Courtesy of Anti Wave, a SwimSwam partner.
Since their Olympic debut in Munich in 1972, Anti Wave Racing Lanes have become a global benchmark in competition pool performance, combining superior advanced wave dissipation engineering with the world’s most extensive global supply network.
For more than 50 years, Anti Wave has occupied a unique place in competitive aquatics engineering and equipment design and supply around the world.
Proudly Australian and family-owned since the beginning, Anti Wave remains driven by a passion for designing innovative aquatic equipment capable of performing reliably in the toughest aquatic environments around the world – from Olympic venues to high-use commercial competition and training facilities.
Long before modern track-start wedges became standard at elite meets, Anti Wave was already supplying equipment to international competition venues – beginning with the Munich 1972 Olympic Games and continuing through Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, World Cups, and leading national training facilities across the globe.
Today, Anti Wave’s competition and training systems – including the SuperBlock 800, SuperBlock 750, Anti Block 600, as well as Hitec Competition EndWall systems – reflect decades of continuous refinement in starting performance, structural engineering, durability, and compliance with modern World Aquatics regulations.
As one of the early innovators of modern track-start block technology, Anti Wave holds key priority Patent positions associated with advanced track-start starting block systems – helping shape the evolution of contemporary competitive start platform design used throughout elite swimming today.
At the elite level, every hundredth matters. But behind every fast start is an enormous amount of engineering that most spectators never see.
Above: 8th FINA World Swimming Championships Perth, AUS, 1998 | Anti Wave SuperBlock model and MAXI Racing Lanes – legacy in performance and innovation.
Engineering the Modern Competitive Start
Starting blocks have evolved dramatically over the past two decades.
What was once a simple elevated platform has become a highly tuned performance interface between athlete and pool – designed to maximize force transfer, optimize reaction mechanics, and provide repeatable grip and stability under extreme conditions.
Anti Wave’s SuperBlock range was developed specifically for this modern era of competitive swimming.
The flagship SuperBlock 800 has been engineered as a premium World Aquatics-compliant movable track-start block for high-performance competition and training facilities worldwide.
Its defining feature is the 5-position Moveable Track Start (MTS) system – allowing swimmers to customize rear-foot positioning to suit individual biomechanics and preferred launch angles.
The system reflects the broader shift in elite swimming toward track-start optimization, where explosive horizontal force and stable rear-foot traction are critical to reducing reaction and flight times.
Above: 2012 FINA World Cup Beijing, Anti Wave SuperBlock 800 with MAXI Racing Lanes
Below: SuperBlock 800 with 5-Point Moveable TrackStart System and Non-slip tops
The SuperBlock 800 Starting Block (shown above) combines:
- Durable and Precise FRP and advanced SMC composite construction
- Advanced 5-Point Track Start System for explosive starts
- Marine-grade SS316 stainless fittings
- Reinforced backstroke handles
- Long-life Anti-slip tread system
- Compatibility with major electronic timing systems, including Omega RBD integrations
The emphasis is not simply speed – but repeatability, rigidity, safety, and long-term reliability and durability in harsh aquatic environments.
Why Composite Engineering Matters
Above: Anti Wave SuperBlock 800 with MAXI Racing Lanes – durable performance solutions
One of the defining engineering shifts in modern aquatic equipment has been the transition away from traditional metal-heavy fabrication toward advanced composite systems.
Anti Wave’s SuperBlock platforms utilize reinforced FRP and SMC composite technologies to achieve high stiffness while maintaining corrosion resistance and dimensional stability over years of exposure to chlorine, UV radiation, heat, and humidity.
For facility operators, this matters enormously.
Elite competition pools operate under some of the harshest commercial conditions in sport infrastructure. Stainless steel corrosion, delamination, coating breakdown, and long-term structural fatigue can create serious maintenance issues if materials are poorly selected.
By integrating marine-grade stainless components internally while relying heavily on engineered composite structures externally, Anti Wave’s systems are designed to reduce long-term degradation while maintaining competition-level rigidity and appearance.
This philosophy extends across the entire Anti Wave competition ecosystem – from racing lanes to endwalls and bulkheads.
SuperBlock 750: Performance in Compact Spaces
While the SuperBlock 800 serves as the premium flagship platform, the SuperBlock 750 was developed to address another important challenge in modern facility design: space efficiency.
Many contemporary aquatic facilities operate with tighter deck footprints, integrated bulkhead systems, or multi-programmable layouts where every millimeter matters.
Above: Anti Wave SuperBlock 750 – engineered to endure even the harshest conditions (AUS)
Above: Anti Wave SuperBlock 750 with MAXI Racing Lanes – competition ready
The SuperBlock 750 retains the same World Aquatics-compliant 5-position Moveable Track Start system and elite-performance philosophy, but with a reduced footprint and shorter top length to suit installations where deck or bulkhead or installation space is limited.
The SuperBlock 750 platform incorporates:
- FRP structural construction
- Advanced 5-Point Track Start System for explosive starts
- SS316 fittings
- Reinforced backstroke handles
- Long-life Anti-slip tread system
- Compatibility with electronic timing systems
- Optional backstroke ledge integration
The result is a compact competition block that still delivers elite-level starting performance.
In many ways, the SuperBlock 750 reflects the modern reality of aquatic facility engineering: versatility is now just as important as raw performance.
The Role of the Anti Block 600
The Anti Block 600 continues Anti Wave’s long-standing approach of offering scalable competition infrastructure across different facility levels.
Above: Anti Block 600 – performance starts for all clubs
While elite international venues may specify the SuperBlock 800 or 750 with full track-start systems, many regional competition facilities, schools, universities, and training venues require durable World Aquatics-aligned starting systems optimized for practicality, maintenance simplicity, and long operational life.
The Anti Block 600 sits within this important category — bridging the gap between learn-to-swim infrastructure and elite competition environments.
This layered equipment philosophy has helped Anti Wave remain relevant across the full aquatic industry spectrum — from Olympic venues to community facilities.
The Often Forgotten Engineering Challenge: Overflow Pools
Above: Anti Wave SuperBlock 750 with MAXI Racing Lanes and Hitec EndWall System
For spectators, the pool wall is just the edge of the pool.
For facility managers and aquatic engineers, it is one of the most technically demanding parts of a modern aquatic venue.
Overflow or “wet deck” pools create exceptional water quality and wave management characteristics, but they also introduce major structural and operational challenges:
- Mounting starting blocks
- Integrating electronic timing systems
- Managing water overflow
- Maintaining deck safety
- Preventing corrosion
- Ensuring World Aquatics dimensional tolerances
This is where Anti Wave’s Hitec Competition EndWall systems become critically important.
The Anti Wave Hitec EndWall was engineered specifically for overflow competition pools and provides a modular competition wall structure capable of supporting starting blocks, timing pads, and integrated competition infrastructure.
Above: Anti Wave Hitec EndWall System with Anti Wave MAXI Racing Lanes – Clark City Philippines (South East Asian Games Venue)
The Hitec EndWall system incorporates:
- Non-corrosive pultruded FRP construction
- Internal 316 stainless fittings
- Removable non-slip polypropylene gratings
- Highest class of UV and chemical resistance
- Modular assembly systems
- Fully engineered solution to suit the needs of each facility
- Compatibility with Omega, Daktronics, and Colorado timing systems
Importantly, the system is engineered to maintain strict World Aquatics tolerances under real-world operational conditions.
That level of precision matters.
At elite competition level, wall alignment, rigidity, overflow management, and touchpad stability directly influence race integrity.
Above: Anti Wave SuperBlock 750 with Hitec EndWall System. Image Lower: SuperBlock 800 with Hitec EndWall System – competition ready.
Overflow BlockStands – solutions for all pools
Anti Wave’s Overflow BlockStand systems extend the company’s engineering philosophy beyond the starting block itself, delivering a stable, durable, and elegant solution for modern overflow competition pools.
Produced from hand-laid FRP with SS316L fittings, the Overflow BlockStand is designed to withstand harsh aquatic environments while allowing efficient pool deck cleaning without removal of the structure. Integrated GRP TurnBoard systems provide swimmers with clear wall confirmation and further enhance safety and usability in elite competition settings.
Designed to integrate seamlessly with all Starting Blocks and wider Anti Wave competition infrastructure, the system reflects Anti Wave’s continued focus on practical innovation, longevity, and world-class aquatic facility performance.
Above: Anti Wave Overflow Blockstands with Turnboards and SuperBlock 750 – Competition Ready
Below: Overflow Blockstands with Turnboards and SuperBlock 750 – Perfect pool programming
Above: Anti Wave Overflow Blockstands with Turnboards and SuperBlock 750 – Competition Ready
Below: SuperBlock 800 with Overflow Blockstand and Turnboards – Competition Ready
A Global Legacy in Competition Aquatics
Anti Wave’s history is deeply tied to international competition and elite training.
The company’s equipment has been selected for Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, FINA World Cups, USA Water Polo Junior Olympics, Australian Swimming Championships, and numerous World Aquatics venues over more than five decades.
That continuity is unusual in the aquatic industry.
Very few brands operating today can trace an unbroken engineering lineage back to the early modern Olympic era of competitive swimming and aquatic sports.
Yet despite that legacy, Anti Wave’s modern equipment philosophy remains highly contemporary:
- composite-driven engineering,
- ongoing innovation and product development
- modular infrastructure,
- programmable facility integration,
- and long-term lifecycle durability.
In today’s aquatic environment, facilities are expected to do more than ever:
host elite racing, support community programming, withstand extreme operational loads, and remain visually modern for decades.
That challenge requires more than simple pool equipment.
It requires innovative systems engineering.
For more than 50 years, Anti Wave has continued innovating in the design and engineering of world-class competition aquatic equipment around the world.
Anti Wave equipment is supported through a comprehensive global network of Authorised Distributors, Partners, and Licensed Manufacturing Partners, ensuring industry-leading availability and support for world-class aquatic facilities worldwide.
Contact us to find an Authorised Reseller in your Region today.
Above: Anti Wave – A legacy in Global Performance and Innovation for over 50 years.
Anti Wave Global Pty Ltd
Brisbane, Australia
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @antiwave_global
Anti Wave Global Web: www.anti.to
