Are conversion charts accurate?

RE: Are conversion charts accurate?

Former Member — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 14:07:41 GMT

scm to scy is going to be a slow time. So if you go a PB in scm the conversion to scy is going to be easier to beat. scy to scm is going to be a fast time. If you go a PB in scy, the scm conversion time is going to be harder to get. I don't know about LCM conversions.

RE: Are conversion charts accurate?

osterber — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:49:27 GMT

They tend to have accuracy over a large number of swimmers. Obviously, the turns are a big part. If you have fast turns, you will be better in short course. If you have bad turns, you will be better (generally) in long course. The other important aspect is what you are familiar with. If you train exclusively in a short course pool, and then race in a long course pool, it will be very hard. 50 meters is a long way to go without a "rest" on the turn. Similarly, if you only train long course, and then go swim a short course race, you may feel like the walls come way too quickly, and you're not ready for them. I prefer training long course for just that reason. In a SCY pool, I take 8-9 strokes per length swimming freestyle. Sometimes in a long set, it feels like I'm spending all of my time either turning, or getting ready for the next turn. (I.e., making sure my strokes line up for the next wall correctly.) In long course, there's a lot more room in the middle of the pool to just swim, and not worry about the walls. -Rick

RE: Are conversion charts accurate?

knelson — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 06:01:26 GMT

Kirk,except for breaststroke pullout and fly SDK. SCY and LCM are really separate events. True. The bottom line is each stroke is affected slightly differently by having fewer turns.

RE: Are conversion charts accurate?

Allen Stark — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 04:05:28 GMT

Kirk,except for breaststroke pullout and fly SDK. SCY and LCM are really separate events. The conversions are kinda,sorta accurate for some swimmers.

RE: Are conversion charts accurate?

knelson — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 04:00:15 GMT

I know that today, they even have different conversions depending on the stroke! They have to because freestyle and back allow flip turns and you have to do open turns for fly and ***. Since there are half the number of turns in long course versus short course you'll "lose more time" in free and back for LC swims compared to fly and ***.

RE: Are conversion charts accurate?

Karen Duggan — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 02:59:31 GMT

I have never found those charts to be completely accurate. I think they were meant to give you an idea of a time to enter. I know that today, they even have different conversions depending on the stroke!