Sharonville Sharks Swim Team

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Glossary of Swimming Terms

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* Terms relevant to championships or at meets where 3+ teams are participating.

Blocks:

Platforms from which the swimmer jumps at the start of each race for butterfly, freestyle, and breast stroke and pushes off to start each race for backstroke.

* Clerk of Course:

Parent volunteers who organize swimmers in a prestage area for the upcoming events. Swimmers will receive their lane slip and are placed on benches or chairs in the order in which they will swim.

* Consolation Final:

Swum at championships for the 7-12 place qualifiers on the 2nd day (Tuesday) of championships. The consolation final is always swum before the 1-6 place qualifier final is swum.

Disqualification: “DQ”

A disqualification indicates the swimmer involved has committed some infraction of the rules of either the start, turn, or stroke in the event being swum. No points are scored, the time is not recorded, and the swimmer cannot earn a ribbon for the event.

Dual Meet:

A meet between two teams where each team gets an equal number of lanes in which to swim for each event. These meets do not require U.S. Swimming registration.

Event:

A race described by the age and gender of the swimmers, the distance, and the stroke, e.g., 13-14 Boys, 100 Yd. Butterfly.

Exhibition Heat:

A race where the swimmer competes against other swimmers but they do not score points for the team and they are not eligible for a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place ribbon; in addition, they cannot be disqualified. All exhibition swimmers will receive an Exhibition Ribbon which is designated by a special color. The purpose of the Exhibition Heat is to allow a swimmer to try their skill at a new stroke.

* Finals:

The session of a meet to determine the winners after a Preliminary Session.

Free Relay:

A four person relay composed of all Freestyle swimming. 8 & Under and 9-10 age groups swim one lap each, the 11-12, 13-14, and 15-17 age groups swim two laps of Freestyle.

* Heat Sheet:

A listing of all swimmers by event number, heat, and lane assignments in the meet. These are available at the beginning of the meet and a fee is charged to cover the cost of printing.

* Heats:

At championships or large meets to accommodate all the swimmers entered to swim each event, multiple heats of the same event are run (e.g., the 50 yd. freestyle for 11-12 Girls may have 18 entries, this event would then be run 3 times in a six lane pool). In heats, the swimmers are placed with other swimmers according to their entry times.

Individual Medley (I.M.):

An individual event composed of all the four strokes in order of Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle. 9-10, 11-12, and 13-14 age groups swim one lap of each stroke, while the 15-17 age group swims two laps of each stroke in order.

Lane:

The divided section of the pool designated 1 through 6 or 1 through 8 in which the swimmer swims his/her practices or races in the meet. A swimmer usually practices in the same lane; at meets, a swimmer's lane designation can vary for each race.

Lane Slip:

A piece of paper that each swimmer must supply to the timers for each event they swim. The slips specify the event number and lane and are available from the coach or a parent volunteer 10 - 15 minutes prior to the applicable event.

Medley Relay:

A four person relay at the beginning of the meet composed of Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Freestyle, swum in that order. 8 & Under and 9-10 age groups swim one lap each, the 11-12, 13-14, and 15-17 age groups swim two laps of each stroke.

Place Judges:

Parent volunteers who record on the swimmer's lane slip the order the swimmers finished for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. The Place Judges watch at the side of the pool where the event will finish and make their judgment based on eyesight.Decisions of the Place Judges supersede times recorded by the timers for determining order of finish. In case of ties as judged by the Place Judges both swimmers are awarded the same place and the total available points are split between the swimmers.

* Preliminaries:

The session of a meet where qualifying rounds are held for each event to determine the swimmers for the Finals. Twelve swimmers can qualify for the Finals (1-6 for the Finalist Heat and 7-12 for the Consolation Heat).

Referee:

The official who has authority over all other officials at a meet. The referee makes all final decisions and sees to the efficient running of the meet.

Regulation Heat:

A race where the swimmer is competing against other swimmer's from their team and the competing team for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place.

Runners:

Parent volunteers who collect the swimmer's lane slip from the timers at the end of each race and carry them to the scorer's table.

Scorers:

Parent volunteers who record the score of the meet, write out ribbons for place finishes, and post the scores and results periodically throughout the meet.

Scoring System:

Individual Events: Relays:1st Place 5 points 1st Place 7 points2nd Place 3 points 2nd Place 4 points3rd Place 1 point 3rd Place 2 points

* Scratch Sheet:

A sheet posted in the team area at championships to notify swimmers which event they may have been taken out of.

* Seeding Times:

The time a swimmer uses to enter a meet. This time, which is written on the entry card, determines the swimmer's position and lane in that particular event.

Sprint:

A high energy burst of speed for a short distance.

Starter:

A parent volunteer who starts each race with a loud beep and flash of light from the timing system. The Starter determines false starts and recalls such a start.

Stroke and Turn Judges:

Parent volunteers who check to see that the swimmers do each stroke and turn properly as stated in the U.S.S. Rule Book. If a stroke or turn is done improperly, these judges write up a disqualification slip that is taken to the scorer's table by the runner.

"Take your mark":

The command given by the starter to the swimmers at the start of each race. The command tells the swimmers to take their starting position.

Timers:

Parent volunteers who time the event for each swimmer in their assigned lane via the use of a stopwatch. There are two timers per lane and both times taken are recorded on the swimmer's lane slip. One timer is responsible for recording the times on the slip and the other timer verifies the name of the swimmer.

Times:

Throughout the season, a swimmer will swim several events more than once. The time in which they swim an event is the final result of their effort. The times will determine their placement in the heats at championships.

Touch and Finish:

For each stroke, the touch for a finish or a turn has a specific set of rules (e.g., in Breaststroke, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands simultaneously). The coaches will work with the swimmers to teach them the legal touches for each stroke.