{"id":431616,"date":"2020-05-12T06:38:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T13:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=431616"},"modified":"2020-05-22T19:52:47","modified_gmt":"2020-05-23T02:52:47","slug":"with-home-built-lane-shields-alaskan-club-back-in-water-and-safely-fighting-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/with-home-built-lane-shields-alaskan-club-back-in-water-and-safely-fighting-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"With Home-Built Lane Shields, Alaskan Club Back in Water and Safely Fighting Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Northern Lights Swim Club plotted a path back to the water during the coronavirus pandemic, it didn\u2019t have to look far for resources.<\/p>\n

Meet director Jodi McLaughlin<\/strong> surveyed the membership of the club, based out of the University of Alaska Anchorage, and found most of the experts she needed: Doctors, lawyers, experts in health and safety. And when that committee they assembled put forth its recommendation for a solution requiring an engineer, McLaughlin needed to look only as far as her husband, Sean.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to be really proactive with our government here because our cases are low,\u201d Jodi, who also serves as Alaska Swimming LSC\u2019s secretary, told Swimming World Monday. \u201cWe wanted to show them that we took it seriously and wanted to get back in the water safely. We asked our coaches to establish a committee and they did. In some of their brainstorming, they proposed a shield idea, and I knew that my husband is an engineer and he\u2019d be able to execute it.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a run to the hardware store and a weekend tooling in the garage, the club is implementing an elegant solution: Plexiglas shields at the end of each lane, a social-distancing aid that will help Northern Lights and other Alaskan clubs get in the water this week.<\/p>\n

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Photo Courtesy: Northern Lights Swim Club<\/p><\/div>\n

The shields are simple in design, costing about $45 each. They sit over the lane lines at either end of Northern Lights\u2019 six-lane pool, providing a barrier between swimmers stopped at the wall to reduce the exchange of respiratory droplets. The center of mass hovers over the wooden L-shaped anchor on deck, stabilizing the four-foot-by-two-foot shield. A foam bumper lessens the sting of a wide arm swing into the edge. And the clear glass allows swimmers to see each other and feel united even from behind an extra layer of social distancing.<\/p>\n

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have found no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted through properly treated water<\/a>, one area of vulnerability at pools and aquatic facilities<\/a> is, presumably, when swimmers stop at the wall and breathe, particularly when doing so heavily mid-workout. Instead of exhaling underwater, the lane shields maintain a physical barrier.<\/p>\n

The solution is uniquely Alaskan in its execution, a product of what Jodi calls a \u201cdo-it-yourself mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all local stuff that we can put together in the garage, get them on deck and get kids in the water,\u201d said Sean McLaughlin<\/strong>, who is also a USA Swimming meet referee.<\/p>\n

Alaska is one of the states least affected by COVID-19. The disease\u2019s progress inspired Gov. Mike Dunleavy<\/strong> last Friday to advance<\/a> to Phase Two of the Reopen Alaska Responsibly Plan<\/a>, which includes 25 percent capacity for fitness centers and 50 percent capacity for swimming pools.<\/p>\n

While Northern Lights Swim Club isn\u2019t ramping up that fast yet (it has more than 100 members) or to realizing USA Swimming\u2019s schematics for large groups<\/a>. Instead, it will start Tuesday at one swimmer per lane. It will prioritize older swimmers to test out procedures, which include health pre-screening, closed locker rooms, the requirement to arrive in suit, enhanced sanitation and one-way entry and exit.<\/p>\n

Between the new procedures and the lane shields, it\u2019s a lot of change. But it\u2019s worth it to get kids back in the water, the McLaughlins believe.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoaches understand it\u2019s a lot of work getting the kids back in the water,\u201d Sean said. \u201cBut it\u2019s about getting the kids back in the water. The coaches are super excited and the kids are super excited. And I think with the barriers put in place, the shields, I think we\u2019re in the water weeks ahead of where we would be without them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swimming Through a Pandemic<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The postponements and cancellations wrought by COVID-19 haven\u2019t just affected the Olympics and the ranks of elite swimmers. They\u2019ve trickled down to neighborhood clubs and summer youth leagues, affecting thousands of recreational and competitive swimmers alike. Here is some of our coverage of COVID-19\u2019s effect on the American summer swimming calendar.<\/em><\/p>\n