Lakers Swim Dictionary​

 

  • Age group - Swimmers are divided into groups by age. The age group designations for USA Swimming are 10 & Under, 11/12, 13/14, 15-18 (senior). The terms “age group swimming” or “age group meet” refer mainly to groups and meets for 12 & Under swimmers (sometimes 14 & Under) in which swimmers are divided by age group.

  • Check-in - Some meets require that swimmers check in for certain events, esp. distance events. Names are checked or initialed to verify that they will swim in those events.

  • Circle seeding - A system where the fastest swimmers are placed in the middle lanes of the final three heats. The swimmer with the fastest entry time swims in the center lane of the last heat. The second fastest swims in the center lane of the next to last heat, etc.

  • Clerk of course - In a designated area, this person or people arrange swimmers by heat and lane, give them each a card to take to their lane’s timers, and send them behind the blocks to swim.

  • Championship/Consolation heat - In a prelims-finals meet format, the top finishers in prelims (the number depends on the number of lanes in the pool) swim in the championship heat and the next fastest group of finishers (number depends on the number of lanes) from prelims swims in the consolation heat.

  • Cut - Slang term for a qualifying time needed to swim in a particular meet.

  • Deck seeding - Assigning swimmers to heat and lanes immediately before each event.

  • Descend - Decrease time or get faster as a swimmer progresses through a swim or a set.

  • Disqualification/DQ - A swim is nullified due to the swimmer committing an infraction of a rule. (Ex. kicking flutter kick on a butterfly or touching the wall with one hand on breaststroke).

  • Dolphin kick - Kick used in butterfly and sometimes when pushing off the wall in freestyle and backstroke. Feet and legs are together and kick up and down in unison.

  • Drag/Drag suit - Drag is resistance against a swimmer’s movement. A drag suit creates extra drag with excess material to build strength and increase a swimmer’s ability to combat extra resistance.

  • Drill - an exercise focusing on a particular part of a stroke to improve the overall stroke technique.

  • Dryland training - Exercises performed outside the pool to improve overall fitness and enhance swimming performance.

  • Dual meet - A competition between two teams.

  • Event - A particular swimming race - ex. 100 Freestyle, 200 Backstroke, 400 IM, etc.

  • False Start - A swimmer moves forward or dives before the horn, beep, or gun is sounded to start a race. A swimmer is disqualified if she/he does this.

  • Fast skin - A type of suit made of a material that is meant to resist water and thus aid in the hydrodynamics of a swimmer who wears it. These suits are very expensive and their benefit remains the subject of debate in the world of competitive swimming.

  • Finals - In a prelims-finals meet format, each event is contested twice. The top finishers (number determined by the number of lanes in the pool) in the preliminaries (the first time the event is contested) swim again in the finals. The order in which swimmers finish in finals determines their placement, points, and awards for each event.

  • FINA – The international governing body for competitive swimming.

  • Flags/Backstroke flags - A line of triangular flags strung across the pool, 15 ft. from each end of the pool in a short course yards pool and 5 meters from each end of the pool in a long course or short course meter pool. These signal to swimmers that they are nearing the end of the pool.

  • Flutter kick - The kick used in freestyle and backstroke. The feet and legs move up and down alternately in short fast motions.

  • Heat - Events are divided into heat. In each heat, there is one swimmer in each lane swimming a particular event or race. The number of heats in each event depends on the number of competitors in each event.

  • Heat Sheet - A listing of the swimmers in each event, divided into heats and lanes (indicating which swimmers swim in each heat and lane).

  • Individual Medley/ IM - An event in which each competitive stroke swims in this order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. This competes in distances of 100 (1 length each stroke), 200 (2 lengths each stroke), or 400 (4 lengths each stroke).

  • Invitational Meet - A meet involving more than 2 teams, sometimes lasting 2 or more days.

  • Long course - a 50-meter pool; competitions in the summer are held in long course (50 meters) pools.

  • Lap counter - Square plastic device with moveable numbers used by a person to count laps for a swimmer competing in an event 500 yards or longer.

  • Medley - An event involving all four competitive strokes. An individual medley is swum by one person; a medley relay has 4 swimmers - one per stroke.

  • Meet Director - Person who organizes and oversees the conduct of a meet.

  • Negative split - swimming technique in which the swimmer swims the second half of a distance faster than the first.

  • Official - A certified judge on the pool deck who enforces swimming rules.

  • Open - About a meet or event, anyone may swim, regardless of age, and sometimes, time.

  • Preliminaries/Prelims - In a prelims-finals meet format, the prelims session is when each event is first contested. All swimmers compete in their events in prelims; the top finishers in each event compete again in finals.

  • Psyche sheet - A listing of entries for a meet, divided by event but not heats. These are subject to change as swimmers scratch events before the meet.

  • Qualifying time - The minimum time needed to swim a particular event in a particular meet.

  • Relay - Event in which four swimmers compete as a single team, one after another.

  • Runner - Person, usually a parent volunteer, who collects cards from timers after each heat is swum and takes them to the computer operator.

  • Sanction - Official approval of a swim meet, given by either an LSC (for USA Swimming meets) or a YMCA field coordinator (for YMCA meets). To receive a sanction, a meet must be conducted according to the rules set forth by the body (YMCA or USA Swimming) issuing the sanction.

  • Scissors kick - The feet begin apart and move straight toward and then past one another. This kick is illegal in breaststroke.

  • Scratch - Removal of a swimmer from an event.

  • Seeding- Placement of a swimmer in an event based on their entry time in that event.

  • Session - A distinct portion of a meet, having its own warm-up time and slate of events to have swum.

  • Starter - an official who starts each race by saying “Take your mark”, then sounding a beep, horn, or firing a gun.

  • Starting blocks - Platforms at the starting end of each lane, from which swimmers dive (or start in the water for backstroke) to begin each race.

  • Streamline - Swimmer’s body position used when starting or pushing off walls to reduce water resistance. The body is fully extended. Feet and legs are together with toes pointed. Arms are extended above the head with one hand on top of the other.

  • Taper - Gradual reduction in yardage and intensity allowing the muscles to rest and recover for peak performance. Taper is effective for teenage swimmers whose muscles have developed to the point that they can "break down" during long periods of intense training. The taper also incorporates positive mental preparation for peak performance. Because taper has a strong effect on the body and mind, it is most effective as part of a training cycle and is incorporated into the season plan at intervals that allow for sufficient intense training between periods of taper.

  • Timed finals - Meet format in which each event is only contested once (no prelims or finals).