Pool issues for Masters swimming

Without any further info on the pool and/or gutter configuration, or accuracy/measurment of the 25yd length... I would suggest you look into renting a timing system so you can run the meet on the 25yd venue. You might even be able to set up two 25 yd pools (on either side of the bulkheads), and run the events even faster, or have more warm-up cool-down space.

By suggesting we run the meet from wall to wall are you suggesting that the issues I brought up are serious enough that the meet should not be run from bulk head to bulk head (which is 25Y as well)?

Here is a picture of the pool configured for 25Y racing.

By suggesting we run the meet from wall to wall are you suggesting that the issues I brought up are serious enough that the meet should not be run from bulk head to bulk head (which is 25Y as well)? Nope... just offering another idea, since you thought the issues worth noting in the first place. I've seen 50m pools with two Bulkheads where they have a 25yd venue at each end, and use the space between the bulkheads in the middle for warm-up/warm-down. Allowed them to run boys at one end, girls at the other, -or- alternating events at each end so you aren't waiting to clear the prior event before starting the next one.

Here is a picture of the pool configured for 25Y racing. The gutters (cut-outs as you call them) on the bulkhead are above the waterline, much like the gutters on the fixed wall are above the waterline. There is no difference between the two...if someone's foot goes into the gutter on the bulkhead it would just as easily push into thin air on the fixed wall. That should not be an issue. The bigger the bulkhead, the more people that will try and stand on it before their event. It looks like a sufficient size to me, but regardless of the size someone can always fall in the pool. As for the roughness of the bulkhead wall...do you have double pads available? As previously mentioned, using the fixed wall is much easier in terms of measurement procedures. But obviously utilizing the built-in timing system might be more advantageous.

You have a few options. You could swim width-wise and just rent a harness for the touchpads, assuming there are holes in the deck for blocks. This is my least favorite of your options because: (1) Your lanes are probably narrower set up that way (our pool is very similar to yours and lanes are 9 feet wide when swimming length-wise and 8 feet wide when swimming width-wise). (2)Swimmers would rather turn on a bulkhead than a wall as they are less slippery. (3) The pool is faster swimming into a bulkhead as the waves flow thru the bulkhead instead of bouncing off the wall and right back at the swimmer. The way the picture you included is the fastest possible way to set up the pool. The only problem with this setup is it's very very tight with 8 swimmers and 16 timers on one bulkhead. We run our biggest college meet of the year like that and while it's fast, it's also very crowded on that bulkhead. Usually we have 4 swimmers walk in from one side and 4 swimmers walk in from the other side. Then after the race they don't walk off the bulkhead because it's too crowded but rather climb straight over the bulkhead and fall into the warm down lanes. If you decide the bulkhead is too small your third and possibly best option is to swim bulkhead to bulkhead but shift the whole thing to the deep end. That way you're still using the blocks and touchpads like you had intended but you have all the area under the diving boards for timers & swimmers. Put a towel on the end of the one-meter diving boards and lift them up to lean against the wall behind them to get them out of the way. Depending on how shallow the shallow end is you could also shift the entire setup to the shallow end to avoid the diving board issue. I just can't tell from your picture whether the pool is deep enough in the shallow end, and whether you can put blocks and plug in touchpads on the shallow end bulkhead. I guess you have to think about backstroke flag holes and the "T" markings on the bottom of the pool too. If you don't have those then you can't move the bulkheads to another location.

I swam at UT-Austin in college and all of our dual meets and conference championships were configured the way you describe and show in the photo. It worked just fine. I would think, though, that your timeline will run slower as you'll need to leave a little more time for people to file onto and off the bulkhead since people won't be able to line up behind the blocks. The pool looks awesome.

Please post photos, if possible. Are there starting blocks on the bulkheads only? Or can they also be used on the fixed sides of the pool? One thing to keep in mind is that, if you are swimming against one or more bulkheads, you will need to measure the course several times during the meet. It's not difficult to do; you just need to be prepared to do it. Before the start of the meet, you need to measure every lane. After each session of the meet, you need to measure a minimum of three lanes (the two outside lanes plus a middle lane). Your state meet, if I recall correctly, is a 3-day meet so you would be measuring the pool four times - Friday before and after the session; Saturday after the session; and Sunday after the session.

The bulkheads at Auburn have a cutout like in the photo and they are hosting nationals and have a really fast pool. If it's good enough for nationals, should be fine for a state meet!

(2)Swimmers would rather turn on a bulkhead than a wall as they are less slippery. I disagree with this. I think most people would rather turn on a wall. To me the facility looks great. Yes, it will be a little crowded on the bulkheads with the timers and swimmers, but I think it will be fine. The timers seem more apt to fall into the water than the swimmers!