Glossary
of Swimming Terms
A
Glossary of those strange and wacky words used in the sport of swimming.
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 swam as the first
stroke in the Medley Relay and second stroke in the I.M. Racing
distances are 50 yards/meter, 100 yards/meter, and 200 yards/meter.
(LSCs with 8-under divisions offer the 25 yd back)
Banner A team sign that is displayed at swim meets. Banners are
usually made from nylon material and carry the Team Logo and possibly
the name of a popular team sponsor. Some size restrictions are enforced
at certain meets.
Beep The starting sound from an electronic, computerized timing
system.
Blocks
The starting platforms located behind each lane. Some pools have
blocks at the deeper end of the pool, and some pools have blocks
at both ends. Blocks have a variety of designs and can be permanent
or removable.
Bonus
Heat The heat held during the finals session of a Prelims/Finals
meet, that is slower than the swimmers participating in Big Finals.
The Bonus Heat may refer to Consolation Finals or and extra heat
in addition to Consolation finals.
Bottom
The floor of the pool. Bottom depths are usually marked on the walls
or sides of the pool.
Breaststroke
One of the 4 competitive racing strokes. Breaststroke is swam as
the second stroke in the Medley Relay and the third stroke in the
I.M. Racing distances are 50 yards/meter, 100 yards/meter, and 200
yards/meter. (LSCs with 8-under divisions offer the 25 yd back)
Bull
Pen The staging area where swimmers wait to receive their lane and
heat assignments for a swimming event.Area is usually away from
the pool and has rows of chairs for the swimmers to sit. The Clerk
of the Course is in charge of the Bull Pen.
Butterfly
One of the 4 competitive racing strokes. Butterfly (nicknamed FLY)
is swam as the third stroke in the Medley Relay and first stroke
in the I.M. Racing distances are 50 yards/meter, 100 yards/meter,
and 200 yards/meter. (LSCs with 8-under divisions offer the 25 yard
back)
Cap
The latex or lycra covering worn on the head of swimmers. The colors
and team logo's adorning these caps are limitless. National Caps,
State Team Caps, award caps, plain practice caps, etc.
Drag
suit - a second loose fitting swim suit worn by swimmers in workout
and warm-up to add a certain amount of weight and resistance to
the flow of the water around the swimmer. The concept is similar
to a batter swinging two or three bats while on deck in a baseball
game.
False
start - occurs when a swimmer leaves the starting block, or is moving
on the block, before the starter officially starts the race.
FINA
- Federation Internationale de National de Amateur, the international
governing body of competitive swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized
swimming.
Final
- the championship final of an event in which the fastest eight
swimmers from the morning preliminaries compete.
Goggles
- eyewear worn by swimmers in the pool to protect the swimmers'
eyes from the effects of chorine in the water.
Gravity
wave - wave action caused by the swimmers' bodies moving through
the water. Gravity wave move down and forward from the swimmer,
bounce off the bottom of the pool and return to the surface in the
form of turbulence.
Gutter
- the area at the edges of the pool in which water overflows during
a race and is recirculated into the pool. Deep gutters catch surface
wave and don't allow them to wash back into the pool and affect
the race.
Official
- an judge on the deck of the pool. Various judges watch the swimmer's
strokes, turns and finishes or are timers.
IM-
slang for individual medley, an event in which the swimmer uses
all four competitive strokes in the following order: butterfly,
backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.
Lanelines
- the dividers used to delineate the individual lanes. These are
made of individual finned disks strung on a cable which rotate on
the cable when hit by a wave. The rotating disks dissipate surface
tension waves in a competitive pool.
Long
Course - a pool configured for swimming with a 50 meter long racing
course. World Records may be set in long course and short course
competition. The main U.S. Swimming Long Course season is during
the summer months. The Olympic Games as well as all major international
competitions are conducted long course.
Negative
split - a race strategy in the distance freestyle events in which
a swimmer covers the second half of the race faster than the first
half.
Prelim
- short for preliminary, also called heats. Those races in which
swimmers qualify for the championship and consolation finals in
the events.
Pull
Buoy A flotation device used for pulling by swimmers in practice.
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 touch pad and the sorting
swimmer's feet just touching the starting block with the rest of
the starting swimmer's body extended over the water.
Roll
- to move on the starting blocks prior to the starting signal. A
roll is usually caught by the starter and called a false start,
but swimmers will often try to guess the starter's l cadence and
get a good start. Similar to illegal procedure in football.
Shave
- prior to a major competition a swimmer will shave his or her entire
body. The removal of the hair provides less resistance between shin
and water and heightens a swimmer's sensations in the water
Short
Course - a pool configured in 25 yard or 25-meter lengths. U.S.
Swimming conducts most of its winter competition in 25-yard lengths
including the Speedo Junior National Championships in March. NCAA
swimming competition uses the 25-yard format. Most of the world
swims short course meters in the winter (25-meter pool). The fastest
times swum in a 25-yard pool may t only gain U.S. Open or American
record l status.
Skinsuit
- a slang term for a swimsuit designed to have minimum drag in the
water. While many swimmers use the traditional knitted lycra, the
newest suit is woven lycra, called a "paper" suit because
of its texture. There are continually new styles and fabrics put
out on the market.
Split
- a swimmer's intermediate time in a race. Splits are registered
every 50 meters (or 25 yards depending on the pool and the equipment
on hand) and are used to determine if a swimmer is on record pace.
Sports
Medicine and Science - a comprehensive use of science and technology
to develop better training methods for athletes. In U.S. Swimming,
the sports medicine and science program deals with everything from
blood and respiratory condition to the biomechanics of the swimmer
to proper nutrition.
Taper
- the resting process in training for swimming competition. During
the middle of the swimming season a swimmer may work out 10 to 15
thousand meters (8 to 10 miles) each day. As major competition draws
near, the swimmer will "taper" off the distances swum
each day. A perfectly designed taper will enable the swimmer to
compete at their peak capability and is one of the most difficult
aspects of swim coaching.
Touch
- the finish of the race.
Touchpad
- the area at the end of each lane in the pool where a swimmer's
time is registered and sent electronically to the timing system
then the scoreboard.
Trainer
- in the U.S.: an athletic trainer; in Europe the term trainer is
used for a coach.
Turnover
- the number of times a swimmer's arms turn over (cycle) in a given
distance or time during a race.
Warm
down - used by the swimmer to rid the body of excess lactic acid
generated during a race.
Warm-up
- used by the swimmer before the race to get their muscles loose
and ready to race.
