History of the Swimming Pace Clock

by SwimSwam 29

January 10th, 2014 Gear, Lifestyle, Training

Courtesy of Brilliant Swim, a SwimSwam partner:

When Brilliant Swim launched its PaceWatch™ this past summer, James “Doc” Counsilman was credited with inventing the pace clock on which it was based. While the markings and features of the PaceWatch closely resemble the pace clock Counsilman created in 1959, it appears that the very first swimming pace clock may have been invented 13 years earlier in Australia.

Forbes Carlile, a pioneer in the world of swimming, created and installed “large 60-second pool clocks” at two pools in Sydney in 1946. Carlile, a protégé of Frank Cotton (the “Father of Sports Science” in Australia) was a lecturer in physiology at the University of Sydney at the time. He would go on to become Australia’s most successful swimming coach.

Brilliant Swim founder Phillip Luebke reached out to the 92-year-old Carlile, to see if he could provide more insight into the creation of one of the most-widely used tools in the sport of swimming, the pace clock.

According to Carlile, the real revolution in 1946 wasn’t the pace clock, but the way that they began training. Prior to World War II, most swim training consisted of swimming continuously at a relatively slow pace, and the distance covered per session was rarely more than a mile. In the 1940s, Carlile and Cotton had introduced a new way of training, where swimmers were required to make “efforts” over their race distance to swim even pace, and to measure their heart rates at the end of each swim.

Said Carlile, “Coaches didn’t have enough hands to do this (for each individual swimmer), so it was obvious, in a squad there needed to be a pace clock continuously moving.”

So, as with many inventions, the pace clock was born out of necessity. Carlile’s solution was to create giant versions of the analog stopwatches in use at the time, clocks that could be seen by swimmers without getting out of the pool. His first clocks were one meter in diameter, and they had a single, second hand that ran continuously around the dial, with no controls.

While Carlile acknowledges that he likely created the first pace clock, he seems bemused at the idea that he invented it. To him, it was a simple, obvious solution. It didn’t require multiple prototypes, and he didn’t think it was worthy of a patent. He recalls that after they installed the clocks at the Palm Beach rock pool and the North Sydney pool, he started to see them appear around athletic tracks, but it didn’t occur to him at the time that there might be a commercial market.

It wasn’t until 1959, when James “Doc” Counsilman designed and sold his first pace clock in the United States (reportedly drawing his inspiration from track and field), that swimming pace clocks become available commercially. Today, pace clocks are found at pools around the globe. And now, when they can’t be found, there’s PaceWatch.

About Brilliant Swim

PaceWatchBrilliant Swim, based in Bozeman, Montana, was founded in 2012 with the goal of addressing previously unmet needs of swimmers, triathletes and their coaches. The company’s first product, the PaceWatch, is a slim, wearable pace clock that is simple to use and easy to see, allowing swimmers to focus on their swimming.

Media Contact:
Phillip Luebke
Founder & Chief Swimming Officer
Brilliant Swim
+1-406-600-2771
[email protected]

Follow Brilliant Swim on Twitter here.

Like Brilliant Swim on Facebook here.

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John Newton
1 year ago

And by the way did you know? Yes you can really still all find old classic new old vintage race time competitor swim products 41″ square large analog square swimming pace clocks and as well as all new 30″ square large analog maric time swimming pace clocks at a lot of swimming pools such as Marshall pool Vancouver , Washington usa , Ballard swimming pool Seattle , washington USA etc. and as well as in reality and as well as on the internet such as ebay.com etc. used , new old stock etc. All always all altogether , all always all regardless.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

This especially true if the swimming facility hasn’t switched from analog pace clocks to digital pace clocks.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

Also I think Sherwood YMCA Sherwood , Oregon usa and as well as propstra aquatic center Vancouver , Washington USA have had new old vintage 41″ large square analog race time competitor swim products pace clocks at one point in time but they permanently all broke due to poor analog pace clock maintenance.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

And by the way I think besides the standard Race time logo on all 41″ large square race time competitor swim products pace clocks there were Race time competitor swim products ones available that advertised TYR as well in addition to the Race time competitor swim products logo on the analog clock face as well too.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

Also I think Lincoln aquatics usa as with other great swim websites at the time sold new old vintage 41″ square race time competitor swim products large analog pace clocks available in either synchronous all electric plug in ac mains power low current and as well as quartz battery power all always all also as well too.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

So please if your looking for an old vintage 41″ large square analog race time competitor swim products pace clock please all always all make sure it all always all works properly and is in very real nice condition all always all 100% all always all altogether , all always all regardless , all always all forever and ever.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

Please yes this is all always all very real important all always all altogether , all always all regardless , all always all forever and ever.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

Yes There’s even great pictures online as well at usa swimming facilities of new old vintage 41″ large square analog race time competitor swim products pace clocks and as well as all new 30″ large square maric time analog pace clocks all always all also all as well too.

John Newton
1 year ago

And also as with all always all any and all Made in USA analog pace clocks all always all race time competitor swim products analog pace clocks even all of the actual very real truly large 41″ analog race time competitor swim products made in usa analog pace clock ones count 60 , 5 , I0 , I5 , 20 , 25 , 30 , 35 , 40 , 45 , 50 , 55 and as well as all always all 60 seconds , all 60 seconds and as well as also 60 , 5 , I0 , I5 , 20 , 25 , 30 , 35 , 40 , 45 , 50 , 55 and as well as all… Read more »

Last edited 1 year ago by John Newton
John Newton
1 year ago

And by the way did you all always all know that? not all old and as well as all new Usa analog pace clocks have red second hand and as well as black minute hand For keeping track of lap time all always all altogether , all always all regardless.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

Yes this is all always all especially true and as well as factual with all race time competitor swim products analog pace clocks Even all of the 41″ large analog ones that are all electric and as well as all of the ones that are battery operated old and as well as new from competitor swim products which all always all uses the black second hand to track all of the seconds and as well as also uses the red minute hand to all always all track all of the minutes all always all altogether , all always all regardless.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

And speaking of race time competitor swim products They should truly , factually bring all of them actual very real truly great analog pace clocks Yes even all of the great 41″ very truly large ones all indefinitely back all always all permanently all always all in addition to the 31″ , 15″ and as well as the 37″ competitor swim products analog pace clock ones in their analog pace clock USA lineup all always all altogether , all always all regardless.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

And again just so you all always all know? all always all race time competitor swim products usa analog pace clocks even all of the 41″ actual very real truly large usa analog ones all old and as well as all new all always all from all of competitor swim products all always all uses the black second hand to track all of the seconds and as well as also uses the red minute hand to track all of the minutes all always all altogether , all regardless.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

And other actual very real factual true differences all always all between all always all made in usa competitor swim products analog 31″ , 15″ and as 37″ pace clocks is all always all that race time competitor swim products even all of the 41″ actual very real truly large analog ones is that they are all also all always all square , all square in the center , larger black numerals , black minute markings , red oval race time competitor swim products brand patent pending logo on the analog pace clock face , square analog pace clock face with large very real truly open cutouts in the face to prevent heat and humidity among other negative things from… Read more »

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
1 year ago

And also by the way all always all race time competitor swim products pace clocks even all of the 41″ actual very real true genuine large race time competitor swim products made in usa analog pace clock ones all always all old and as well as all always all new all always all from competitor swim products made in USA all always all Very real quietly sweep no ticking all always all absolutely Genuine silent running and as well as very real actual true lap swim timekeeping seconds , all seconds and as well as minutes , all minutes all always all regardless.

Last edited 1 year ago by John Newton
10 years ago

I don’t have the names of all of the swimmers in the photo, but the young man sitting at the far right of the front row is John Davies, who finished fourth in the 200 meter breaststroke at the 1948 Olympics and won the gold medal in the event four years later.

Tea
10 years ago

I’m curious – do analog pace clocks still exist outside of community pools that haven’t bought new equipment since the 80s? are digital clocks the universal technology now, or do cost/nostalgia still make a market for analog clocks?

Admin
Reply to  Tea
10 years ago

No, there are still analog clocks being made and sold. There’s a lot of people I’ve found who can process the math better for a set on an analog.

Tea
Reply to  Braden Keith
10 years ago

Cool!

ChestRockwell
Reply to  Tea
10 years ago
John Newton
Reply to  ChestRockwell
2 years ago

Even Competitor Swim Products analog pace clocks , all Competitor Swim Products analog pace clocks , the Competitor Swim Products analog pace clocks , all the Competitor Swim Products analog pace clocks , all of the Competitor Swim Products analog pace clocks altogether , regardless.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
2 years ago

From , all From , always From , always all From Competitor Swim Products altogether , regardless.

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
2 years ago

And also Analog wall clocks , all Analog wall clocks that tell normal time , still tell normal time , still all tell normal time numbers 1-12 normal time known as 12 hour analog clocks and as well as one’s that also tell 24 hour time known as 24 hour analog clocks numbers 0-23 exist , all exist , always exist , always all exist , still exist , still all exist , still always exist , still always all exist , will exist , all will exist , will all exist , all will all exist , always will exist , always all will exist forever and ever , all forever and ever , always forever and ever ,… Read more »

John Newton
Reply to  John Newton
2 years ago

Of course , all of course , always of course , always all of course Analog pace clocks that tell swim time , still tell swim time , still all tell swim time numbers 5-60 or numbers 5-0 known as Analog pace clocks exist , all exist , always exist , always all exist , still exist , still all exist , still always exist , still always all exist , will exist , all will exist , will all exist , all will all exist , always will exist , always all will exist forever and ever , all forever and ever , always forever and ever , always all forever and ever and as well as all genuinely… Read more »

John Newton
Reply to  ChestRockwell
1 year ago

And by the way did you all always all know that? The race time competitor swim products 41″ actual very real truly large analog pace clock all always all from competitor swim products truly very much all always all looks a whole lot nicer and even more unique and as well as interesting and as well as far more all always all very much valuable , functional , industrial , heavier duty , more timeless , more able to be enjoyed at any time by everyone and as well as anyone , far much more sturdier , far much more safer , far more larger , far more optimally visible , far more reliable , far more durable etc. ,… Read more »

Last edited 1 year ago by John Newton
Reply to  Tea
10 years ago

Run 10 x 50’s on the :50, count how many have been completed by going around the analog face. Can’t do that on a digital.

CoachGB
10 years ago

“Doc” created his first clock at Cortland State 1952-1957. His nickname came from his Physiology of Exercise class in fall of 52.

Reply to  CoachGB
10 years ago

CoachGB – If you have any more information about Doc’s first clock (especially documentation or photos), I’d love to hear it. Email me at the address above.

Jim Griffin
10 years ago

Why do pace clocks run faster as we age? Clearly a design flaw.