Measurement in sport – the long and the short of it
Box 1 | Olympic track and pool facilities
When Sydney hosted the Olympic Games in 2000, it provided world-class facilities for 27 different sports. Measurement was essential to ensure that these pools, courts, tracks and fields complied with Olympic regulations.
Sydney International Aquatic Centre
The Aquatic Centre was the venue for swimming, diving, water polo and synchronised swimming during the Games. Swimming champion Kieren Perkins described this $150 million facility as 'the biggest and the best' he had ever seen. It was fully covered and consisted of four pools: a competition pool, a utility and diving pool, a training pool and a free-form leisure pool.
The dimensions of the competition pool (50 x 25 metres) complied with standards set down in the handbook of the international body for swimming which specifies details such as pool length, width and depth. Usually, some variation is permitted, provided it falls within a certain range (this is called the allowed tolerance).
The competition pool must be 50.0 metres long with a tolerance of +0.03 metres and -0.00 metres. (This means that the pool can be up to 3 centimetres longer than 50 metres but not even a millimetre shorter.) A qualified surveyor must certify that all measurements are within the regulations.
Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium seated up to 110,000 spectators and was used for various events including track and field athletics and the opening ceremony.
A standard athletics track has an inside running distance of 400 metres. Most tracks have an 85 metre straight on each side, with curves at either end with a radius of 36.41 metres. There are usually eight lanes, each 1.22-1.25 metres wide. Tracks must have two independent measurements made of their length, using either a steel tape or a laser-based surveying instrument. The two measurements may not differ from each other by more than the allowed tolerances or the track will not be certified for national and international competition.
Boxes
Box 2. Perfect timing: Timing devices and reaction time
Box 3. Physics in sport: Forces on an athlete
Box 4. Rackets and balls
Related site
Unit of length 'meter' (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Page updated February 2012.