Is the conversion calculator accurate?

It might be a bit off, but remember that you're swimming 10% further (440 yds is almost exactly 400 m) and have fewer turns. So even if you ignore the turns you'd expect 50 yds at 26.8 to map to about 29.5 for 50 m. That leaves about a 1.3 second advantage for the missing turn. It's more significant for the 100 because you're losing two turns. 1:01.75 for 100 yds gives you about 1:07.9 without the extra turns. Add 2.6 seconds for the two missing turns and you're at 1:10.5. So maybe the converter is a little pessimistic, but probably not terribly so. Feel free to seed yourself with the more optimistic times. ;) Skip Montanaro

I tend to find the conversion calculator is usually off for me. The calculated time is usually 1-2 seconds faster than I actually do per 100 meters.

I don't think whomever created the conversion calculator meant for its results to be taken as gospel. The three courses are very different from each other. Honestly, if you're getting ready for your first LCM meet (or swim an event LCM for the first time), use the conversion calcuclator as a guide. After that, you should be able to gague more accurately for yourself how your times convert.

An analysis was done that showed a long course race is more than 10% longer of actual swimming than short course. It isn't a trick. A short course 50 yard freestyle involves only about 35 years of actual swimming due to the start, the glide into and out of the turn. In long course you lose the glide into and out of the turn. You end up swimming more than 10% more than short course. So use the converted times.

...I used it as a guide, then padded out a little to be safe. thats a wise move. when in doubt, going scy to lcm, i always tack on an extra second or two. can't hurt! plus, if you destroy your seed time, you'll look pretty good :-)

I think those conversions look a tiny bit pessimistic, but I doubt they're off by more than a second. A 60 second 100 free SCY is probably pretty close to a 69 second in LCM (for people with average turns).

My turns STINK. Especially in unfamiliar pools. That includes bad streamline and no SDK. If I do a 61.7 100 SCY, I hope to do a 64 LCM. Any bets?

My typical stroke count is 24 in a 100 ft pool, so I am about 18 for 25 yds. Not sure if that says alot about speed?? does it?? I count 30 strokes per 50m for Ian Thorpe....amazing!! My turns are really bad. My 50 time will tell allot since there will be no turns.

Ummmm......sorry but I bet your LCM time will be > 64 secs. If your turns are as bad as you say your 1:01 SCY time is very good and you must be very fast between the walls. Even slow turns are a tiny "rest" period for most people so swimming long course eliminates that bit of rest. Plus add in the additional distance..... Count your strokes and this might help you predict your speed. My usual practice stroke count for freestyle in SCY is 15-16 per 25 yds. A straight distance conversion might suggest 2 x (16) + 10% = 35.2 strokes. But my LCM stroke count is usually closer to 41 strokes.

If I do a 61.7 100 SCY, I hope to do a 64 LCM. Any bets? That would be a phenomenal swim. Purely on the distance difference alone your 1:01.7 would give you a 1:07.5 (a meter is 9.1% longer than a yard).