Nude swimming at the ymca (photos)

The High Point, NC YMCA had boys and men nude swimming at least until 1955 when I graduated high school. I learned to swim nude in the 1940’s. The high school swim team I was on practiced nude also at the Y since the school did not have a pool. The pool area had open windows on one wall and in warm weather the windows were open and had several female observers during swim sessions. I have been grateful to the Y for teaching me to love skinny dipping

I recently found a series of articles where individuals commented on nude swimming at the YMCA. Some discount the information and say it never happened. I can assure you that in many places it was the norm for years.

Prior to the 1960s, the YMCA built separate facilities in black and white neighborhoods. The first black YMCA with a pool was the in Washington, DC which was completed in 1912. Swimming nude was required, but did not appeal to all. In the 1940s, a article emphasized knowing how to swim being a defense asset as well as a safety measure, while also noting that “colored” boys could register at the 12th Street Y for their lessons rather than at the 1732 G Street YMCA, a block from the .

In 1955 a graduate student in education at Boston University conducted a survey of 100 boys age 11 to 13 who had dropped their YMCA membership. Statistics had shown that this age group had the highest dropout rate, and the research was to discover why. Given their age, responses to a questionnaire were collected in an interview. Since swimming was the reason most often stated for joining the YMCA, except for having friends that were also members, significance was assumed regarding questions about swimming, in particular doing so without suits. Of the 100, 35 said they would prefer to swim in suits, but 65 said they would not prefer suits. Sanitation, the simplicity of needing to bring only a towel for swim class, and less problem with lint and dirt were given as reasons to swim nude, but also the psychological value of boys seeing they are physically normal. Many reasons were given for not continuing their YMCA membership, but issues regarding swimming were not high.

As an aside, those memories of the changing rooms, plus this discussion about nude swimming at the YMCA, nude body building, and of course the Cockaigne Chronicles themselves has got me thinking about my ideal swimming pool…