why swim short course during long course season

The long course season is typically much shorter than short course, often times due to many 50-­meter pools being seasonal rather than year­-round indoor facilities. This shorter season can create a more fun, fast atmosphere than is sometimes seen in the long winter months.

Full Answer

What is the difference between long course and short course swimming?

The long course times are typically slower that the swimmer's short course times because a 50-meter swim is approximately 5 yards longer than a 50-yard swim. Another obvious difference between a short and long course pool is the number of turns. Long pool = fewer turns.

Which swimming event has the lowest impact on your performance?

For our team, we tend to swim stronger during the Long Course season. Athletes are rested due to the school break and are able to spend more time focussing on swimming goals. Coach Dax and Coach Gabe are great examples. Both were outstanding short course yards swimmers during the year, but always swam stronger during the Long Course season.

What is the difference between short course and long course freestyle?

It is easy to see that most long course events are ten percent longer than their short course counterparts, but there is more to it than the extra ten percent. Although the 400 and 800 meter freestyle events are comparable to the 500 yard and 1000 yard events, many distance swimmers, whose strength lies in the turns, have less success in 50 meter pools.

How to compete in SC and LC pools?

After the long, often dark, short course season that takes up the winter months, the long course season offers a shorter, faster training period. The long course season is typically much shorter than short course, often times due to many 50-­meter pools being seasonal rather than year­-round indoor facilities.

Why is there long course and short course swimming?

Endurance. While short course is all about turns, long course is geared toward building endurance and speed throughout each lap. Swimmers have to consistently keep their technique and build speed in a pool that is twice as long, and that itself is not an easy task.Aug 21, 2021

What is the difference between long course pool and short course pool?

At its very simplest it refers to the length of the pool you are swimming in. If the pool is 25 meters long it is Short Course swimming and if the pool is 50 meters long then its Long Course.Nov 2, 2018

What is short course season swimming?

Overview. USA Swimming divides the training year into two seasons -- a “short course” season and a “long course” season.” The "short course” season runs from September to March. That corresponds to our winter and summer months.

Do colleges swim short course or long course?

Swimming in the USA's college and university system is almost entirely done in SCY (short-course yards). The normal college swimming competitive pool is 25 yards long.Mar 2, 2019

Why is short course faster than long course?

Short course is significantly faster than long course swimming because of the turns! Each turn does two things: 1) increases speed, and 2) allows for a period of inactivity. Pushing off the wall is much faster than swimming any stroke (including underwater dolphin kick).Jun 6, 2018

What is a long course in a swimming pool?

Long Course refers to competitions held in 50 meter pools. Swimmers' Long Course times are almost always slower than their Short Course times for three main reasons: A 50, 100, 200, etc. event in Short Course is always in yards and the corresponding event in Long Course is in meters.

Why are long course times slower?

Long course pools require fewer turns to swim an identical distance than in a short course pool. This lack of turns will cause your times to be slower in long course pools. The 50 meter distance can help improve your stroke as you can focus on your technique longer without having to worry about doing a turn.

How long is a short course?

Short courses are designed to be more intensive than a regular degree, and can last anywhere from one month to two years. Short courses are a great opportunity because they allow you to explore a new area while still having time to continue your current job or study.Nov 10, 2021

How big is a short course swimming pool?

Introducing competitive swimming pools These days, swimming competitions in England are held in either 25m or 50m pools and are referred to as short course (25m) and long course (50m) competitions.Mar 1, 2016

Is long course swimming hard?

Yes, it's harder. Yes, it requires more stamina. But yes, it will make you a better swimmer. For those swim teams and swimmers that are lucky enough to have access to a long course pool, here is why.

Is Olympic Swimming Long Course?

This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is 50 metres (164.0 ft) in length, 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.

What is LCM in swimming?

LCM- Means Long Course Meters such as the Mercer in IA City during the summer (50 Meters) What are USA Swimming Time Standards? The letters refer to the time standards that are used to place swimmers in terms of how fast they swim.

Turns and Gliding

An obvious difference between a short and long course pool is the number of turns. A short course race has twice as much turning and gliding, allowing you to spend up to 60% of the race underwater. On the other hand, a long course pool only allows you to stay underwater for up to 30% of the race. Underwaters have a major effect on speed.

Stroke Rate and Power

One of the most important details of racing is stroke rate, especially during a sprint. Attaining a high stroke rate will drastically improve your speed. The fastest sprinters don’t necessarily have more power per stroke than everybody else, but they do have an impressively high stroke frequency. However, stroke rate ties back to muscle fatigue.

Which one is better?

There’s no answer to which format is better. The differences show that based on swimmers’ strengths and weaknesses, some perform better in one pool versus another.

What does "long course" mean in swimming?

The beginning of long course represents the transition from shorter pools broken up into 25­ yards, to the much longer and sometimes more daunting 50­-meter length.

What is the long course season?

The long course season offers a unique chance to come together. Swimming and training in 50­ meters gives everyone a little taste of the Olympic spirit. The Olympics offer a rare chance for swimming to take the spotlight, whether it is in the form of an Olympian singing their national anthem with the whole world watching, or a tiny age ­grouper pointing to the television and saying “I can swim that too!”

What is a scy swimming?

However during even years, the FINA World Swimming Championships or “Short Course Worlds” are held in 25-metre pools. In the United States, the term “short course” is more commonly applied to 25 yards (22.86 m) competition. Short course yards is generally abbreviated as “SCY” to differentiate it from short course meters (SCM). The US national federations, USA Swimming [1] and United States Masters Swimming, [2] both maintain SCY USA records, FINA does not currently recognize records set in SCY, but does recognize/keep SCM records. USA college (including NCAA competition) and high school swimming are traditionally swum in SCY. Since we live in the US with short hand to any event in Meters as Long Course (LCM) while any events in Yards as Short Course Yards (SCY).

How many lanes are there in a 50 meter pool?

The term “25-meter” and “50-meter” refers to the length of the swimming pool. The width depends on the number of lanes. Olympic-sized swimming pools have 10 lanes, each with a width of 2.5 metres making them a total width of 25 metres.

Is it good to change your training routine?

Change is good. Every swimmer has reached a point in their careers where they get a little stuck, and switching up the training routine is a great way to get out of a rut. Long course training is inherently different. It offers swimmers a chance to approach practices and races with a different mindset, which can help erase feelings of burnout and foster re-commitment to the training process.

Why is short course swimming faster than long course swimming?

Short course is significantly faster than long course swimming because of the turns! Each turn does two things: 1) increases speed, and 2) allows for a period of inactivity. Pushing off the wall is much faster than swimming any stroke (including underwater dolphin kick). The period immediately following the push off the wall is a ‘ resting ‘ period ...

Which has the lowest impact?

Strokes – Freestyle has the lowest impact, while Breaststroke and Backstroke have the greatest difference. Distance – the shorter the event, most often the bigger the difference. Distance freestyle has the lowest change. Gender – Men are typically able to produce more power and carry more momentum off the walls which in turn makes thei difference ...

Is swimming in a short course pool faster than swimming in a long course pool?

There is no question that swimming in a short course pool is faster than swimming in a long course pool! The Olympic sized swimming pool is gold standard in international competition. Times recorded in a Long Course (50 meters) pool are considered the most respectable in the swimming community.

How to keep your swims from slowing down?

In your training, particularly on the longer sets where you've added a 25, focus on your rhythm and try to keep it from slowing down at the end of your swims. (If you need help, try using a tempo trainer.) Also, be aware of how much you rely on the walls for rest in the middle of your swims.

How to improve long course endurance?

You can improve your long course endurance by accelerating into each turn at practice. Go fast both into and out of all your turns, whether they are open turns or flip turns. Heading into the wall, kick hard. Coming off the wall, squeeze and stretch your streamline, and do sharp, snappy dolphin kicks. You won't get to rest in the middle of the ...

How long do you have to hold on to a dolphin kick?

Even if you do a poor streamline and weak underwater dolphin kicks, you only have to hold onto your speed and form for 17-20 meters at a time.

Can you train in a long course pool?

Unfortunately, there is no true replacement for actually training in a long course pool to get ready for a long course meet. However, there are some things you can do to make the transition to long course easier on the day of competition. Here are a few suggestions.

When does the short course championship season end?

As the short course championship season comes to a close in February and March, the focus of many programs across the country shifts towards the summer months and the many long course meets of the summer.

What is the difference between yards and long course?

The obvious difference between yards and long course is that in long course, swimmers are covering more than double the distance in between each wall. Many swimmers lose speed when transitioning to long course simply because they are unable to maintain the same stroke rate as in a yards pool over that longer distance.

What to do when swimming twice the distance between walls?

When you’re swimming twice the distance between each wall, there are several things you’ll need to be prepared for—swimming farther without a turn, holding your breath longer and kicking continuously for a longer distance, to name a few. Add a 25 to the distances you’re swimming during your main set.

How many strokes up underwater for butterfly?

For both breaststroke and butterfly, two strokes up/two strokes underwater can be a great drill to work on stroke rate, or three right arm/three left arm/three full strokes on butterfly. A great freestyle drill for maintaining a high stroke rate is freestyle with dolphin kick. There should be one dolphin kick per arm stroke, ...

How to kick continuously?

Prepare your legs to kick continuously for a longer distance by adding longer kick sets into your training. Make the most of your time coming into and out of turns by speeding up your kick in and out of each turn.