Olympic-size swimming pool

Olympic size swimming pool at Aquatic Palace, Baku, Azarbaijan
Olympic size swimming pool, Aquatic Palace, Baku
Olympic sized swimming pool, used for Baku 2015 European Games
Olympic sized swimming pool, used for Baku 2015 European Games
"Long Course" redirects here. It is not to be confused with long course triathlon.

An Olympic-size swimming pool is the type of swimming pool used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is 50 metres (164.0 ft) in length. This is typically referred to as "long course", distinguishing it from "short course" which applies to competitions in pools that are 25 metres (82.0 ft) in length. If touch panels are used in competition, then the distance between touch panels should be either 25 or 50 metres to qualify for FINA recognition. This means that Olympic pools are generally oversized, to accommodate touch panels used in competition.

An Olympic-size swimming pool is used as a colloquial unit of volume, to make approximate comparisons to similarly sized objects or volumes. It is not a specific definition, as there is no official limit on the depth of an Olympic pool. The value has an order of magnitude of 1 Mega-Liter (ML).[1]

Specifications

FINA specifications for an Olympic-size pool are as follows:

Physical property Specified value
Length 50.000+0.030
−0.000 m[2]
Width 25.0 m[2]
Depth 2.0 m (6 ft 7 in) minimum, 3.0 m (9 ft 10 in) recommended.[2]
Number of lanes 10
Lane width 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Water temperature 25–28 °C (77–82 °F)
Light intensity minimum 1500 lux (140 footcandles)
Volume 2,500,000 L (550,000 imp gal; 660,000 US gal), assuming a nominal depth of 2 m.

2,500 m3 (88,000 cu ft) in cubic units, as is commonly quoted.

There must be two spaces 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide outside lanes 1 and 8 (in effect, two empty lanes).[2] The length of 50 metres (164 ft) must be between the touch pads at the end of each lane, if they are used.[2] If starting blocks are used, then there must be a minimum depth of 1.35 metres from between 1.0 metres from the end of the pool to at least 6.0 metres from the end of the pool. At all other points, the minimum depth is 1.0 metres.[2] If the pool is used for Olympic Games or World Championships, then the minimum depth is increased to 2.0 metres.[2]

A simplified diagram of the FINA long course swimming pool standard.

At FINA's 2009 Congress, rules were approved for 10-lane courses for competition, as an alternative to the more traditional 8-lane course.

See also

References

  1. ↑ SI Units: Volume
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Fina Facilities Rules 2015-2017" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
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