I'm always amazed how much confusion there is about what is and what is not a lap pool. Here are some criteria to help those uninformed land-loving souls identify true lap pools:

A. If the pool is any shape other than a rectangle...this includes kidney, round, S-shaped, etc., it is NOT a lap pool.

B. If the pool is NOT at least 20 yards in length (preferably 25 yards), it is NOT a lap pool.

C. If the pool does not have features that help swimmers get from end to end in a straight line (e.g., bottom stripes or floating lane lines), it is not a lap pool.

D. If there are no men swimming in tight and tiny Speedos (or TYRs - we want to be brand neutral), it's probably not a lapper.

E. If the pool water is kept at such a warm temperature that floating octogenarians are a common sight, I'd venture that it is NOT a lap pool.

F. Finally, if a waterslide empties into one end of your pool, preventing flipturns on that side, it is NOT a lapper.

Let's review. To be considered a lap pool, it must be:

• at least 20 yards in length

• rectangular in shape

• kept at or near 80F degrees, and

have bottom stripes or floating lane lines stretching from end to end.

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