|
To help our new families better understand the
‘lingo’ within the swimming community, we are providing
a glossary containing many of the terms commonly used within our
sport. Enjoy!
C/B/A+ Meet – A type of USA Swimming meet
where swimmers are categorized by previous ability into A, B and C
divisions.
Age Group – The term typically used to
describe club swimming, due to the bracketing of swimmers into age
groups for competitions; 8 & Under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14,
15-18,
and Open (no age restriction).
Approved meet – an
officially sanctioned USA meet
Backstroke flags –
lines of flags placed above the lanes at each end of the pool to
signal to the backstroker that he is five yards or meters
(depending on the course) from the wall
Block – the starting
platform
Bulkhead – movable
wall used to divide 50 meter pools into 25 yard pools
Clerk of the Course – the
person responsible for checking swimmers in and seeding events;
sometimes, the area where swimmers report prior to their
event
Colorado system – the
electronic starting/timing system used at a meet
Cut – slang for
qualifying time or time standard necessary to attend a particular
meet or event.
Deck entries – a policy
of accepting entries on the day of the
meet
Deck seeding – a
procedure of assigning swimmers to appropriate lanes and heats
immediately before each event
Disqualification (DQ)
– A violation within a race which, when called,
does not allow the swim to be recognized. A swimmer is disqualified
when the swim does not adhere to the rules for the event (i. e.
made improper turn or illegal stroke)
Distance Event – term used
to refer to events which are longer than those normally swum within
an age group. For example, the 100 Free is a distance event for an
8 year old. It is not a distance event for a 14 year
old.
Drills – during
practice, skills are developed using specifically designed drills
(usually numbered or named.
Dry Land – training
done out of the water that aids or enhances swimming performance;
usually includes stretching, calisthenics and/or weight
training
Dual Meet – A competition between two
teams with all age groups running in one session.
Entries – a swimmer
can be entered for a meet
Event – all heats for a
particular gender/age group. Example: a heat sheet may depict 17
heats for Event #4, 13-14 girls 100 meter Butterfly
False Start – A disqualification that
occurs when a swimmer leaves the starting block before the start
command.
Far Westerns –
Championship meet for swimmers who have achieved a "Q" time
standard.
Finals – the
concluding session of a prelim/final meet in which the fastest
swimmers from preliminary heats return to race again
Gutter – the area
along the edge of the pool in which water overflows during a race
and is then recirculated
Heat – Events with many swimmers may
consist of multiple heats, which are the races that make up an
event. Example: Sarah is swimming in Event 16, Heat 3. The number
of swimmers in a heat may vary, depending upon the number of
swimmers entered in the event and the number of lanes at the
pool.
Heat sheet – a listing
of all swimmers by event number, heat and lane assignment in the
meet. These sheets are posted for the swimmers to check before
their events
Interval – During practices,
training is often done on intervals. Example: 5 100’s Free on
the 1:30… One minute and thirty seconds is the
interval.
Invitational – A competition between many
teams, commonly held with different age groups swimming in
different sessions. Qualifying time standards are sometimes used in
this format.
J. O.s – Junior Olympics swim
meet.
Lane – the specific area
in which the swimmer is assigned to swim i. e. lane 1, lane
2
Lane line –
continuous floating markers extending from one end of the pool to
the other
Lap – one length of the
pool
Leg – the part of a relay
event swum by a single team member
Long Course (LCM) –
The term used to
describe pools or competitions held in a 50 meter, or
Olympic-sized, course and serves as the international standard in
competitive swimming. Some competitions offered during the summer
season are held in long course meters.
Marshalls -- Responsible for monitoring the
warm-up process to assure swimmer safety and also patrols any
warm-down areas during the meet.
Masters – Swimmers
who have advanced in age beyond Age Group swimming. US Masters
Swimming is the governing body. (See Old
Guys).
Medley relay – a group
of four swimmers each swimming different strokes in an event: back,
breast, butterfly and freestyle
Meet – a series of events
held in one program
No Time (NT) – seed time
is entered as "No Time" if a swimmer has never swum this particular
event before
Officials – The certified individuals,
trained in recognizing technical legalities in strokes, starts, and
turns, who control the operation of a swim meet. Some different
types of officials include the meet referee, starter, and turn
judge.
Pacific Swimming – The
Local Swim Committee (LSC) in which Almaden participates. A
specific division within US Swimming.
Paddles – Training
devices worn on the hands while swimming in practice.
Personal Best –
The term used for a
swimmer’s fastest performance in each event.
Pull buoy – Training
device worn between the legs to float them while isolating arm
pulling.
Referee – the
official who has authority over all the meet officials at a meet.
The referee is responsible for conduct of a meet. The
referee’s decision is final.
Relay – A swimming event shared by four
teammates; usually either freestyle or medley
Scratch – a swimmer
already entered in an event may withdraw or scratch from the event
before it is seeded
Seed time – the time
that a swimmer uses to enter an invitational or championship meet.
This time determines the swimmer’s heat and lane for
competition; usually the swimmer’s personal best.
Short Course (SCY) –
The term used to
describe pools or competitions held in a 25 yard course. This is
the most common course found in the United States and is used for
most competitions.
Split – a per-leg time (in
a relay); or, in an individual event, a time for a portion of a
race that coaches often record for teaching the concept of
pace
Sprint – describes
the shorter events (50 and 100). In training, to swim as fast as
possible
Starter – the
official at the meet responsible for giving the starting signal to
each heat of swimmers
Streamline – the
position used by swimmers when starting or pushing off the walls
designed to reduce water resistance
Stroke – There are four strokes,
(freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and
butterfly). The individual
medley,
or IM, is a combination of all four strokes in the
following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle. In
practice, "Stroke" is used to denote any stroke other than free. It
is also used, in different context, to refer to a single arm cycle
(e.g., 15 strokes per lap)
Taper – the rest phase of
training which occurs leading up to a major meet.
Tempo trainer – device
used in practice to help swimmers understand the notion of stroke
rate.
Time Standard –
Qualifying times that
must have been previously achieved to participate in certain meets;
typically used for championship meets such as State and Zone-level
competitions.
Time trials –
occasionally a swimmer will need to make a qualifying time in an
event not offered in a meet. A Time Trial is set up and sanctioned
by USA Swimming to ensure proper conduct of the swim
Timers –
volunteers who time swimmers in a specific lane during a swim
meet
Touch Pad – the part
of the electronic timing system that rests in the water at the end
of each lane. Swimmer’s times are electronically recorded to
the hundredth of a second when they touch the pad
Unattached – when a
swimmer changes from one USA Swimming club to another there is a
120 day period during which the swimmer must compete "unattached",
meaning they may not score points for their new team or participate
in relays
USA Swimming – The official governing body
for competitive swimming in the United States. Responsibilities
include providing the program to select the U. S. Olympic Swimming
Team
VAC – Almaden has a
program for Volunteer Assistant Coaches
Warm down – low
intensity swimming used by swimmers after a race or 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 swimmer prior to a main practice set or a race to
get muscles loose and warm; Also, the time before a competition
when swimmers prepare to compete.
As other new terms arise during the course of the
season, please do not be afraid to ask someone!
|
