25 yards and 25 meters - where are we going with this ?

If the U.S. abandoned the imperial system like the rest of the world did, this madness wouldn't happen. In the rest of the world, when we say 100 race it is unambiguously 100 m race, but in the U.S. we need to check the pool used is in yards or meters first! It's not really unambiguous, because it could be a short course 100m or a long course 100m, and there are definite differences time-wise between the two. Pretty decent rule of thumb for non-international level swimmers in the US: If a meet is done in the summer, it's in a long course 50m pool. If it's done in the fall/winter/spring, it's in a short course 25y pool. This holds true for at least 90% of domestic meets.

Here in the mid-Atlantic states, there are a lot of older non-regulation pools. There are quite a few 33-yard pools, often at summer swim clubs. There are a number of 55-yard pools. UPenn has one for example. I think the idea behind these is that a 1650 is 30 lengths, making it analogous to a LCM 1500. Some summer league teams swim in SCM pools. There is a 49-yard pool not far from my home. In the mid-west, some older HS pools are 20-yards. (I seem to remember a news story from a year or two back about some college coach who put the bulkhead at 20 yards for a meet so they could have fun breaking a lot of very old records set in 20 yard pools.) While I understand the appeal of having standardized pools for record-keeping and direct comparison, I think it would be great fun if swim meets were held in these non-standard pools. It would add variety and shift the emphasis from times more towards meet strategy and racing. Wouldn't an 80 IM or 132 IM be fun?! How about sprint races in a 15-yard diving well? Us slow-twitch folks wouldn't be rushing to sign up, but I bet they would be quite popular with the drop dead sprinters. I know a local coach had blocks set up in the diving well to practice starts and for sprint training. (ULTRA usrpt!) The term "pool record" would take on a new significance.

In the mid-west, some older HS pools are 20-yards. ...The good old days. IN High school our home pool was a 5 lane 20 yard tank. I think our 160 Medley Relay times were almost as fast as the 200 MR's of today. The sprinters in the 60 free has a tougher time. And there were always broken ceiling tiles from divers who got a little too much spring in their step.

The good old days. IN High school our home pool was a 5 lane 20 yard tank. I think our 160 Medley Relay times were almost as fast as the 200 MR's of today. The sprinters in the 60 free has a tougher time. And there were always broken ceiling tiles from divers who got a little too much spring in their step. Lucky you! We had four lanes, no lane lines, no blocks...and of course no goggles. Could hardly see the bus coming after practice on my way home as my eyes hurt so much from the chlorine.

Lucky you! We had four lanes, no lane lines, no blocks...and of course no goggles. Could hardly see the bus coming after practice on my way home as my eyes hurt so much from the chlorine.And it was uphill both ways...

Lucky you! We had four lanes, no lane lines, no blocks...and of course no goggles. Could hardly see the bus coming after practice on my way home as my eyes hurt so much from the chlorine. I never swam in the pre-goggle era, but my high school's pool did have just four lanes. We also had the added fun of having the diving team practice at the same time as the swim team. Luckily I always swam in a wall lane and didn't have to worry about being dived on!

... Still not OK for meets. but should be.

Until just a handful of years ago, the pool on the Newport, RI Navy base where I swim was a 6x35-yard lap pool. (We now have a nice, new 6x25m pool.) At one time there were actually two 35-yard pools on the base. For years I tried to ascertain why in the world the Navy installed these odd distance pools. No good answers. Then, I encountered another couple of 35-yard pools on the Army base at Fort Meade Maryland. People there told me they knew of other military installations with 35-yard pools as well. There at Ft. Meade, they had cleverly set jersey barriers in the shallow end to make 25m lap lanes...which also created a good sized area for the kiddos to play in. All these pools were built in the WWII era. But the people at Ft. Meade gave me a good answer as to why the military built these odd-length pools. Initially, it was simply so that outside entities wouldn't come to them asking to use the pool for swim meets...since events swam in the odd-length pools couldn't be recognized for records, etc. That didn't work for long. By the time I got stationed on the Navy base here in Newport in 1988, when they still had only the 35-yard pools, the base hosted a youth club team, and a USMS group. Good enough for workout/practice. Still not OK for meets. Dan

and you think those guys in the video had it bad, let me tell you.....

And it was uphill both ways... You're right, how did you know that???