Compass Pools UK Technical Director Alex Kemsley has been taking a closer look at the leisure facilities the contestants in this year’s Love Island reality tv series were enjoying. As the largest swimming pool designer and installer in the UK, Compass Pools UK’s attention was immediately drawn to the pool and hot tub facilities of the hit ITV series, rather than the drama and the hijinks of the Love Island residents. Alex said, “We’re all big fans of Love Island, so we thought it might be fun to run our eyes over the facilities the participants have this year. “The pool is a nice design – but it isn’t an infinity pool,” he points out. “The hot tub could become an issue if it’s wasn’t properly maintained, and the more people are in it, the harder the filter has to work, so we might have seen some unpleasant developments there.” The pool featured in Love Island is actually a regular-style pool with an overflow or ‘Weir Edge’. The pool itself is approximately 20m x 5m, giving a bathing capacity of around 40 people, which was more than enough room for the Love Island participants, no matter what they get up to.
Alex again: “As with most pools in Southern Europe, it is most likely unheated, which may be why Georgia exhorted everyone to jump in fully-clothed. With a daytime temperature of around 28 degrees Celsius, the daytime pool temperature will top out at around 26 degrees. “When bathing in the hot sun for an extended period of time, this can feel chilly, especially if the contestants decide on a nighttime swim, when the air temperature will sit at a brisk 18 degrees, Alex says. “Most public pools, for comparison as they are heated, sit at a balmy 30 degrees, with a couple of degrees making a big difference to how a bather perceives temperature.
“In the UK – with our unpredictable and often chilly weather – most outdoor pools are heated,” he adds. “Utilising air-source heat pumps or solar-powered covers, heating an outdoor pool in the UK costs around £5 a day – something the producers of Love Island don’t have to budget for!” The other option available to the denizens of Love Island was the hot tub. Compass Pools UK estimates it to be a five or six-seater affair, made from domestic acrylic. With limited space, the tub could easily be overwhelmed by a combination of bodies, sun cream and those ever-present gold stickers. Domestic hot tubs are usually designed for daily use by a couple of people, and cartridge filters keep the water clean and sanitary. “With over-use, the Love Islanders could have seen themselves swimming in an unpleasant soup if the tub was not regularly maintained,” points out Alex.
Compass Pools UK
Tel. 0333 255 7792
www.compass-pools.co.uk
