Banneker Pool — Local services in Washington

The staff is extremely unprofessional. You guys need to get more specific when it comes to the bathing suit requirements. If cheeky/thong bathing suits are not permitted it needs to be officially written down and RESPECTFULLY enforced. When the staff disrespectfully and unprofessional informed me that my bathing suit was against the rules I told them that I understand and would be leaving. As I was laying down so I can dry off before beginning my journey home one of the staff members tried to continue communications with me. Being that I was laying down on my back and the part of my anatomy that was perceived as problematic to them was not visible I felt that their was no need to continue the conversation. I informed the man of this and asked him to cease conversations with me immediately. He told me that I had to leave at that moment, I told him okay and began packing my things up. He continued to pressure me to leave in a harassing manner. I told him to pay attention to my actions (I was literally packing my things and getting up) and to stop talking to me, and if the matter was in need of escalation he could call the police or bring security to make me move faster than a normal human being. He left and as I was leaving the premises he and the security guard passed me and continued verbally abusing me. This to me is a matter of disorganization and poor communication. If there is a rule, clearly communicate it. If the person wants to leave because they don’t accept the boundaries of an establishment they should be able to do so without being verbally abused and harassed. I am very disappointed, hopefully the rapport amongst the staff improves...

Pros: It's a pool Has diving board and lap lanes

Cons: Management is very inconsistent. Some supervisors enforce ALL the rules (no street clothes, no water guns, no climbing on the railings, etc). Some enforce almost no rules, letting high school kids have the run of the pool (people being pushed/thrown into pool, jumping on top of each other off diving board, harassment of women, people who are not proficient swimmers in the deep portion, etc.).

I was there when the supervisor told people to move out of the way of the gate. He didn't actually go talk to the people, he just shouted general directives over the loudspeaker from the other side of the pool ("Don't block the gate!"), without specifying how close to the gate they were allowed to be.

Generally, the smaller neighborhood pools are better managed, but lack some amenities...

The life guard staff at this location needs to be fired! They are known to be confrontational towards visiting families. On two separate occasions I witnessed them disrespect children. One life guard walked up to a families car using profanity & threatened to fight them as if he was under the influence of some sort of substance. All of this occurred while the head life guard stood by & did nothing, He didn’t even bother to intervene. Today I saw the head lifeguard put his hands on a kid and shoved him out of the door and refused to let him visit the pool along with a group of other children who appeared to be the same age. This is something that I believe was unfair because the mayor declared a heat emergency for the DC area and as DC residents, these children should have the right to enjoy their summer and visit...