What Are the Markings on the Bottom of the Pool For?

Competition pools have markings on the bottom and walls and in the lane lines. Most competitive swimmers learn what and where these are, but if you’ve never competed or are new to swimming, you might not know how to make best use of these markings to produce your fastest swims.

Here’s how to use them to know exactly where you are in the pool and manage your breathing, turns, streamlines, and finishes.

Location, Location, Location

Each mark has a different purpose and gives you important information so your racing can be more intentional and less reactionary. Many swimmers let their minds wander during a workout and get to the wall as a complete surprise. Similarly, when racing, that wall can come up awfully fast, especially off the start.

• The solid-color lane buoys begin 5 yards or meters from the wall—This is standard for competition pools and coincides with the placement of the backstroke flags. These buoys give you a visual reference for how far you are from the wall. Many competitive swimmers work hard at not breathing inside these solid color areas to prevent slowing down near the walls—a great habit to work on in practice. Experienced swimmers also use these markings to set off the turn or finish so that they’re not too long or short on the wall. This is especially important in butterfly and breaststroke, in which a stroke cycle can determine a good or bad turn or finish.
• Off-color buoys on the lane line—Most lane lines have alternating colors in the middle of the pool, but at 15 meters from each wall, there’s typically an off-color buoy—one that doesn’t fit the pattern. These buoys indicate the distance from the wall, so that swimmers don’t violate the 15-meter rule (your head is required to break the surface within 15 meters from the walls, except in breaststroke races). In a short-course pool, 15 meters is more than halfway across the pool, so the second marking is the one to pay attention to when gauging your underwaters. These markings, along with the other markings mentioned here, have the added benefit of helping you dial in stroke count and stroke rate during training. (Be careful, though. The 15-meter marking on lane lines might not match the 15-meter marking on the pool deck, which is the one officials go by.)
• Centerline—When you race, stay on top of the centerline that runs down the middle of your lane. Because you likely circle swim in practice—use the centerline like the double-yellow on a roadway and swim on the right—you might swim in a circle during a race. Concentrate on not doing that because you’ll end up swimming more distance, which costs you precious time—especially in a longer race.
• T on the bottom of the pool—The T on the bottom of the pool indicates that you’re approaching a wall, and it’s time to make some movement toward your turn or finish. There are some things to consider when setting up a turn or finish. The depth of the pool can play tricks on you and pools with moveable bulkheads have space underneath them, which can also mess with your perception. Such pools might also have marks for the bulkhead to be set at short course yards or short course meters, so there could be more than one T. Once you figure it out, use these marks for timing your turns and finishes. When at a meet, try to warm up in the competition pool to get your marks down.
• Cross on the wall—The cross on each wall can be used as a target for turns and finishes. Once you’ve mastered the Ts on the bottom, you shouldn’t need to look up to complete a fast turn. Don’t kill your momentum by lifting your head to stare or even sight the cross. As you’re learning, sneak a peek between the T and the cross to help you hone your skills. The cross on the wall is where you plant your feet during a flip turn, and this gives you or your coach an idea of how deep your feet are on the wall before you push off, and that can indicate under or over rotating.

Put it Into Practice

As with everything, work on using these marks in workouts. Using your peripheral vision to see the lane markings takes practice, but once you are aware of it and make it a habit, it requires less thought. Learning to control your breathing and carry speed in and out of the walls takes time to develop and provides a challenge. Rising to meet these challenges will help your swimming become more intentional and efficient, resulting in faster times.