Teaching pool with a movable floor

Who uses a teaching pool, and at what depth?

Many new municipal pool plans in the Netherlands and Flanders include a teaching pool with a movable floor. Examples are Koksijde (a 25 m pool widened to 16 m, with a movable floor), Beuningen and Sint-Katelijne-Waver. The reason is practical: a teaching pool has many user groups, and each needs a different water depth.

A teaching pool’s timetable changes by the hour: learn-to-swim, parent-and-baby sessions, swimming for older people and people with disabilities, aqua fitness, and sometimes school swimming or rehabilitation. Each group needs its own depth, and at its highest position the floor closes the pool when no lifeguard is present.

Agree typical lesson depths with your pool consultant and the national swimming federation.

Choices 1 and 2: size and floor type

Pool size and floor size

• Full floor. The whole pool moves: maximum flexibility, one depth at a time.
• Partial floor. Part of the pool moves while the rest keeps a fixed depth. Myrtha supplies both. At Son Hugo (Palma), an 8.5 × 25 m floor inside a larger pool takes the depth to zero for lessons.
• Two zones. Combine a floor with a movable bulkhead or hinged wall, so two groups can have lessons at different depths or temperatures at once. An example is De Waterlinie in Culemborg.

Floor type

For smaller pools and therapy, there are the movable floors of EWAC Medical. For larger areas, Myrtha supplies floors with floating, mechanical or wall-integrated drives. The differences are explained in How does a movable pool floor work?

Choices 3 and 4: safety and operation

Safety and supervision

• Movable floors in public pools fall under EN 13451-11:2022.
• A poolside depth display, provided by Myrtha as LED screens with a no-diving warning, shows everyone how deep the water is.
• At its highest position the floor closes the pool, which is useful outside lesson hours and when small children are in the hall.
• Recessed steps in the pool wall keep ladders out of the floor’s way. In Myrtha pools, these steps are part of the wall panels.

Energy and operation

A floor in its highest position reduces the exposed water surface, and with it heat loss and evaporation. A multi-purpose pool can also be smaller than separate pools for each group. The saving depends on the design, so we calculate it per project with your consultant and installer, without promising percentages in advance.

Pool and floor from one source

In a Myrtha pool, the floor, bulkhead and recessed steps are designed together. Walls and floor are built from PVC-laminated stainless-steel panels, mechanically bolted with no welding on site. Myrtha states a 25-year warranty on structural components. An existing teaching pool can be renovated inside its current shell with RenovAction, with a new floor if required.

What EWAC Pools does in your project

We contribute at the brief stage: dimensions, floor type, bulkhead combination, recesses and planning. During construction, we install on site, and after handover we provide service and maintenance across the BeNeLux. Myrtha engineers and manufactures the large floors; the compact floors are built by EWAC itself.

Frequently asked questions

Why do municipalities choose a movable floor for the teaching pool?

One pool can then serve several groups at the right depth, and it can be closed outside lesson hours.

Can the teaching pool also be used for training or competitions?

Yes, if the dimensions allow. With the floor at its lowest position, it is a regular deep pool.

Can a floor be added to our existing teaching pool?

Often, after a structural survey. In a RenovAction renovation, the floor is part of the design.

How quickly does the depth change between lessons?

Myrtha floors move at up to 500 mm per minute, so in practice a change takes a few minutes.

Which standard applies?

EN 13451-11:2022 for movable floors and bulkheads in public pools, together with EN 13451-1.

Is a teaching pool in your plans? Discuss your plans at the brief stage.

Read also: Movable pool floors, Renovate or rebuild?, Leisure.

Sources

Myrtha Pools, How does a movable pool floor work?
EWAC Medical, Movable swimming pool floor
Municipality of Koksijde, Wider pool with a movable floor (Dutch)
Municipality of Beuningen, New Ooigraaf pool (Dutch)
Municipality of Sint-Katelijne-Waver, New pool (Dutch)
BSI, EN 13451-11:2022

Last updated: 28 September 2026