Team Swimming Glossary

The following are terms commonly used in official team swimming competitions. While this list is not complete, familiarity with these swim terms should help the layman gain a general knowledge of the language used in competition swimming in the US and abroad. For a detailed look at terms and definitions put forth by the governing body for team swim in the US, check out the USA Swimming Website.

• Abandonment: Open water event ends before it is completed.
• Aggregate time: The sum of four individual starts to determine a relay time.
• Approval: Permit given by a local swim committee to conduct official meets in which members and non-members can compete.
• Arm: Part of the body extending from shoulder to wrist.
• Attached: The status of a team swim athlete who represents a club after having met certain requirements.
• Block: Starting platform.
• Body: Torso.
• Bonus, or C Final: Third fastest heat of swimmers in the finals.
• Bulkhead: Wall that divides a pool into courses.
• Championship, or A Final: The fastest heat of swimmers in the finals.
• Circle swimming: Swimming to the right of the black line in a lane to make room for other swimmers.
• Closed competition: Exclusive race.
• Club: A USA Swimming-approved organization.
• Consolation, or B Final: The second fastest heat of swimmers in the finals.
• Course: Set distance of the competition.
• Cut: The qualifying time for being able to participate in an event.
• Drafting or slipstreaming: Swimming close to or behind another open water swimmer in order to gain from less water resistance created by the other swimmer.
• Distance event: Swim events over 400 meters, or 500 yards, long.
• Disqualified (DQ): A swimmer becomes ineligible to receive an award or a final time due to an infraction.
• Drill: Practicing a stroke or movement in order to reinforce a certain technique.
• Dual competition: A race between two teams.
• End of course: The wall contacted by the swimmer when turning and finishing.
• Escort craft: Floatation units available for use by swimmers during open water races.
• Escorted swim: Athletes are accompanied by floatation units during open water races.
• Event: A swim race or series of races in a given stroke or distance.
• False Start: A team swim contestant moves before the signal is given.
• Feed pole: A device used in the water to deliver food or liquid to open swimmers.
• Finals: The last heat of an event comprised of top placers from the preliminaries.
• Finish: The moment a competing swimmer contacts the wall.
• Flags: Markers placed five meters from the end of the pool to allow backstrokers to gauge the end of the course in order to execute a turn.
• Foreign swimmer: A swim contestant belonging to a FINA-member confederation other than USA Swimming, or a member of USA Swimming but ineligible to represent the US during international swim competitions.
• Forward start: Entering the water while facing the course.
• Foul: Anything preventing completion of a race, such as an interference, obstruction, collision, or equipment malfunction.
• Goal: The time a team swimmer hopes to achieve.
• Headquarters: The official USA Swimming office located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• Heats: Smaller divisions of an event when there are too many athletes to compete at the same time.
• Horizontal: Parallel to the water's surface.
• Individual Medley (IM): A race in which the swimmer uses all four of the swim strokes in the order of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.
• International competition: A race between USA Swimming athletes and/or its organizations, and those of a foreign country.
• Junior Olympic: A type of annual team swim competition for youth.
• Lane line: A line of floating markers extending from start to finish designating lanes.
• Lap counter: Display numbers used to track laps completed during a distance race.
• Lead boat: Guide boat used to lead open water swimmers.
• Length: Complete extent of the swim course.
• Long course: 50 meters.
• LSC: Stands for Local Swim Committee, and is a division of USA Swimming responsible for supervising certain areas.
• Manual start: Individual start of a timing device concurrent with the starting signal given to swimmers.
• Meet: Swim competition.
• Middle distance: A swim event 200 to 500 yards long.
• Negative split: The second half of the race is swum faster than the first.
• Official: Judge on deck at a sanctioned swim event that follows USA Swimming rules.
• Open competition: An event in which an individual swimmer, or approved club or organization may participate.
• Open water swimming: A swim event taking place in an ocean, lake, or river.
• Outreach membership: A program that allows qualifying swimmers to participate in a race at a reduced fee.
• Pace: A determined speed at which a swimmer should complete a lap or part of a race.
• Pace clock: A timing device used to check the pace.
• Pacing: A non-participant of an open water event entering the water to provide moral support to participants, and to set the pace.
• Paddler: Person on a craft or floating device supporting athletes at an open water event.
• Place judge: Official who records the finish order by lane of each heat.
• Preliminaries: Initial competition by heat to determine qualifiers of the finals.
• Propulsive: The power to propel.
• Qualifying time: Time necessary to compete in a swim event.
• Reinstatement: Return of rights to membership of USA Swimming.
• Relay: An event involving four swimmers on a team, each swimming a designated leg of the course in order to achieve a single time.
• Relay leg: Portion of the relay swum by a single team member.
• Sanctioned meet: A USA Swimming-approved competition where official times may be obtained.
• Scissor kick: A type of kick using a scissors-like movement of the legs to help propel a swimmer through the water.
• Scratch: Withdraw from the competition.
• Seed: Entrants are distributed among heats or lanes according to their preliminary times.
• Seed time: A contestant's best time is used to place him or her in a heat.
• Short course: 25 meters or yards.
• Split: Intermediate times in a race, and taken every 25 to 50 yards, to determine a swimmer's pace.
• Sports citizen: A swim athlete formerly representing a non-US nation in an international competition and who must meet FINA requirements in order to represent the US.
• Sprint: A training event in which short distances (50 to 100 yards) are swum as fast as possible.
• Streamline: To straighten or stiffen the body at entry or after a push-off in order to gain the longest starting distance.
• SWIMS: Stands for Swimming Web-based Interactive Membership System, and is an interactive computer databank of USA Swimming members and their official times.
• Suspension: Removal of USA Swimming membership rights.
• Taper: A swimmer shaves entire body before a competition to lessen water resistance.
• Timed finals: Final places are determined by the results of timed heats.
• Time trial: A practice race.
• Time standard: The time a swimmer must achieve in order to qualify for an event.
• Touch: Contact the end of the course.
• Touch pad: A large board at the end of the lane the swimmer contacts at the finish to achieve his or her time.
• Tryout: Participation in a USA Swimming club to gauge interest in becoming a USA Swimming member.
• Turn: The moment a swimmer changes or reverses his or her direction on a course.
• Unattached: An independent swim participant; unattached to a club or membership.
• Unescorted team: An open swim event without a designated support craft.
• USA Swimming: National corporate governing body for competition swimming in the US headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Duties include selecting US Olympic Swimming team, and other swim teams representing the US.
• Venue: Area where swim meet or event is conducted.
• Vertical: Perpendicular to water surface.
• Wave: A second or consecutive group of swimmers formed when there are too many swimmers to compete in an open water event all at once.