Wear a Swim Cap

UB Recreation strives to provide safe, comfortable, and professional aquatic programming for SUNY Buffalo students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. One important way we do that is requiring swimmers to wear swim caps.

We need your help to keep our pools safe and comfortable for everyone. We ask that you follow these simple rules when using our pools at Alumni Arena and Clark Hall:

General Policies:

• Swimmers must present their Student ID or Recreation Pass prior to swimming.
• Swimmers must wear a swim cap when hair exceeds the length of 1 inch.
• Inflatables are absolutely NOT PERMITTED.
• All floatation devices must be US Coast Guard Approved.
• Diving is not permitted in depths less than 8 feet (except competitions).
• Use of starting blocks is reserved for competition only.
• The pool deck shall not be used as a hallway.
• Patrons must obey all Lifeguard Directions.

Lap Swim Policies:

• Circle Swimming is required when 3 or more swimmers are present in a lane or when lane is designated Circle Swim Only.
• Walking is only permitted in the first lane at the far end of the Main Pool.
• Please swim in lanes with people of similar swimming speeds.

There are benefits to wearing a swim cap, like eliminating drag to make you swim faster, as well as protecting your hair. A main benefit is that it keeps hair out of the pool! Nothing is worse than getting someone else's hair caught in your fingers or face. Well, maybe other than having to shut down the pool for maintenance because the filter is clogged with hair.

Swim caps help prevent hair, especially long hair, from floating through the pool and building up into a hairball. When you swim without a swim cap, your hair does shed - much like it would out of the water. This then builds up in the water and either sticks to someone's face or forms a large, rolling hairball that tumbles along the bottom of the pool, collecting everything. And we mean, everything.

As a bonus, swim caps also help with keeping water out of your ears if they're covering them. While it won't keep them 100% dry, it does help keep them from being submered all the time. Swim caps can also help keep earplugs in place when you're swimming.

There are different types of swim caps, two of which are available for purchase at Recreation Member Services in Alumni Arena and Clark Hall. Latex swim caps are the best at keeping your hair dry, whereas a lycra swim cap doesn't offer as much protection from the water.

Thank you for helping us keep our pool clean and comfortable for everyone!