50 m swim contest
- Winner
- Fastest time
- Measured in
- Time
- Boards
- Gym, city, country, world
Your fastest 50 m in a 25 m or 50 m pool, any stroke, starting with a push off from the wall. Film it in one take from the pool deck and your time is ranked on your gym, city, country and world boards at once.
The rules
What counts
- A 25 m pool (two lengths with one turn) or a 50 m pool (one length).
- A push off from the wall in the water. The clock starts when your feet leave the wall.
- Any stroke, and you can change stroke during the swim.
- The clock stops when your hand touches the end wall.
What doesn’t count
- Diving or jumping in. Many pools do not allow it, so everyone starts in the water.
- Fins, paddles, pull buoys or any other kit that helps you along.
- Pushing off the pool floor or pulling on the lane rope.
- Pools of any other length, or a take where the start or the finish is out of view.
How to film it
- Set the phone on the pool deck, not in the water, far enough back to see the whole length.
- Ask the lifeguard or pool staff before filming, and keep other swimmers out of shot where you can.
- A 25 m pool is easier to film, because the start, the turn and the finish fit in one frame.
The 50 m is the shortest race in the pool and the one most club swimmers know their time for. It is short enough to film from one spot and long enough that a slow turn or a poor start shows up on the clock.
How it works
Put your phone on the pool deck, side-on to your lane, and press record before you get set. Push off the wall when you are ready. The clock in the app starts as your feet leave the wall and stops when your hand touches at the finish. In a 25 m pool you turn once and come back to where you started.
Your result goes on every board you qualify for: your gym, your city, your country and the world, with age group and sex brackets. A masters swimmer can lead their age group in the same week a teenager sets a city record.
Who checks the time
Each take gets an automatic check for an unbroken video and a timed swim. Anyone can flag a take, for example if the start or the touch is hidden. Takes in a top 10 and new records go to a referee, who steps through the push off, the turn and the touch frame by frame. A ruling against you comes with the reason and the timestamp, and you can appeal to a different referee.
Getting faster over 50 m
Short sprints of 15 to 25 m with plenty of rest train the speed you need, while easy longer swims build the fitness to hold it. Practise your push off and your turn as much as your stroke, since both are free time. Test the full 50 m again every few weeks, fresh at the start of a session.
Questions
Why no dive start?
A push off works in every pool and is safer in shallow water. It also keeps times comparable between pools that have blocks and pools that do not.
Are 25 m and 50 m pool times on the same board?
Yes, and the app records which pool you used. A 25 m pool usually gives a slightly faster time because of the extra push off the wall at the turn.
Can I wear a racing suit?
Yes. Swimsuits, caps and goggles are fine. Anything that adds buoyancy or propulsion is not.
