Bay Club produces pool policy

Lolita Harper

People say “it” happens, but the Balboa Bay Club management is not

putting up with it anymore.

The club has imposed a $1,000 fine on anyone, or any parent whose

child, is caught defecating in the pools, officials said. The new

rules were handed down via an announcement in the club’s magazine,

“Bay Windows.”

“Due to last summer’s increase in fecal accidents in the pool(s),

[Balboa Bay Club] management will enforce a new pool closure policy,”

the warning reads.

Maggie Feldman, the club’s spokeswoman, said the new ruling is a

matter of hygiene and practicality. It costs money to close the pool

and clean it, and it also detracts from other member’s ability to

have fun, she said.

Feldman said that parents need to be aware of their children’s

bodily functions. Basically, they need to make sure the little tykes

go in the potty and not the pool, she said.

“They are kids and these things happen, but there are certain

things parents can do so that we don’t have to shut down the pool and

cancel swim team and swim lessons,” she said

The Balboa Bay Club sells special “swim diapers” that have extra

leak protection around the openings that prevent messes from

happening, she said. Feldman said the diapers sell for $1.50 each

poolside.

Recreation officials call for periodic “potty breaks” in the kids

pool to remind children to use the restroom facilities, Feldman said.

If all that fails, the club encourages its members to report any

sightings of unauthorized floating objects with a $500 reward.

The notice in the Bay Windows classifies the offenses as

“accidents,” and includes the quotation marks around the word,

leading a reader to believe that management assumes a more sinister

motive. Feldman said that was just semantics.

“No, they are just accidents,” Feldman said. “I guess kids are

just prone to accidents when they are not wearing their swim diaper.”

That is why you will never catch a kid under the age of 4 without

a swim diaper in the pool at the Newport Beach Tennis Club, said

owner Steve Joyce.

Joyce said the Balboa Bay Club’s problem is not an isolated one,

as he has had more than his fair share of defecating disasters as

well.

“Last year, in a 10-day period, I had to close down my pool three

times,” Joyce said.

In response he issued an immediate mandate that all children under

4 must wear swim diapers and put a “bounty” of $3,000 on any member

whose kids “went in the pool.” Joyce, who dubbed himself the “pool

Nazi,” also offered a reward of $1,500 to anyone who turned in the

perpetrator, he said.

What was a problem at the beginning of summer was non-existent by

the end, he said.

“Some of the members were a bit aggravated by it, but I would

rather that happen than close down my pool,” Joyce said.

* LOLITA HARPER is the enterprise and investigative reporter for

the Daily Pilot. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or by e-mail at

lolita.harper@latimes.com.