Compare/Contrast Essay

Swimming Indoors vs. Swimming at the Beach Swimming is a fun and leisurely activity that can be enjoyed indoors or outdoors. Swimming pools are generally located indoors inside of homes, hotels, recreation centers or places where people would normally go to take a load off and relax. Beaches are strewn about outdoors along many coast lines throughout the world providing a haven for swimmers and other beach goers. To enjoy a swim indoors at the pool, or outdoors at the beach, can be a tough choice since both can provide a variety of experiences.

This essay aims to contrast those experiences by talking about some of the temperatures in the environment at the swimming pool and at the beach; the activities that can be done there, the cleanliness that can generally be found in the areas and some of the safety measures that are typically in place at both locations. I’ll first discuss indoor swimming pools. Normally, indoor pools have a temperature gauge that can be set so that the temperature of the pool’s water will always remain the same. While the temperature of the water in the pool can remain constant, so can the temperature of the room that the swimming pool is located in.

This means that swimmers can have their ideal temperatures set for when they walk into the swimming area and their ideal temperatures set for when they step foot into the swimming pool. It’s hard to find better swimming conditions than that. Activities like water polo, water volleyball and water aerobics can be enjoyed in indoor swimming pools because the water temperatures there are usually set to a warmer temperature that can be enjoyed year round. With indoor pools there are usually chlorine tablets floating somewhere out of sight to help with the cleanliness of the water.

There is a modicum of relief knowing that most indoor pools have a chlorine and septic system to help maintain the cleanliness of the water. Cleanliness is next to the safeness of indoor swimming pools. Indoor pools are safe from the weather which leaves the pool water free from leaves, dirt and other debris. This makes swimming indoors ideal compared to what may be experienced outdoors at the beach. While outdoors at the beach, temperatures can range from a sweltering heat, to a blustering cold, depending on the type of day it is outside. This means that temperatures in the waters will roughly match the temperatures of the weather outside.

This is not always ideal for swimming. The beach is enjoyed mostly on hot summer days where the most outdoor activities can be done. Some of those activities can be surfing, jet skiing, body boarding, fishing, jogging, tanning, windsurfing and a bevy of other activities not just committed to being inside of the water. However, with a lot of activity comes a lot of waste. Beaches will commonly have trash and debris littered about since they are more frequented by beach goers and the waters at the beach can wash up waste along the shorelines where beachgoers spend their time at.

Most beaches have plenty of trash depositories and staff in place to help maintain the cleanliness of the beach, but it can become more difficult to control compared to an indoor swimming pool because its size. Swimmers may be reluctant to venture into beach waters since the safety of the waters can put swimmers at risk. Sharks, jellyfish and other dangerous sea life are always a threat when swimming at the beach. While it isn’t always effective, beaches do try to contain this threat with various nets to prevent them from wading into the swimming areas.

This can make swimming at the beach a bit unsafe, but most people still find plenty of pleasure in the waters regardless of the threat since there are so many activities that can be done while there. Whether it’s to enjoy the consistent temperatures of the indoor pools, or the multitude of activities that can be done while at the beach, there is certainly a degree of entertainment, relaxation and, at times – risk, that can be found while swimming at either location. I prefer the sanctuary of an indoor, heated and clean swimming pool over the outdoor, sometimes shark infested, volatile waters of the beach.