I don’t think swimmers actually use either term, at least not when talking with each other. UNLESS it is using “lap” in the phrases “I got lapped,” or “I’m putting the orange card in, she’s on the last lap of the 500.” In that second scenario, the swimmer is IN HER LAST 50, since the counter is put in while the swimmer approaches the last 25 or 50 (lc) turn finishing the race.
In terms of individual lengths of the pool, swimmers almost always use “25” or “50,” depending on the race course. I can’t think of any swimmer or coach using lengths or laps in any set, because it’s always something like “400 warm-up,” or “8 x 25 sprints.”
The only time I use “laps” is if I tell someone who doesn’t know that much about swimming that I’m going to the pool. I might say “I’m going to swim some laps,” and after, mention the distance swam (in yards or meters; never laps, lengths, km, or miles).
You’re right about the way set lists are written though I know I personally count lengths just because I find it easier to remember 1…2…3… rather than 25…50…75… But to each their own.
I don’t know if it’s notable or not but the long-distance count boards you mention display length or turn numbers for the swimmers (at least in USA Swimming). So on a 500 SCY the swimmer sees 1 at the first turn, then 3, 5, and so on to 17 before seeing orange for turn 19. So in this circumstance you could say that length counts are used.
I swim lots - but I am most definitely not a “swimmer”
I only use laps as a counter in my head during sets as well. Always swim in 25m pool and count 50m as 1 “Lap”.
But the swimmer sees the orange card (for 19, 39, or 65 in a 25 yard pool) BEFORE doing her turn, so she’s not in her last 25 when she sees it, she’s in her last 50, a lap. Those counters are called lap counters.
The best way to consider a lap is as a round trip. In NASCAR, Indy Racing, Track and Field, speed skating, track cycling, LOOPS ON THE IMAZ COURSE, etc, a lap is one round trip. Start, traverse the course, return to the start, start another trip, etc.
In swimming, a lap is a 50 or a 100. A round trip. QED.
Honestly, I have NO IDEA how many laps I swim n a workout. It’s always X yards or meters. If someone asks me to say how many laps I did, I’d have to do a little math. 3000 in a short pool is 120 lengths, right? 60 laps.
I always took lap in any form of use pertaining to a track or course to be like a loop or one “cycle” where you have returned to the point at which you started. Looked it up in the dictionary just now on Google and says the same thing, but the funny thing is explicitly states that one definition of a lap is “a stage in a swim consisting of two lengths of a pool.”
I never count lengths or laps though. I go by 50’s and 100’s. And always speak of my workout length in total yards. Not in some arrogant swimming way, just common practice.
But the swimmer sees the orange card (for 19, 39, or 65 in a 25 yard pool) BEFORE doing her turn, so she’s not in her last 25 when she sees it, she’s in her last 50, a lap. Those counters are called lap counters.
You’re correct that they’re called lap counters, but I’ve no idea what distinction you’re trying to make. Say you see 17 in a 500 SCY. That means you’re about to do your 17th turn and you’ll have done 425 at that turn. If a lap is 50 yards then obviously that 17 doesn’t signify your 17th lap. It means you’re about to complete your 17th 25-yard length. When you return to the turn-end you’ll see orange which signifies you’re about to do your 19th turn, complete 475, and then head to the start/finish end to complete the 500.
And just to really pulpify this horse, USA swimming calls them lengths. Here’s Rule 102.6(A):
“A swimmer in the 500/1000/1650 yard or 800/1500 meter freestyle or other long distance
pool event (see 102.1.3) may appoint one counter to call lengths or indicate
lengths by visual sign.”
As mentioned, most “swimmers” don’t talk in terms of laps, only distance.
I count in distance also.
As I said in the other thread. It’s like asking a runner what kind of sneakers they use for jogging.
Also, I think it’s funny that triathletes are picking on swimmers over the definition of lap, when they talk about bike and run splits, when they are technically bike and run laps, or lap times. The split time would be the cumulative time at the end of each leg. Only the swim would have the same lap and split time. Of course, what happens if the race has ‘split’ transition areas, can you call it a lap if you don’t start and stop in the same spot?
“Lap” is what is known in legal parlance as a “term of art.” That is “a word or phrase that has a precise, specialized meaning within a particular field or profession”
In the swimming profession, lap = length = one trip from here to the other end. There and back to where you started is 2 lengths or 2 laps.
I think when we are done with this we should debate what the dimensions of a 2x4 are
“Lap” is what is known in legal parlance as a “term of art.” That is “a word or phrase that has a precise, specialized meaning within a particular field or profession”
In the swimming profession, lap = length = one trip from here to the other end. There and back to where you started is 2 lengths or 2 laps.
I think when we are done with this we should debate what the dimensions of a 2x4 are
