Swimming Rules & Disqualifications

Many times, the coaches will get questions about disqualifications and how and why they happen. Here is a simple list of swimming disqualifications and how to avoid them, broken down by category/stroke:

 

Butterfly:

  • Alternating Kick – similar to doing flutter kick; the kick must stay together at all times
  • Breaststroke Kick – the swimmer did a breaststroke kick; the kick must stay together at all times
  • Scissors Kick – the swimmer did a scissors kick; the kick must stay together at all times
  • Non-Simultaneous Stroke – both arms weren’t moving at the same part of the stroke at the same time.
  • Underwater Recovery – the arms didn’t break the surface of the water as they came back to the front
  • One Hand Touch – only touched with one hand at a time on the turn; the hands much touch at the same time
  • Touch Not Separated – the hands were together at the turn; the hands must be separated when they touch the wall
  • No Touch at Turn – the swimmer did not touch the wall at all during the turn
  • Not Towards Breast Off Wall – the swimmer was more on their back than their front coming off the wall
  • 15m Rule – the swimmer stayed underwater past 15 meters off the start or turn
  • Re-Submerged – the swimmer went back underwater after initially breaking the surface on the start or turn

 

Backstroke:

  • No Touch at Turn – the swimmer did not touch the wall at all during the turn
  • Delay Initiating Turn – the swimmer waited too long after turning over for the flipturn
  • Multiple Strokes at Turn – the swimmer took multiple strokes after flipping over for the flipturn
  • Toes Over Lip of Gutter at Start – the toes must not be over the lip of the gutter (or top of touchpad) for the start
  • 15m Rule – the swimmer stayed underwater past 15 meters off the start or turn
  • Not on Back Off Wall – the swimmer pushed off on their side or front off the turn

 

Breaststroke*:

  • Alternating Kick – can be a flutter kick or a non-simultaneous breaststroke kick
  • Butterfly Kick – the swimmer did a butterfly or dolphin kick during the stroke (not including the pullout)
  • Scissors Kick – the swimmer did a scissors kick
  • Arms Past Hipline – arms pulled below the hips during the stroke
  • Non-Simultaneous Stroke – both arms weren’t moving at the same part of the stroke at the same time.
  • Two Strokes Under – two strokes were taken under the water, without breaking the surface
  • Arms Not in Same Horizontal Plane – arms moving at different depths in the pull
  • Elbows Recover Over Water – the elbows broke the surface of the water as they came forward after the pull
  • One Hand Touch – only touched with one hand at a time on the turn; the hands much touch at the same time
  • Touch Not Separated – the hands were together at the turn; the hands must be separated when they touch the wall
  • No Touch at Turn – the swimmer did not touch the wall at all during the turn
  • Not Towards Breast Off Wall – the swimmer was more on their back than their front coming off the wall
  • Kick Before Pull in Cycle – the kick occurred before the pull in the stroke cycle
  • Head Not Up in Cycle – the head did not break the surface of the water during the stroke cycle
  • Double Pulls or Kicks – the swimmer took two pulls or two kicks within on stroke cycle
  • Underwater Pullouts:
    • Multiple Dolphin Kicks – the swimmer did more the one dolphin kick during the pullout
    • Multiple Pulls – the swimmer did more than one arm pull during the pullout

*Note: the 15m rule does not apply to breaststroke. The swimmer may travel underwater past the 15m mark on the start and turns as long as they complete ONLY one pullout AND complete at least one full stroke cycle within the length before reaching the wall.

 

Freestyle:

  • No Touch at Turn – the swimmer did not touch the wall at all during the turn
  • 15m Rule – the swimmer stayed underwater past 15 meters off the start or turn
  • Re-Submerged – the swimmer went back underwater after initially breaking the surface on the start or turn

 

Individual Medley (IM):

See above for rules of each individual stroke

  • Out of Sequence – the swimmer swam the strokes in the wrong order (correct order: butterfly > backstroke > breaststroke > freestyle)
  • Fourth Stroke Swum in Style of Previous Stroke – the swimmer swam the last length a stroke other than freestyle; in IM, the fourth length MUST be freestyle

 

Relays:

See above for rules of each individual stroke

  • Early Takeoff (False Start) – the swimmer lost contact with the block before the preceding swimmer touched the wall at the finish
  • Changed Swimmer Order/Out of Sequence – the swimmers swam out of the order listed in the meet entry -or- in a medley relay, the swimmers swam out of sequence (medley relay order: backstroke > breaststroke > butterfly > freestyle)

 

Miscellaneous:

  • False Start – the swimmer moved and/or left the block before the starting signal
  • Declared False Start – the swimmer reported their intent not to compete to the meet referee prior to the start of the race
  • Delay of Meet – the swimmer did not report to the start when called, or willfully disobeyed orders from the referee
  • Did Not Finish – the swimmer did not finish the prescribed distance of the race