Pool Walls

Walls in the real world can make us feel boxed in but walls in a swimming pool can either slow us down or speed us up depending upon how we use them. Depending upon how the wall is made, it will either reflect waves back at a swimmer or swallow them. Swimmers generally prefer walls designed to reduce the waves in a pool, and as such, the best competition pools in the world take this design element into account when they're built. A wave swallowing wall, is either designed to meet the waterline of the pool or have a gutter that meets the waterline so that any waves that are made near the wall, wash into a gutter and do not bounce back to affect the swimmer's performance. Not all walls are designed this way, though so be aware of how the walls interact with waves in the pool as you warm up.

Sooner or later, in everyone's swimming career, you will end up in an outside lane. This lane is so called because it is the outermost lane in the pool. One side of the lane is bounded by a lane-line, the other, by the wall of the pool. These lanes are the least favorite of swimmers because the waves that they create during swimming will bounce off the wall, return, and interfere with their body position. Walls that are designed to swallow waves are more swimmer-friendly, and create less of this problem, but since the swimmer's wake extends below the waterline as well as above it, the wall still creates a problem. Most competitive swimmers in this circumstance will swim on the inside of the lane, the side of the lane where the lane-line is, in order to avoid the interference of their own wake bouncing back off of the wall. This positioning usually solves the majority of the problem. Everyone, however, has to deal with the walls at the ends of the pools. If they don't swallow waves, swimmers have to be extra careful with their wakes.

Pools that do not have wave-swallowing gutters will create a lot of turbulence as swimmers make their turns. A swimmer who does not get to the wall first in one of these pools will have to deal with about two yards of unstable water next to the wall in order to make their turn. The only solution in these pools, is to be first to the wall. If you're first to the wall or within half a bodylength of the lead swimmer, the wake interaction with the wall will not have a chance to churn up the water near the wall before you're off the wall and traveling the other way. If there is a wave swallowing gutter at the wall, though, there won't be anywhere near as much turbulence. Some pools, though don't use gutters to swallow waves on all their walls. They use bulkheads to separate a large pool into smaller competition-length areas.

Most bulkheads used in pools are metal frames with rubberized plastic grating covering their surfaces. As such, they don't just let surface waves through, they let all the waves a swimmer creates through. Unlike the other walls of a pool, there is never any turbulence around these walls and the water around them feels comparatively silky compared to a regular wall. Bulkhead walls will feel sharp on the feet (they may even be a little painful), but with practice they can be used a lot like a trampoline. Bulkheads, by their nature are really only anchored to the sides of the pool, as such, they have a certain amount of give to them, especially in the middle lanes. To get the most benefit out of this springiness, you will want to drive a little closer to the bulkhead wall than you would a normal one. The extra force you get by being an inch or two closer, will make the wall warp and push back with more force, speeding your streamlined turn recovery faster than a solid wall.

Walls are extremely important to all swimmers, but to backstrokers, they are a matter of survival. Since a backstroker cannot see the walls as they approach them, they will need to learn to read the ceiling of every pool they swim in. Luckily, there really are only five or so distinct pool designs out there so once you learn to read these ceilings, you'll have an easier time of knowing where you are in the pool at any given moment. Many of these ceilings have features that, if read correctly, will let the backstroker know when they're close to a wall. My favorite ceilings have always been those made out of corrugated metal. The lines of the metal always match the direction of the pool, so you can easily course correct and keep moving straight without having to look around and through doing so, ruin your body position. Unfortunately one can only learn how to read a pool's ceiling through practice, a relatively painful process since it results in a number of concussions getting it right.

Once as a very young swimmer I undertook a 50 yard backstroke. I was a slower swimmer at the time so I was put in one of the end lanes. I made it to the other end straight and fast, probably faster than I was used to, since I missed my count from the flags and hit my head. Not wanting to disappoint my coach, I made my turn (as only you can when your head is next to the wall and your hand is dangling from your shoulder up over the side of the pool) and started heading back for the last length. I must have been still dazed from the first crack, because on the way back, I hit my head again on the side of the pool. Once the stars stopped spinning, I swerved on to the finish where I promptly forgot again to count my strokes from the flags and hit my head a third time at the end. The official, who did his utmost to do his duty and make sure that I didn't roll over on my front after any of those clunks (it was his job to disqualify me if I did), helped me out of the water and put some ice on my lumps. I'll never forget the look of intense fascination and concern on his face as he hovered right over me during the entire ordeal. I really hope to never see anyone look at me that way again.

It was a matter of survival, then that I learned how to read ceilings as a backstroker and keep my head off the walls. All swimmers, though, can make good use of pool walls to help their performance. Simply avoid the walls when they'll slow you down, and attack them hard when they'll help you. You'll be a better swimmer for it.