Plastics Make Water Sports and Activities More Affordable and Accessible
Many people only get excited about water sports when the summer Olympics roll around, but that’s just the spectators. A lot of people live water sports all year long, making the gear market big business.
Versatile plastic materials are vital to water sports and aquatic activities at all levels—including leisure—and make necessary swimming gear affordable for everyone.
Plastic: providing a key material for swimming gear
From high-intensity swim competitions and water polo games to synchronized swimming and aquatic classes for the elderly, plastics help keep people safe. Plastics used in swimming gear such as goggles, swimsuits, and head caps, protect swimmers from salt and chlorine and ensure participants can perform their best, no matter the stakes. Swim goggle lenses, made from polycarbonate, are scratch-resistant, lightweight, and outperform goggles made of alternative materials.
For example, plastic goggles with an anti-fog coating maximize visual clarity for swimmers while underwater. Polycarbonate goggles also allow swimmers who need a prescription lens to see underwater and minimize vision distortion. Polycarbonate is also 10 times stronger than alternatives like glass, reducing the need for replacement, and the risk of broken or cracked glass. The straps of goggles are also typically made with silicone or rubber, making them easily adjustable for comfort. Basically, they make your head more hydrodynamic.
High-tech swimsuits are also made from nylon and spandex. Spandex turns a suit into a compressive, water-repellent, chlorine-resistant, streamlined, drag-reducing option for both competition and leisure.
Plastic: improving functionality at aquatic facilities
In addition to improving safety, plastic is vital to the functionality and design of private pools and public aquatic facilities. It’s the easy choice for architects and engineers because the material meets specific requirements needed to plan and build indoor and outdoor swimming areas. Even within a public or competitive pool, plastic lane dividers are vital to keep multiple swimmers in a pool safe and separate so they stay in their lane and avoid bumping into each other.
For both commercial and private installations, plastic pumps, valves and filters are all made with plastic materials that make installation and maintenance easier. Plastic hardware also doesn’t rust, so it can survive outside in any weather, indefinitely. Since plastics are so low-maintenance, scratch-, chlorine- and UV-resistant, they are the most suitable material for outdoor use in pool covers, pool wall paneling and seats and benches around pool areas. The use of plastic in these applications reduces maintenance needs and ultimately lowers costs for local governments, businesses and consumers.
Plastic: increasing aquatics affordability and access
From the Olympics to backyard fun, plastics help make water sports and activities more affordable and accessible for all who want to partake. Even more, plastics can improve pool installation quality and consistently outperforms alternative materials. For example, in above ground pools, plastic resin does not rust, corrode or warp surfaces due to sunlight and water damage. Resin frame pools can last up to ten years and cost as little as $750 on average.
Plastics are also critical for people with disabilities to access aquatic facilities. Various types of plastics are used to manufacture aquatic chair lifts, or pool lifts, which are used to help people with mobility difficulties enter or exit a swimming pool, and are ADA compliant for both residential and commercial use. Once in water, children and adults with disabilities can also use flotation devices including floaties, sectional rafts, or adapted life jackets to help them stay safe. For the elderly, plastic devices like snorkels can be used to help avoid neck injuries from side breathing and plastic fins can support easier swimming.
With plastics, everyone can swim safer using affordable equipment.