A semi-Olympic competition pool has to meet a number of requirements as defined by the World Aquatics Competition Regulations (former FINA Facilities Rules).
Semi-Olympic pools, also called short pools, are half the length of Olympic pools and comply with World Aquatics (former FINA) minimum dimensions and requirements for the 25-meter competition use.
These pools must be 25 meters long; this pool length (minimum distance between the inner front sides of the pool) must be long enough so that the distance of 25 meters between the two nearest faces of the two panels is ensured when timing touch panels are used at the extreme starting walls or at the turns.
The allowable tolerance on 25 meter pools shall be + 0.010, -0.000 meters when panels are installed.
For pools with panels at both ends, the wall-to-wall distance must be at least 25.020 meters and have a maximum of 25.030 meters.
For pools with a panel at one end, the wall-to-wall distance must be at least 25.010 meters and not more than 25.020 meters.
Tolerances should be consistent from 0.300 meters above to 0.800 meters below the water surface.
When it comes to complying with these pool construction system requirements, there’s no more efficient way than to use Astralpool’s Skypool technology.
Skypool is AstralPool’s prefabricated panel technology that can be adapted to any type of infrastructure to easily, quickly and safely build a pool with guaranteed accuracy thanks to its advanced precision adjustment technology.
Pools must have a minimum depth of 1,35 metres, extending from 1,0 metre to at least 6,0 metres from the end wall is required for pools with starting blocks. A minimum depth of 1,0 metre is required elsewhere.
The end walls must be vertical, parallel and form right 90 degree angles with the swimming lane and with the surface of the water.
They must be constructed of solid material, with a non-slip surface extending 0.8 meters below the surface of the water, so the competitor can touch and push off without danger when turning.
The permissible tolerance in wall verticality must be ± 0.3 degrees.
The “swimmer’s step” (or rest ledge) is permitted along the pool walls; it must not be less than 1.2 meters below the surface of the water and may be 0.1 to 0.15 meters wide. Both internal and external ledges are acceptable, however, internal ledges are preferred.
The lane must be at least 2.5 meters wide, with 8 or 10 lanes in 25-meter semi-Olympic pools.
Lanes from 1 to 8 shall be 2,5 metres wide and lanes 0 and 9 shall be 2,4 metres wide with 2 spaces 0,1 metres wide outside of lanes 0 and 9. There must be a lane rope separating these spaces from lanes 0 and 9 for World Championships. These distances must be kept to reduce or mitigate the ripple effect on the swimmer.
These are the main World Aquatics requirements for building a semi-Olympic pool in compliance.
Skypool is the top choice for building a semi-Olympic pool because of its exclusive technology that delivers unique advantages to pool manufacturers.
Skypool is a construction system made of hop-dipped galvanized steel panels covered in a PVC-P membrane. The panels are extremely resistant to abrasion and corrosion that adapt to any existing infrastructure, whether fixed or temporary.
The Skypool structure is always calculated and adapted according to local seismic regulations. The steel used to construct Skypool panels also withstands higher stresses than regular stainless steel without losing its flexibility.
These completely prefabricated panels have an easy anchoring and assembly system that makes it possible to build an in-ground or above ground pool in record time.
Skypool and its unique technology ensure that the semi-Olympic pools meet World Aquatics regulations in terms of length, tolerances, depth, walls, lanes, etc.