Hello! I'm a newcomer to swimming laps, and I'd like everyone's input on a debate I'm having with a friend who also swims.
What is technically a lap?
I say it's based on distance. If you're in a 25m pool - then a lap is down and back. If you are in a 50m pool - then a lap is the length of the pool one way.
He says a lap is the length of a pool.
Can someone solve this battle for us?
Thanks!
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Former Member
While I agree that this debate is meaningless in the sense that competitive swimmers generally state distance rather than laps or lengths, I grew up with the understanding that a lap was down and back whatever the course.
Matt makes a good point. Lap counters are displaying the number of lengths at the end of each lap. So aren't they "length by lap" counters really?
We already have a word for distance between one wall and the other. It seems pretty wasteful to use two words for one concept.
While I agree that this debate is meaningless in the sense that competitive swimmers generally state distance rather than laps or lengths, I grew up with the understanding that a lap was down and back whatever the course.
Matt makes a good point. Lap counters are displaying the number of lengths at the end of each lap. So aren't they "length by lap" counters really?
We already have a word for distance between one wall and the other. It seems pretty wasteful to use two words for one concept.
