Frequently Asked Questions

Does my swimmer need to be registered to practice with the team? 
Swimmers are welcome to practice with the team during the 1st splash (1st week of practice). After the first week, all swimmers must be registered to practice with the team.

Is there a minimum or maximum requirement for attending practices?
There is no minimum or maximum practice requirement. Swimmers are welcome to attend as many or as few practices as desired.
 

Are swimmers required to wear team swimsuits?

Swimmers are not required to wear team swimsuits. The team changes the team suit every 2 years. Swimmers may wear the current team suit, previous year(s) suits or any USA swimming approved swim suit. Modesty suits & rash guards are permitted. Flotation or buoyancy suits are not permitted. We order our suits from Cy's of Catonsville and they have our specific team suit on file.

How do I sign my swimmer up for meets?

One week prior to all meets families will receive an email from TeamUnify to their primary account email. You will be asked to complete your swimmer’s availability each week aka "declare your swimmer" to assist the coaches in preparing line ups for each week. Please be aware that if you do not enter your swimmer’s availability they may not be placed in relay events.

What is a qualifying time?

A qualifying time for an individual event is a timed swim in which the swimmer is not disqualified due to a stroke infraction.

How does a swimmer qualify to compete in the CNSL All City Meet?
Swimmers who have participated in either 3 Dual Meets or 2 Dual Meets & Time Trials is eligible to register for the CNSL All City Meet. Swimmers may register for 2 Individual Events as long as they have a qualifying time for the event.
 

 
Common Swim Terms

Age Group: Division of swimmers according to age. ex: 6 and under, 7-8, 15-18 etc.

Anchor: The final swimmer in a relay.

Backstroke: One of the 4 competitive racing strokes, basically any style of swimming on your back.  Backstroke is swum as the first stroke in the Medley Relay and second stroke in the I.M.

Beep: Starting sound from an electronic system.

Breastroke: One of the 4 competitive racing strokes.  Breastroke is swim as the second stroke in the Medley Relay and the third stroke in the I.M.

Butterfly: One of the 4 competitive racing strokes.  Butterly (nicknamed FLY) is swum as the third stroke in the Medley Relay and first stroke in the I.M.

Clerk of Course: Seeds swimmers into events and provides heat and lane info to Swimmers prior to their event.

Deck: The area around the swimming pool reserved for swimmers, officials, and coaches.  Only authorized persons may be on the competition deck during the meet.

D.Q./Disqualified: A swimmers performance is not counted and the time swum is void because of a rules infraction.

Entry: An individual or relay declares their intention to swim.

Event: A race or stroke over a given distance.

False Start: Occurs when a swimmer leaves the starting block, or is moving on the block, before the starter starts the race or before a relay leg has touched the wall.

Flags: Pennants that are suspended over the width of each end of the pool approximately 5 meters from the wall to allow backstroke swimmers to determine where the end of the pool is.

Freestyle: One of the 4 competitive racing strokes.  Freestyle (or free) is swum as the fourth stroke int he Medley Relay and fourth stroke in the I.M.  There are no rules governing the form of this stroke.

Heats: A division of an event when there are too many swimmers to compete at the same time.  The results are compiled by swimmers time swum, after all heats of the event are completed.

Individual Medley (IM): All four competitive strokes in the order of Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle.

Lane: The specific area in which a swimmer is assigned to swim.  Lanes should be numbered from right (Lane 1) to left (Lane 8).

Lap: One length of the pool

Leg: The part of a relay event swum by a single team member.

Meet: A series of events held in one program.  

NT: No time. The abbreviation used on a heat sheet to designated that the swimmer has not swum that event before.

Official Time: The swimmer event time recorded to one hundreth of a second (.01)

Official: A judge on the poolside.  Various judges that are certified through USA Swimming watch the strokes, turns and finishes or are times and starters.

Referee: The head official at a swim meet.

Seed: Assign the swimmers heats and lanes according to their submitted times.

Starter: The official in charge of signaling the beginning of a race and insuring that all swimmers have a fair take-off.

Stroke Judge: The official positioned at the side of the pool, walking the length of the course as the swimmers race.  The stroke judge is required to determine that each swimmer is carrying out his or her stroke within the rules, and will disqualify any who aren't.

Time Trial: An event or series of events where a swimmer may achieve or better a required qualifying time.

Timer: The volunteers sitting behind the starting blocks/finish end of the pool, who are responsible for getting watch times on events.

Touch: The finish of a race.

Warm-up: The practice and loosening session a swimmer does before the meet or their event.