Should there be world records for short course (25) yards?

I’ve swam in 22 yard, and 35 yard pools. Do they get recognition too? I think you’re opening up a big can of worms if you do it. Every pool out there is going to want to have its own records. Comparatively, in track and field, there are tracks out there that are odd lengths. They can host track meets, but not conference/tournament/playoff meets. And usually, record times one those tracks aren’t recognized. 25 yards, 33⅓ yards, and 50 yards are U.S. standards. I’d say there can be U.S. national records…but not world records in those pools. 

Dan

Never swam in a 35-yard pool. Did it have lane markers?

Yes. In all other aspects these 35 yard pools were set up for competition swimming. I encountered them on a few occasions throughout my 20-year Navy career. The last one was just closed and razed about 8-10 years ago at the Navy base here in Rhode Island. Some were indoor, some outdoor. But they were all old…like built during WWII era. After encountering them at couple of different locations, Navy and Army bases, I began to ask around “why 35 yards?” No one seemed to know why. Other than to say they were originally constructed to train military recruits basic swimming skills. Once recruit training was moved from any particular base, the pool was turned over to the base recreation department to operate. After years of wondering and asking, I finally got a response that made sense. The military built them an odd length so that outside entities wouldn’t ask to use them for swim team/club/meets, or recreation. Ironically, in all cases, they had become the home training pool for local military clubs/teams. But still couldn’t host meets due to the odd length. In a couple of cases, they had placed jersey barriers across the shallow end to to make the lap swimming area precisely 25 meters…which left about 10 yards beyond that as a shallow area for kids to play in. 

Dan

Yes. In all other aspects these 35 yard pools were set up for competition swimming. I encountered them on a few occasions throughout my 20-year Navy career. The last one was just closed and razed about 8-10 years ago at the Navy base here in Rhode Island. Some were indoor, some outdoor. But they were all old…like built during WWII era. After encountering them at couple of different locations, Navy and Army bases, I began to ask around “why 35 yards?” No one seemed to know why. Other than to say they were originally constructed to train military recruits basic swimming skills. Once recruit training was moved from any particular base, the pool was turned over to the base recreation department to operate. After years of wondering and asking, I finally got a response that made sense. The military built them an odd length so that outside entities wouldn’t ask to use them for swim team/club/meets, or recreation. Ironically, in all cases, they had become the home training pool for local military clubs/teams. But still couldn’t host meets due to the odd length. In a couple of cases, they had placed jersey barriers across the shallow end to to make the lap swimming area precisely 25 meters…which left about 10 yards beyond that as a shallow area for kids to play in. 

Dan