The swimming pool at the YMCA was closed during the past week and a half after staff members who work around the pool began to experience symptoms that are commonly associated with an allergic reaction, such as sneezing, coughing, and red eyes.These symptoms were attributed to levels of chlorine in the pool that are higher than permissible by North Carolina state law.

Lesley Watts, aquatic director for the Guilford College Community YMCA, explained the situation.

“We’re not exactly sure what caused the problem,” she said. “However, we replaced the chlorinator in the pool this past Thursday [January 24th], and are hoping that this will resolve the problem.”

This is the first time that this problem has occurred, and the staff hopes that this simple repair will keep the problem under control.

During the time that the pool has been closed, Guilford students have been left without any type of aquatic facility at their disposal while YMCA members have been able to use the aquatic facilities at the Central YMCA, located in downtown Greensboro.

James M. Wright, aquatic coordinator for the YMCA, said, “We will not reopen until we are 100 percent sure that the problem has been fixed. The last few days seem to be better.”