UK pools are predominantly 25-metre (SCM) or 50-metre (LCM) courses. Whether you're preparing for county championships, regional qualifiers, or national-level events with Swim England, this converter gives you transparent, turn-aware time conversions between both course types. Adjust the wall-advantage sliders to match your individual turn and underwater proficiency.
UK Pool Converter — SCM ⇄ LCM
25-metre and 50-metre course conversions
Formats: ss.hh, m:ss.hh, or h:mm:ss.hh
Advanced: Per-wall advantage (seconds)
Adjust to match your turns & underwater skillsWhy UK Swimmers Need a Dedicated Converter
The majority of UK swimming clubs train and compete in 25-metre short-course pools. However, major national championships — including the British Swimming Championships and Olympic Trials — take place in 50-metre long-course pools. That means swimmers regularly need to know how their 25m times translate to the 50m format.
Unlike simple distance conversions, swim time conversion must account for the wall-turn advantage. In a 25m pool you get twice as many walls per race, each providing a push-off and underwater dolphin-kick phase that's faster than surface swimming. Our model strips out these gains to estimate your free-water speed, then reapplies the appropriate gains for the target course.
UK Swimming Competition Formats
- County & Regional Championships: Typically held in 25m pools (SCM). Qualifying times are published by each county ASA.
- National Winter Championships: Short-course (25m) national event held annually by Swim England.
- British Summer Championships: Long-course (50m) meet serving as the primary selection event for international teams.
- Home Country Internationals: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland each host inter-county and inter-regional meets in both course formats.
How the UK Swim Time Converter Works
- 1 Enter your time and select the source event (e.g. 200m Freestyle in SCM).
- 2 We calculate the number of walls (turns + start) from the pool length and distance.
- 3 We subtract wall advantages to estimate your free-water swimming speed.
- 4 We project that speed onto the target course and re-add the appropriate wall gains.
Because turns, push-offs, and underwater phases are highly individual, use the sliders to match your profile for better estimates. These are estimates, not official Swim England conversions.