Swimming Terminology
Age Group - grouping of swimmers for competition: 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15 & up
Alternate – the next fastest
Alternate Breathing - In freestyle swimming, breathing to the right side then swimming three strokes and breathing to the left side, then swimming three strokes and breathing the to right side, etc.
Anchor - The final swimmer in a relay.
Backstroke – One of four event strokes. In the backstroke the swimmer must stay on their back, except during the turns. The stroke is an alternating motion of the arms -- much like the crawl stroke -- with a flutter kick. A swimmer is not required to touch the wall with his or her hand before executing the turn.
Backstroke Flags - Pennants that are suspended over the width of each end of the pool approximately five meters from the wall that notify backstroke swimmers that they are approaching the end of the pool. The experienced Backstroker will know how many strokes it takes to get from the flags to the wall.
Breaststroke – One of four event strokes. In the breaststroke, the swimmer uses the simultaneous movement of the hands, pushed forward from the chest on or under the surface of the water and brought backward in the propulsive stage of the stroke simultaneously. The kick is a simultaneous thrust of the legs called a “frog” or breaststroke kick. No flutter or dolphin kicking is allowed. Swimmers must touch each wall with both hands at the same time.
Block – the location where swimmers begin their event on deck (backstroke begins in the water).
Butterfly (“Fly”) – One of four event strokes. In the butterfly, the swimmer uses the simultaneous overhead stroke of the arms combined with the dolphin kick. The dolphin kick features both legs moving up and down together. No flutter kicking is allowed. As in the breaststroke, swimmers must touch each wall with both hands at the same time.
Cap – Latex or silicone head covering used during a race or workout to protect a swimmer's hair from the effects of chlorine; also serves to eliminate drag from a swimmer's hair.
Clerk of Course – is a designated area where the swimmer sits with their heat to begin; it is run by an official responsible for organizing swimmers in order of their lane assignments and ensuring the meet runs smoothly.
Developmental Meet (aka “B” meet, “Monday” meet) - a meet designed for swimmers to swim competitively any stroke in which they are legal as determined by the Coach.
Dolphin Kick – used in the butterfly, and during underwater portions of freestyle and backstroke races, where the thrust of the kick comes from the hips, and the feet and legs are held together.
Drill – in swim practices, an exercise involving a portion or part of a stroke, used to improve technique.
DQ – Disqualification. Called by a meet official for a swimmer’s illegal execution of the stroke, illegal start or turn.
Dryland – training & warm-up performed outside of the water, usually done prior to beginning to swim and done on deck.
Event - any race in a given stroke, IM, or relay. There is an event for each stroke or relay, for each age group, and each gender.
False start - occurs when a swimmer leaves the starting block, or is moving on the block, before the Starter starts the race.
Finish - the final phase of the race or the touch at the end of the race.
Freestyle – one of the four event strokes. In the freestyle, the competitor may swim any stroke he or she wishes. The usual stroke used is the crawl. This stroke is characterized by the alternate overhand motion of the arms and a continuous “flutter” kick.
Heat - a grouping of swimmers assembled to compete in a race. Several heats may be held in a particular event.
Goggles: Eyewear worn in the pool to protect swimmers' eyes from the effects of chlorine.
IM - Individual medley. IM is an event in which the swimmer uses all four competitive strokes in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.
Lane Lines - the dividers used to delineate the individual lanes. These are made of individual finned disks strung on a cable that rotate on the cable when hit by a wave. The rotating disks dissipate surface tension waves in a competitive pool. Also, things swimmers do not want to hit while swimming.
Length & Lap - a length is once across the pool; a lap is a length across and a length back.
Marshal - a parent volunteer who controls the crowd and swimmer flow at a swim meet. They are primarily responsible for safety in the venue by maintaining order in the starting area and preventing competitors or spectators from crowding the course.
Medley Relay – an event where all four strokes are swum by four different swimmers. No swimmer may swim more than one leg of the relay, which is swum in backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle order; only swam at Saturday meets.
Meet – an organized event with a number of races designed to be a learning experience. By implementing what has been learned in practice, the swimmers test themselves against the clock to see how they are improving. We participate in Competitive and Developmental meets.
Meet Program - also called "meet sheet or heat sheet". This document lists all the events in order and swimmers' heat/lane assignments for a meet.
Mixed Age Relay –an event where four swimmers from each age group (10 & u, 11-12, 13-14, 15 & up) swim 25 meters of freestyle; only swum at Saturday meets.
Official - a judge on the deck of a pool at sanctioned and approved competitions that enforce NVSL rules. There are stroke and turn judges, administrative officials, starters, timers, and referees. All officials and other volunteers at meets should wear white over navy.
Parents - a group of adults, who supply money and drive their children to and from practices and meets, support their team and coaches, and have as much fun as their children.
Personal Best (PB) - achieving a faster than their previous fastest time in an event.
Pull Out - the underwater in breaststroke when a swimmer pulls down and does a dolphin kick before the first stroke
Relay exchange - the exchange between the swimmer in the water and the next swimmer on the relay team. A perfect exchange will simultaneously have the finishing swimmer’s hand on the wall and the starting swimmer’s feet just touching the starting block with the rest of the starting swimmer’s body extended over the water.
Scored Meet (aka “A” meet, “Saturday” meet, “Dual” meet) – these are the Saturday meets where the top 3 swimmers on the ladder in each age group and for each stroke compete for points against another team. This scoring is used to determine, in part the NVSL division in which a team will compete the next year.
Set - Workouts are divided up into sets of swims in a particular stroke, style, and distance, such as kick sets, pull sets, distance sets, sprint sets, I.M. sets, etc. "set" by the coach.
Split - a swimmer’s intermediate time in a race. Splits are registered every 25 meters. Useful for understanding a result and planning future swims.
Sprint - Swimming at top speed in any given stroke.
Starts & Turns - In the start, the swimmer is called to the starting position by the starter who visually checks that all swimmers are in the set position and still. Once the starter is satisfied, the race is started by an electronic tone. If the starter feels that one of the swimmers has jumped early, the race will be recalled, and the swimmer who “false started” can be disqualified. In all events the swimmer must touch the wall, but in the freestyle and the backstroke, the swimmer may somersault as he or she reaches the wall, touching only with the feet. In the butterfly and breaststroke the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands simultaneously before executing the turn.
Streamline - the fundamental body position in swimming used to gain maximum distance during a start and/or push-off from the wall.
Stroke and Turn Judge - a certified NVSL Official parent volunteer that walks the deck or stands at the end of the pool during a meet to certify the legality of individual strokes and turns of swimmers.
"Take your mark" - a phrase used by the starter to signal swimmers to take their starting position on the start.
Time Trials - a ‘time-only’ swim event at the beginning of the season in which only our team participates; is used to establish swimmer times in all strokes the swimmer can perform legally and helps establish the initial ladder.
Timers – parent volunteers who time for one swim lane, three timers per lane. The middle time from the three watches is the swimmer’s official time.
Touch - the finish of the race when the swimmer makes contact with the pool wall.
Turns- Flip Turn - completing a physical somersault at the wall to change direction in Freestyle and Backstroke only.
- Open Turn - the two handed touch turn to change direction for Breaststroke and Butterfly only.
- Transition Turn - in IM swimming, the transition turns are between strokes (butterfly to backstroke, backstroke to breaststroke and breaststroke to freestyle).
Two Hand Touch – Breaststroke and Butterfly require two hands to make contact with the wall at the same time to be considered legal.
Warm-up - used by the swimmer before the race to get their muscles loose and ready to race. This is a chance to gradually warm up the muscles and slowly get the heart rate up.
Watches - stopwatches used to time the swimmers during a competition.
