Soil and sand eroding below skimmer!! what to do?

I have had my above ground pool for 8 years. It's a 27' round that is dug out to 5.5 feet in the center. We are always in the pool, so even though I have the correct amount of water in the pool, the constant motion in the pool constantly sends water out of the skimmer onto the ground. I have looked everywhere for some kind of water deflector to attach under the skimmer to direct the water away from the pool, but haven't found one. I can't believe it, surely someone could get rich here!!! What to do? Thanks....

p.s. can we keep it simple? I'm a single, working mom.. : )

Perhaps you could cover the ground under skimmer with decorative rock?

Dave's idea sounds like a winner -- but I'm not clear on why water entering the skimmer would get back out. Are you missing a lid? If so, replacing it might help. Otherwise, if you can take a picture or two, and send them to poolforum@gmail.com, I'll take a look.

Is the pool over-full?

My skimmer lid has a hole in the center of it so you can get your fingers in it to twist it to remove the lid. Whenever we have lots of kids in the pool and lots of water movement, sometimes, we, too, have water that sloshes out of that hole. Maybe that is what he is talking about?

Our deck is built to be level with the AGP which means the skimmer pot is under the deck. The lid that is meant to fit over the skimmer pot covers a hole we cut into the deck planking to access the skimmer, leaving the skimmer uncovered. We used to get a whole lot of water sloshing out of the skimmer when we used the pool. Then we got smrt and cut a lid for the skimmer pot from a piece of plexiglass. Like Watermom's, it has a hole in the center so we can lift it up to remove the basket for cleaning. When the lid is one there is hardly any water loss. Pictures of the skimmer access under the deck are here: http://www.ellerbach.com/Pool/Skimmer/ .

Sounds to me what you need is either a lid for the skimmer to keep the water in, or pavers under the skimmer to keep the water from causing a washout.

Rocks. A 12"x12" concrete paver. A downspout splash guard (plastic pan you put under a gutter downspout). All would cost you just a few dollars :)

Thanks for the photos's. Very nice by the way. This is the exact skimmer that I have. As I said, we keep active kids in the pool daily, and when the waves start rolling, water comes out of the hole on top of the skimmer lid. When there is no activity in the pool, it is fine. I keep the water level in pool just under halfway up on the skimmer opening to the inside of the pool. I don't know what the recommended level is....... I just wanted to make sure I didn't suck air through the skimmer to my pump. As i said, it's a 27' round, and dug out to 5.5' in the center. Thks again..

yes, that's exactly it!!