ISL Will Donate Bulkhead to City of Naples to Divide Pool into 25 Meter Course

The 50 meter Felice Scandone Pool in Naples, Italy that played host to swimming at the 2019 World University Games can’t, in it’s current configuration, be divided into separate lengthwise 25 meter courses. The pool, built in 1963, is a fixed-wall 50-meter course, with no extra room for a bulkhead – most 50 meter pools are actually longer than 50 meters in length to accommodate dividers.

The International Swimming League, which will hold its opening season entirely in 25 meter pools, will solve this problem by donating to the City of Naples a bulkhead, SwimSwam Italia’s Giusy Cisale reports after speaking to Andrea di Nino.

Tickets are now on sale for the 3,000-seat facility, with prices ranging from €16.40 to €22.00 ($18 to $24).

This pool sits alongside an outdoor 50 meter training pool at Scandone, which would still allow ample warmup and cooldown space. The meet will be held from October 12th-13th, where outdoor temperatures in Naples still reach highs in the 70s historically.

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BaldingEagle
4 years ago

I think that Tatsumi in Tokyo is also a fixed-wall 50m pool. They have 25m meets across the width, with what looks like supports and a walkway in the middle to allow officials to walk on a side. Sorta like Texas and Auburn do to add extra area behind their bulkheads for meets. Tatsumi also looks to place temporary lines across the width for 25m meets.

Is that what’s going to happen here?

Becky D
Reply to  BaldingEagle
4 years ago

My guess is that the pool isn’t 25m wide. Otherwise it would simply be a matter of lane lines and striping. (simple!)

Silent Observer
Reply to  Becky D
4 years ago

You might be right. If I remember correctly.. I think 10 lane pools usually indicate that it’s 50m x 25m. So based on that reasoning, the headline picture shows 8 lanes with no real buffer space on either side.. Leading my piss poor math to confirm what Becky D is suggesting

Mediocre Swammer
4 years ago

I assume, since the length of the pool isn’t changing, that this is a removable bulkhead, as opposed to a movable one? How do those work? I’ve never seen one.

Thomas
Reply to  Mediocre Swammer
4 years ago

Naval Academy has a very interesting removable bulk head with a bunch of pullies. I imagine it’s very outdated though

Steve
Reply to  Mediocre Swammer
4 years ago

I’ve seen a few that can be ‘folded down’ so that they lay flat on the bottom of the pool. It’s just a wall in the middle of the pool. They look like this and are more common in Europe.
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BaldingEagle
Reply to  Steve
4 years ago

I think those floating walls are more of a recreational and practice solution. I don’t know if those walls are sturdy enough for meets, and those don’t look wide enough for officials to stand on. I have seen some with walkways built on top, though again, not sure if those are sturdy enough for meets.

It may be possible that a bulkhead will be installed that will be lowered into the pool then stowed away after use. It’s more or less useless aside from a meet setting, because the other side is shorter than 25m by the width of the bulkhead.

Entgegen
4 years ago

That’s nice of them

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Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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