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Time Swim Converter

Time Swim Converter

SCY ⇄ SCM ⇄ LCM — event-aware and real-time.

Time Swim Converter

SCY ⇄ SCM ⇄ LCM — event-aware and real-time.

Formats: ss.hh, m:ss.hh, or h:mm:ss.hh

Advanced: Per-wall advantage (seconds)

Adjust to match your turns & underwater skills
SCY (25 yards)
0.55s
SCM (25 meters)
0.40s
LCM (50 meters)
0.25s

Model: remove wall gains from your source swim to estimate free-water speed, then reapply gains for the target course. Outputs are estimates.

Quick Reference

→ SCY→LCM:

typically adds more time (fewer walls).

→ SCY→SCM:

smaller increase vs LCM.

→ LCM→SCY:

often faster due to more walls.

★ Pro Tip

Tune sliders to match your turn advantage.

These are estimates, not official conversions.

Time Swim Converter Calculators

UK Converter

SCM ⇄ LCM for UK pool formats & Swim England events.
USA Converter

SCY ⇄ LCM for NCAA, USA Swimming & recruiting.
LCM to SCY

Long course metres to short course yards.
SCM to SCY

Short course metres to short course yards.
SCY to LCM

Short course yards to Olympic long course.
Split Calculator

Even, negative & descending lap splits.
Yards to Meters

The fundamental yards-to-metres conversion.

How the Swim Time Converter Works

  1. 1 We parse your source time and event to get distance and course.
  2. 2 We estimate the number of walls (start + turns) from pool length and distance.
  3. 3 We subtract a per-wall advantage (adjustable) to estimate your free-water speed (m/s).
  4. 4 We project that speed to the target event and add the target course's wall gains.

Because turns, push-offs, and underwater phases are highly individual, use the sliders to match your profile for better estimates.

How to Convert Time to Distance in Swimming

Understanding the relationship between time, distance, and speed is essential for training, race planning, and performance analysis. Here's the core formula every swimmer should know.

Distance Speed Time × Cover what you want → the other two give the formula
Distance
= Speed × Time
Speed
= Distance ÷ Time
Time
= Distance ÷ Speed
Pace

Time per unit distance. Expressed as time per 100m.

Pace = Total Time ÷ (Distance ÷ 100)

Example: 2:00 for 200m → 1:00/100m

Speed

Distance per unit time. Expressed in metres per second (m/s).

Speed = Distance (m) ÷ Time (s)

Example: 100m in 60s → 1.667 m/s

★

Worked Example: "I swam for 30 min at 1:30/100m pace. How far?"

1. Pace → Speed: 1:30 = 90s per 100m → Speed = 100 ÷ 90 = 1.111 m/s

2. Total time = 30 min = 1,800 s

3. Distance = 1.111 × 1,800 = 2,000 metres

0m1,000m2,000m

Typical Swimming Speeds

LevelSpeed (m/s)Pace /100m30-min distance
Beginner0.7 – 0.91:51 – 2:23~1,260 – 1,620 m
Intermediate1.0 – 1.31:17 – 1:40~1,800 – 2,340 m
Competitive1.4 – 1.70:59 – 1:11~2,520 – 3,060 m
Elite / Olympic1.8 – 2.20:45 – 0:56~3,240 – 3,960 m

Speeds are approximate for freestyle. Sprints are faster; distance events maintain lower speeds sustainably.

Swim Time Converter — 25 Yards to Meters (USA)

In the US, most pools are 25 yards (22.86 m) while international standards use 25 metres. Each SCM lap is ~2.14 m longer — your times will be slightly slower with the same effort.

SCY — 25 yards22.86 m
USA Standard
SCM — 25 metres25.00 m
International Standard

Bars are proportional. Each SCM lap is 2.14 m (~7 ft) longer than an SCY lap.

Why This Matters for US Swimmers

  • •High school & NCAA competition use 25-yard pools — but international meets are metric.
  • •College coaches compare recruits' SCM times against SCY rosters.
  • •Wall advantages differ slightly because push-off glide distance scales with pool length.

Event Equivalents: SCY → SCM

SCY EventSCM EquivalentNotes
50 yd50 mSame nominal
100 yd100 mSame nominal
200 yd200 mSame nominal
500 yd400 mStandard equivalent
1000 yd800 mStandard equivalent
1650 yd1500 m"The mile"

Use the converter above with SCY → SCM selected to convert your times with wall-advantage adjustments.

Swim Time Converter — 50 Yards to Meters

A 50-yard pool (45.72 m) is rare but exists at some US university facilities and Masters meets. Comparing 50-yard times against international 50-metre or 25-metre standards requires accounting for both the distance and wall-turn differences.

SCY — 25 yd22.86 m
25 yd
50-yard pool45.72 m
50 yd
SCM — 25 m25.00 m
25 m
LCM — 50 m (Olympic)50.00 m
50 m

A 50-yard pool is 4.28 m shorter per lap than a 50-metre Olympic pool.

Walls Per 200 Race

50-yd Pool
4
walls
50-m Pool
4
walls
25-m Pool
8
walls

50-yd and 50-m pools have the same wall count, but 50-yd laps are shorter — resulting in faster times. A 25-m pool doubles the walls, giving an even bigger advantage from push-offs. Use the converter above to adjust for these differences.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you calculate swim time?
Time is a function of distance, pool length, and your pace between walls. Our model adjusts for start/turn advantages so you can compare SCY, SCM, and LCM more fairly.
Is the swimswam time converter accurate?
All public converters are estimates. Individual strengths (e.g., underwater dolphin, turns) can make you faster in short-course than long-course, or vice versa. Use the sliders to tune.
What is a good 2000 yard swim time?
It depends on experience. Fitness swimmers often aim for 30–40 minutes continuous; competitive swimmers may go well under that.
What is a good 1000m swim time?
Many aim for 18–25 minutes; competitive benchmarks vary by level and event focus.
How do I convert swimming time to distance?
Use the formula: Distance = Speed × Time. First convert your pace (e.g., 1:30 per 100 m) to a speed in metres per second (100 ÷ 90 = 1.11 m/s), then multiply by total swimming time in seconds. For example, swimming 30 minutes at 1:30/100 m pace covers roughly 2,000 metres.
How do I convert 25-yard pool times to 25-metre times for USA swimmers?
A 25-metre pool lap is 2.14 m (about 9.4 %) longer than a 25-yard lap. Simply scaling the time by 1.094 gives a rough estimate, but our converter also adjusts for wall-turn advantages — because each push-off covers less of the total lap in a longer pool — giving a more accurate result.
What is a 50-yard pool and how does it affect swim times?
A 50-yard pool is 45.72 m long — 4.28 m shorter than a 50-metre Olympic pool. Both have the same wall count per race, so the main difference is distance per lap. Times in a 50-yard pool are typically faster than 50-metre (LCM) equivalents because each lap covers less distance.
Why are short-course times faster than long-course times?
In a shorter pool you hit the wall more often. Each wall gives a speed boost from the push-off and underwater streamline phase — typically saving 0.2–0.8 seconds per wall depending on the swimmer. A 200 m race in a 25 m pool has twice as many walls as the same race in a 50 m pool, which adds up to a meaningful time difference.
What is the difference between pace and speed in swimming?
Pace is time per distance (e.g., 1:20 per 100 m) while speed is distance per time (e.g., 1.25 m/s). Coaches use pace for race planning and interval sets; speed is more useful for physics-based calculations like estimating total distance covered.
Do NCAA and USA Swimming use the same pool size?
NCAA meets are held in 25-yard (SCY) pools, while USA Swimming sanctioned meets can be either SCY, 25-metre (SCM), or 50-metre (LCM). For Olympic Trials and international selection, 50-metre pools are used. Understanding these differences is essential for comparing times across competitions.