Best converter?

[Anonymous]

What are folks' favorite apps, websites, formulas and/or charts for course conversions? It's hard to show a young swimmer how they are improving if all they really know is "meters are longer"! 🤣

[Anonymous]

I don’t usually convert meters and yards. I will show the difference in long course to short course but even then it doesn’t translate.

We ignore summer swim times. There are no blocks or touchpads so there is too much imprecision.

Start teaching them to want the motivational time cuts. If they are an A in meters or yards in an event they are accomplishing.

They will also have a meet in a month to show improvement.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the poster who said to not convert. It's a very imperfect system.

Remind your swimmer that improvement is not only measured by race times.

[Anonymous]

Please don’t do conversions. It usually causes more problems.

[Anonymous]

Don’t convert but use the motivational swim standards to see how kids translate. My kid generally likes to see that the times are same standard or getting better.

[Anonymous]

Definitely don’t convert.

[Anonymous]

If you’re trying to convert summer SCM times, it is not worth it. Summer timing is not super accurate. The season just started, so your kid will see how they improve from meet to meet. FWIW though, if you use the OnDeck app there is a time converter.

[Anonymous]

As others said, use the motivational swim standards. Your kids will get more out of them.

https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/timesdocuments/time-standards/2024/2021-2024-national-age-group-motivational-times.pdf

[Anonymous]

Converters are really inaccurate for a variety of reasons, and especially so for kids because they assume a certain amount of strength/push off the wall that children just don’t have yet. Agreed the best way is to look at motivational times and see how the times align (ie an AA time in LCM should be around the equivalent of an AA time in SCY, for each age and gender).

[Anonymous]

FWIW, a VERY broad rule I have found is adding 10 seconds to a SCY time for every 100 of a LCM swim.

So, if kid swims a 1:01 100 back SCY, they will likely be able to swim a 1:11 100 back LCM. This is VERY rough, and some kids never do this bc they might be better at stroke technique, so there LCM time is more competitive or might have better turns so they can never replicate the SCY time in the LCM pool.

But that has generally helped me when I have tried to figure out where my kid may be season to season.

But yes, motivational time standards are most helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, a VERY broad rule I have found is adding 10 seconds to a SCY time for every 100 of a LCM swim.

So, if kid swims a 1:01 100 back SCY, they will likely be able to swim a 1:11 100 back LCM. This is VERY rough, and some kids never do this bc they might be better at stroke technique, so there LCM time is more competitive or might have better turns so they can never replicate the SCY time in the LCM pool.

But that has generally helped me when I have tried to figure out where my kid may be season to season.

But yes, motivational time standards are most helpful.

Then you have my kid whose LCM times are so much better than her SCY times because if you give her a long lane and few walls she actually kills it. Her conversions are WAY off because she is not as good SCY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, a VERY broad rule I have found is adding 10 seconds to a SCY time for every 100 of a LCM swim.

So, if kid swims a 1:01 100 back SCY, they will likely be able to swim a 1:11 100 back LCM. This is VERY rough, and some kids never do this bc they might be better at stroke technique, so there LCM time is more competitive or might have better turns so they can never replicate the SCY time in the LCM pool.

But that has generally helped me when I have tried to figure out where my kid may be season to season.

But yes, motivational time standards are most helpful.

Then you have my kid whose LCM times are so much better than her SCY times because if you give her a long lane and few walls she actually kills it. Her conversions are WAY off because she is not as good SCY.

Yes, that is what I said above: " This is VERY rough, and some kids never do this bc they might be better at stroke technique, so there LCM time is more competitive"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, a VERY broad rule I have found is adding 10 seconds to a SCY time for every 100 of a LCM swim.

So, if kid swims a 1:01 100 back SCY, they will likely be able to swim a 1:11 100 back LCM. This is VERY rough, and some kids never do this bc they might be better at stroke technique, so there LCM time is more competitive or might have better turns so they can never replicate the SCY time in the LCM pool.

But that has generally helped me when I have tried to figure out where my kid may be season to season.

But yes, motivational time standards are most helpful.

Then you have my kid whose LCM times are so much better than her SCY times because if you give her a long lane and few walls she actually kills it. Her conversions are WAY off because she is not as good SCY.

This can even differ by stroke. My LCM times were better for breast and fly because I could do a longer stretched out stroke and not spin my wheels. But for free I needed the walls/turns and was better at SCY. For back I was slow in all courses LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are folks' favorite apps, websites, formulas and/or charts for course conversions? It's hard to show a young swimmer how they are improving if all they really know is "meters are longer"! 🤣

Take whatever your kid swam today and multiply by 1.00, then make sure to sprinkle in some encouragement and ask if they had fun. That's the magic formula and only conversion that matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are folks' favorite apps, websites, formulas and/or charts for course conversions? It's hard to show a young swimmer how they are improving if all they really know is "meters are longer"! 🤣

Take whatever your kid swam today and multiply by 1.00, then make sure to sprinkle in some encouragement and ask if they had fun. That's the magic formula and only conversion that matters.

LOVE this.