on the wall, your feet have a high probability of landing (and slipping) on the metal portion that sticks down 10" in the water. I still haven't gotten used to it and probably never will.
The corporate sponsorships are evident everywhere. I see "Speedo" logo's on each wall. The "USA" and Olympic Rings are prominently displayed as well. It's hard to miss the huge digital display on the far wall counting down the days, hours, and minutes till "London 2012". It read 1165 days. Seeing it invoked my memory of sitting in the bleachers during Eric Namsnik's memorial service, watching it count down to "Beijing 2008" and making my decision to train for the Olympic Trials.
The diving well has multiple high definition cameras and FOUR 46" LCD monitors with TIVO systems to replay dives. Looking up in the balcony you can view many different workout systems such as VASA trainers and aerobic machines. There are countless "BIG TEN" championship banners on 3 walls of the Natatorium. They're actually running out of space for them! The weight room, with it's plate glass windows overlooking the pool is well planned. The coaches offices, all with the names on the windows is another reminder of the coaching talent that has been present since the programs inception.
I'm really glad I went to the Saturday practice at U of M. It was a nice change of scenery and makes me appreciate my favorite facility for what it is. After all those amazing features I listed, I still like Jones Natatorium at Eastern Michigan University the best :)