Reykjavik pool plans to reopen women’s changing room in November

The women’s changing room at Reykjavik Swimming Hall is expected to reopen in mid-November, mbl.is reports. Women have had to use outdoor changing cabins since the pool reopened after summer maintenance, and the indoor pool is also expected to lift its limit of 60 guests at a time.

Pool manager Snorri Örn Arnaldsson said he understood that visitors were growing impatient, adding that staff were also tired of the situation.

Asked whether the outdoor cabins could become dangerous as temperatures fall, Snorri said he did not think so. They are used year-round, he said, but the pool is trying to heat them and their open ends make that difficult, especially when it is windy.

Women are using the outdoor cabins because men are still in the changing room they have used since the start of the year. Sending the men outside would have been more complicated, Snorri said.

He said visitors regularly ask when the women’s changing room will reopen. Running the pool without functioning indoor changing rooms for either men or women was difficult for both him and staff, he said, and they were eager to return to normal operations.

The reopening has been postponed several times. In an interview with mbl.is this summer, Bjarni Guðjónsson, chairman of Reykjavik City Council’s sports and outdoor recreation committee, said the maintenance required was greater than initially expected.