What a FINA-approved pool actually requires

A competition pool built to FINA requirements is not a normal pool with better tiles. The approval covers dimensional tolerance, finishes, lane and marking geometry, deck detailing and a defined equipment schedule, and it is assessed against the built work rather than the drawing.

Length tolerance is the one that ends projects. It is measured between touchpads in place, not between wall finishes, which means the pads, their brackets and the finish build-up all have to be resolved before the shell is poured — not chosen later from a catalogue.

The approval is a schedule, not a certificate

Finish flatness, coving at the wall-to-floor junction, and the reflectance of the lane markings are all specified, and all of them are set by the waterproofing and tiling trades rather than by the pool contractor.

• Length measured pad-to-pad; the shell has to be poured with the pads already resolved
• Wall-to-floor coving and lane marking geometry are part of the approval, not decoration
• The equipment schedule — starting blocks, pads, timing, lane ropes — comes with it

Which is why the pool is the one package where the waterproofing contractor should be in the room at design stage. Everything the approval measures sits on top of the tanking.