A swimmer's mile

[Dooley67]

I had always thought that swimming a mile meant swimming 36 laps or 72 lengths in a 25 yard pool which is 1,760 yards. However, on the bottom of the summer pool schedule at my Y, a "swimmer's mile" was listed as 66 lengths which amounts to 1600 yards. What is the reason for the disparity and which does one adhere to when swimming a mile?

D67

[dorcas3]

It may be 25 meters!?

[sebbie]

1760/1600 =1.1
39.37 inches in a meter
39.37/36 = 1.093613
meter
close!
1760/1.093613 = 1609 meters
1600* 39.37/36 = 1749 yards

close!

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Sounds like the pool is a non conforming length. Probably built to be 25 yards but they dug too much or mis-measured or, more likely it is just wrong information that has become truth. The only way to be sure is to measure it. I swam in a pool once that claimed 34 laps was a mile. We brought in a 100 foot tape measure and proved it was a perfect 75 feet and ruined everyone's day.

STS

[Torchwatch]

The "metric mile" is 1500m, which is 60 lengths of a 25m pool or 30 lengths of a 50m Olympic pool. For training purposes it seems best to swim to the 1500m mark.
Most sports pools are built either in 25m or 50m lengths, though Maidstone Leisure Centre pool was built with a 33m length. After a few years Maidstone put in a barrier at the shallow end making the pool 25m and creating a narrow, shallow pool.
I have always been confused by the American concept of swimming laps, is a lap 2 lengths?

[Dooley67]

Originally Posted by Torchwatch

The "metric mile" is 1500m, which is 60 lengths of a 25m pool or 30 lengths of a 50m Olympic pool. For training purposes it seems best to swim to the 1500m mark.
Most sports pools are built either in 25m or 50m lengths, though Maidstone Leisure Centre pool was built with a 33m length. After a few years Maidstone put in a barrier at the shallow end making the pool 25m and creating a narrow, shallow pool.
I have always been confused by the American concept of swimming laps, is a lap 2 lengths?

Yes, a lap is 2 lengths.

D67