I have no idea. Other than the pools belong to community HOAs, which weren't so much concerned about proper lap-length as they were with simply providing a means for lap swimming. I did the 'ole "walking" it out measurement yesterday, and intend on using a proper tape measurer later. Something tells me it's actually longer than 26.5 yards. And I'm with you with the wet suit for a short swim. I won't use it on anything up to 750 yards. But on an Oly, I think it will be worth it. And it's not so much getting out of the suit that bothers me. It's the getting into it. What a PITA! What I'm doing now is focusing more on swim fitness and really developing my pull strength. I'm also running more and not really biking (not enough time.) But I hope that the focus on those two areas will translate into better performance on the bike also.