NESAA

Meet Results

Glossary of Terms for Competitive Swimming
Age Group Swimming: The program through which USS provides competition for its younger members, designed to encourage participation, provide an educational experience, enhance physical and mental conditioning, and to develop a rich base of swimming talent. Age group swimmers must meet a qualifying standard.

Aging Up: A juncture in a swimmer's life when a birthday means moving up to the next highest age group to face more formidable competition and faster qualifying times.

Anchor: The fourth and often the fastest member of the relay team.

Block: The starting platform.

Bullpen: A specified area where swimmers are grouped in sequence by heats and receive their entry cards prior to entering the heat.

Circle Swimming: Performed by staying to the right of the black line when swimming in a lane to enable more swimmers to swim in each lane.

Coach: A person who trains and teaches athletes in the sport of swimming.

Code of Conduct: An agreement often set up in writing that each swimmer will abide by certain behavioral guidelines.

Cut: Slang for qualifying time; a time standard necessary to attend a particular meet or event.

DQ (Disqualification): This occurs when a swimmer has committed an infraction of some kind. A disqualified swimmer cannot receive an award for that event.

Dry land training: Training that is done out of the water that aids and enhances swimming performance, usually includes stretching, calisthenics and/or weight training.

Event: Any race or a succession of heats in a designated stroke or distance.

False start: Occurs when a swimmer is moving at the start. One false start will result in a disqualification.

Finish: The final phase of a race: the touch at the end of the race.

Flags: Backstroke flags placed 5 yards (short course) or 5 meters (long course) from the each end of the pool. They enable backstrokers to execute a backstroke turn more efficiently by counting their strokes from the flag to the wall.

Gutter: The area along the edge of the pool in which water overflows during a race and is re-circulated through the filtration system.

Heat: Each race conducted within a particular swim event.

IM: Abbreviation for Individual Medley, an event in which the swimmer uses all four strokes in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.

Lap Counter: A set of plastic display numbers used to keep track of laps during a distance race. Also, the person who counts for the swimmer, stationed at the opposite end from the start.

Meet: Competition designed to be a learning experience. By implementing what has been learned in practice, the swimmers test themselves against the clock.

Middle Distance: Term used to refer to events of the 200 yard/meters and 400 yard/meters in length.

Official: A judge on the deck of the pool at a meet who enforces the USS rules. There are stroke and turn judges, administrative officials, starters, timers and referees.

Pace Clock: Large clock with a large second hand and a smaller minute hand, used to check pace or maintain intervals in practice, may also be digital.

Personal Best: An individual swimmer’s fastest time for each individual event.

Relay: An event in which 4 swimmers compete together as a team to achieve one time.

Sets: In workouts, a group of swims done on a given interval, that means a controlled rest.

Scratch: To withdraw from an event in a competition.

Short Course: A pool that is 25 yards or meters in length.

Split: A swimmer's intermediate time in a race. In relays, the time for one individual leg of the relay

Sprint: Describes the shorter events (50 and 100 yard or meters). In training, it means to swim as fast as possible for a short distance.

Streamline: The position used to gain maximum distance during a start and/or push off from the wall in which a swimmer's body is as straight as can be.

Touch Pad: A large sensitive board at the start end of the pool. Times are electronically registered and sent to the computer.

Time Trial: A time-only meet which is not part of the regular meet. Frequently, these are held at the end of the scheduled events to accommodate swimmers who still need qualifying times to compete in up-coming meets.

Timed Finals Meet: When only heats are swum, with final placing determined by swimmers' times set in those heats.

USS: United States Swimming. The national governing body for amateur competitive swimming in the United States.

USS ID Number: Unique number assigned to a swimmer when he/she joins United States Swimming. The ID # will be required to enter a USS competition.

Warm Down: Low intensity swimming used by a swimmer after a race or a main practice set to rid the body of excess lactic acid, and to gradually reduce the heart rate and respiration.

Warm Up: Low intensity swimming used by a swimmer prior to a main practice set or race to get muscles loose and warm and gradually increase the heart rate and respiration.

Watches: Stopwatches used to time swimmers during a competition. When electronic touch pads are used, watches are used as back up.