Swimming lap

Question
Lorena-a dumb question (I guess) but how is a swimming lap counted? Is it back and forth the length of the pool or just one way?  Thanks
Dan Kelly AZ

Answer
Daniel --

Good question.  This is something that has been debated over by swimmers for years.  To me, (and everyone else who works at my pool -- and my swim team), a LAP is back and forth ... and a LENGTH is just one way.  The easiest way to measure your swimming, though, is in yards.  Ask your lifeguard how many yards long the pool is and swim a certain number of yards.  For example, our pool is 25 yards long.  I warm up with a 50 yard sprint, swim 500 yards continuously, then cool down with 50 yards of back crawl.  In laps, thats 12, in lengths, that's 24, but its 600 yards, total.  I hope this helps you.  Feel free to ask if you need any clarification.  Good luck!

Lorena