Spirit Thursday
Pool

The Spirit comes in one size: an outside dimension of 13.5′ x 40′ with a uniform 4’6″ sport depth throughout, inside dimensions of 12’9″ x 39′, and a total water volume of approximately 13,500 gallons. The uniform depth is the design choice that makes the Spirit distinctive. Instead of grading from a shallow end to a deep end the way most inground pools do, the Spirit holds that same 4’6″ depth from one end of the 40-foot pool to the other. For families, this is a meaningful practical difference. A child of average height for ages 10 to 12 can touch the bottom across the full length of the pool, which eliminates the invisible boundary most pools create between where kids can and cannot go. For adults, 4’6″ is a comfortable standing depth for socializing, playing games, and exercising without needing to tread water to do it. The entire pool becomes available to everyone at the same time.

The Spirit’s 40-foot length and fully unobstructed swim lane make it suitable for lap swimming, and Thursday Pools lists lap swimming as one of the intended uses for the Spirit’s sport pool design. That said, the Spirit is not a dedicated lap pool. Its flat-bottom, 4’6″ uniform depth is optimized for active group use and standing-height sport games, and swimmers who prioritize serious lap training and want a defined deep end would likely be better served by a longer model with variable depth. Where the Spirit genuinely excels is for the household that wants to mix casual lap swimming in the morning with family volleyball in the afternoon. Those two activities require different things from a pool, and the Spirit’s 40-foot sport depth handles both without forcing a compromise.

Thursday Pools uses the term “court-sized, flat-bottom sport pool” to describe the Spirit. The language is precise. The 4’6″ uniform depth is the standard depth for standing-height pool games like volleyball and basketball, and the flat floor means that depth holds consistently across the full width and length of the pool. Think of the difference between a basketball court and a gymnasium with a ramp at one end. The flat floor is what makes the sport possible. In a Spirit pool, the full 40-foot length behaves the same way. Games can be played from end to end. Swimmers of different skill levels can all share the same water without being separated by depth. Adults can stand comfortably anywhere in the pool, which changes how people use the space and how long they stay in the water.

Most fiberglass pool designs include entry steps at only one end. The Spirit is designed with full-length entry steps at both ends, one of its most functional features. In a 40-foot-long pool actively used by a full family, a single entry point creates a bottleneck. With steps at both ends, swimmers can enter and exit at whichever end is closest, which matters during busy periods. For younger swimmers who push off from one end and swim toward the other, steps at the far end provide an accessible return point without requiring them to navigate back to a single entry point. Both sets of steps are accompanied by extended bench seating at each end, so adults who want to stay in the water while watching younger swimmers have a comfortable spot to do so from either end of the pool.

The Spirit’s design offers several features that make it more manageable for families with young children than a traditional variable-depth pool. The uniform 4’6″ depth eliminates the depth-transition slope found in most pools, which is the area where younger swimmers can unknowingly move from water they can handle to water they cannot. Full-length entry steps at both ends give children multiple safe entry and exit points, and the extended bench seating at each end allows supervising adults to sit in the water at pool level and stay physically close without actively swimming. Thursday Pools requires that all pool installations include a handrail and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local building codes. The Spirit’s design makes responsible supervision more practical; it does not replace it. For grandparents who want to be in the water with their grandchildren rather than watching from the deck, the Spirit’s layout is particularly well-suited to that experience.

Thursday Pools designed the Spirit to accept an automatic pool safety cover, meaning the structural and dimensional specifications of the Spirit’s shell are compatible with motorized cover systems. An auto cover covers the entire pool surface and keeps the water inaccessible without your knowledge, providing a significant safety layer for households with young children or pets. It is also one of the most practical investments an Ohio pool owner can make in terms of maintenance. Ohio’s swim season typically runs from mid-May through September, which means the pool sits dormant for more than half the year. A pool under an auto cover loses far less water to evaporation, accumulates less debris, and maintains its chemical balance significantly better through the offseason than an uncovered pool does. The result is a cleaner, more balanced pool at spring startup every year and lower chemical costs over the life of the pool. Ohio Paradise Pools can incorporate auto-cover planning into the design phase of your project so the integration is structurally clean from the beginning.

Because the Spirit is a one-piece fiberglass shell, it installs significantly faster than concrete or vinyl liner alternatives. Most Spirit pool installations are completed in approximately 2 to 3 weeks from excavation through shell placement, plumbing, electrical, and initial finishing work. The actual timeline for your specific project will depend on local permitting timelines, site accessibility, weather, and the scope of the decking and landscaping work included. At Ohio Paradise Pools, we manage the entire process, and we believe consistent communication is part of what we deliver. Throughout your build, we provide regular project updates and offer FaceTime walk-throughs so you can follow the progress of your pool on days you are not physically on-site. When installation is complete, we conduct two dedicated pool school visits to walk you through your filtration system, water chemistry, and seasonal routine before we consider the job finished.

Thursday Pools backs the Spirit with a lifetime structural warranty on the fiberglass shell and a 15-year surface warranty on the gel coat finish. The structural warranty covers the shell against defects in materials and workmanship over the life of the pool. The surface warranty covers the gel coat against delamination, blistering, and structural coating failure for 15 years. When you work with Ohio Paradise Pools, those manufacturer warranties are supported by a local team that has been in business for over 32 years, holds a BBB A+ rating, and has been recognized as Cleveland’s swimming pool contractor of the year in 2022, 2023, and 2024. A strong manufacturer warranty paired with an accountable local installer means that if a question ever comes up about your pool, you have someone who knows your project, answers the phone, and shows up. That combination is what long-term protection actually looks like.

The differences come down to the depth of design and intended use. The Goliath is available in multiple sizes, with deep ends ranging from 5’8″ to 6’8″, and is designed as a large, family-friendly pool with a classic variable depth and wide entry steps. The Monolith is Thursday Pools’ only Type One diving pool, with a deep end reaching 8’6″ and a large flat-bottomed shallow end, built for households that want the full deep-end experience. The Aspen is a more compact rectangle model with a full-width tanning ledge and stepped depth, positioned for urban and suburban settings where space is limited, and leisure is the priority.

The Spirit sits in its own category. It is the only model in Thursday Pools’ rectangle lineup that maintains a uniform flat-bottom sport depth from one end to the other, combined with full-length entry steps at both ends and extended bench seating at both ends. If your household’s priority is a pool where everyone, across a range of ages and abilities, can be in the same water doing things they actually enjoy at the same time, the Spirit is the design built for that.

The Spirit’s gel coat surface is the same non-skid, algae-resistant finish standard across all Thursday Pools designs. This gives the Spirit a meaningful maintenance advantage over concrete pools, which require periodic resurfacing, and over vinyl liner pools, which are susceptible to liner damage and eventual full liner replacement. Routine care for the Spirit involves regularly testing and adjusting water chemistry, running the filtration system, and occasionally skimming or vacuuming the pool floor. The Spirit’s flat-bottom design actually simplifies vacuuming because there are no contour transitions or depth changes to navigate across the full surface. At 13,500 gallons, the Spirit is also a manageable water volume for maintaining chemical balance without excessive product use.

Ohio Paradise Pools includes pool school as a standard part of every installation. Over two hands-on visits, we walk you through your specific filtration system, your water chemistry routine, and what startup and closing look like for your pool in Ohio’s climate. By the time we are done, you will know your pool well enough to manage it confidently on your own and know exactly when to call us.