Roche locker room floors resurfaced

Home News Roche locker room floors resurfaced

The pool and the locker room areas at the Roche Sports Complex were closed last week from Wednesday to Saturday as part of a series of repairs to help decrease the hazard of injury from slippery floors in the locker rooms. Although swimmers have not sustained any major injuries from the hazard, many people have slipped and fallen.
The first renovation occurred last summer, during which the locker room and shower areas were redone with entirely new flooring.
According to Athletic Director Don Brubacher, this update was long overdue.
“Tiles were starting to crack in the shower areas, and when the grout around the tiles becomes loose, the water gets in and the tiles break out,” Brubacher said. “It becomes problematic very quickly, so the shower areas needed to be redone one way or another.”
Additionally, the flooring in the swim areas was redone over the summer. Prior to renovations, this carpeted area became very worn down, and the frequent dampness caused the carpet to become a major harbor for bacteria.
In place of the old tiles and carpeting, renovators installed two pour-in-place products for the locker rooms and shower areas.
Brubacher said people voiced concerns about the slippery new flooring almost immediately after the pool reopened. The complaints prompted additional work very shortly after the first flooring was put in place.
Additionally, carpet runners were laid out in key locations to help reduce the risk of slipping.
This most recent update, the fourth attempt to correct the issue, was prompted by junior Sarah Rinaldi, a member of the college’s swim team. Concerned that the issue needed additional work, Rinaldi contacted Assistant Dean of Women Rebekah Dell.
“I thought the locker room floor was really slippery, and many of the swim girls were really concerned about it,” Rinaldi said in an email. “I knew that a few swimmers, students, and community members had fallen. So, I decided to stop in and say something to Ms. Dell.”
Freshman MacKenzie Yaussy, who swims for fun, noted the ample safety measures that were taken to warn swimmers of the hazard.
“They had signs saying that the floor was wet, and had mats because they knew the floor was slippery,” she said. “They definitely took precautions. You were supposed to wear flip-flops too.”
Despite the ongoing issues, Brubacher expressed his hope that this work will be the final effort of improving the floor, but also realizes that additional work might still be necessary.
“It’s been addressed, and addressed again, so this is just another round in the process,” Brubacher said. “We certainly hope [that this is the culminating effort], but we hoped that with the others as well. So, it’s just been a process, trying to make the renovations come out the way they need to be.”