A-B-C Swim meet This type of meet includes every ability level of swimmer from Novice to very experienced.  All swimmers "A" time or faster compete in the "A" division, and all swimmers "C" and down compete in the "C" division.  The "B" division is the most limited with both top (.01 slower than "A") and bottom (.01 faster than "C") limitations.

Aggregate Time - times achieved by 4 swimmers in individual events which are added together to arrive at a provable relay entry time.

Age Group - Division of swimmers who compete according to age.

Anchor - The final swimmer in a relay.

ASCA - American Swim Coaches Association. The professional organization for swim coaches that certify coaches.

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.

Beep  The starting sound from an electronic, computerized timing system.

Blocks - The starting platforms located behind each lane.

Bottom The floor 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.

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.

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.

Button  - There are usually 3 buttons per lane. It is the timers responsibility to push the button as the swimmer finishes the race.

Combined Meet - The meet held at the end of a season. Qualification times are necessary to enter meet.

Check In: The indication that a swimmer intends to participate in an event.

Circle Swimming – Swimmers stay on their right of the lane for safety.    

Clinic A scheduled meeting for the purpose of instruction.

Closed Competition Swim meet which is open to the members of an organization or group. Summer club swim meets are considered to be "Closed Competition".

Course Designated distance (length of pool) for swimming competition

Deck  The area around the swimming pool reserved for swimmers, officials, and coaches. No one but an "authorized" USA Swimming member may be on the deck during a swim competition.

Dive    Entering the water head first. Diving is not allowed during warm-ups

Entry Chairperson The host clubs designated person who is responsible for receiving, and making sure the entries have met the deadline, or returning the entries if the meet is full. This person usually will find discrepancies in the meet entries and notify the entering club to correct any errors.  

Electronic Timing   Timing system operated on DC current (battery). The timing system usually has touchpads in the water, junction boxes on the deck with hook up cables, buttons for backup timing, and a computer type console that prints out the results of each race. Some systems are hooked up to a scoreboard that displays swimmers.

Eligible to compete The status of a member swimmer that means they are registered and have met all the requirements.

Event A race or stroke over a given distance. An event equals 1 preliminary with its final, or 1 timed final.

False Start    When a swimmer leaves the starting block before the horn or gun. One false start will disqualify a swimmer or a relay team, although the starter or referee may disallow the false start due to unusual circumstances.

FINA   The international, rules making organization, for the sport of swimming.

Final Results The printed copy of the results of each race of a swim meet.

Fine    The monetary penalty assessed a swimmer or club when a swimmer does not achieve the necessary time required to swim in an event, and cannot prove they have done the time previously.

Fins    Large rubber fin type devices that fit on a swimmers feet. Used in swim practice, not competition.

Flags  Pennants that are suspended over the width of each end of the pool approximately 15 feet from the wall.

Format The order of events and type of swim meet being conducted.

Freestyle One of the 4 competitive racing strokes. Freestyle (Free) is swam as the fourth stroke in the Medley Relay and fourth stroke in the I.M.

Goggles Glasses type devices worn by swimmers to keep their eyes from being irritated by the chlorine in the water.

Gun Lap The part of a freestyle distance race (400 meters or longer) when the swimmer has 2 lengths plus 5 yards to go. The starter fires a gun shot over the lane of the lead swimmer when swimmer is at the backstroke flags.

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 swam, after all heats of the event are completed.

Heat sheet (meet program): A form used for listing swimmers entered in an event, which designates the swimmer's seeded heat and lane for the event. Heat sheets are sold at the admissions table and are used mainly to make sure the swimmer has been properly entered in all the events they signed up for. Parents enjoy looking at the seedings prior to the race plus swimmers can tell the order the events will be conducted and get a rough idea how long the meet sessions will last.

High Point    An award given to the swimmer scoring the most points in a given age group at a swim meet. All meets do not offer high point awards; check the pre meet information.

Horn   A sounding device used in place of a gun. Used mainly with a fully automatic timing system.

Illegal Doing something against the rules that is cause for disqualification.

IM        Individual Medley. A swimming event using all 4 of the competitive strokes.The order must be: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle.

Insurance USA Swimming offers "accident insurance coverage"  which is automatic when swimmer, coach, official, pays their USA-S membership fee.

Interval A specific elapsed time for swimming or rest used during swim practice.

Invitational   Type of meet that requires a club to request an invitation to attend the meet.

J.O. Junior Olympics. An age group championship meet conducted by the LSC.

Kick    The leg movements of a swimmer. A popular word to "yell" to encourage swimmers during a race

Kick Board   A flotation device used by swimmers during practice. A lightweight object used with great accuracy by coaches.

Lane   The specific area in which a swimmer is assigned to swim, are numbered from Right (lane 1) to Left (Lane 6) from behind the blocks.

Lane Lines   Continuous floating markers attached to a cable stretched from the starting end to the turning end for the purpose of separating each lane and quieting the waves caused by racing swimmers.

Lap One length of the course. Sometimes may also mean down and back (2 lengths) of the course.

Lap Counter            The large numbered cards (or the person turning the cards) used during the freestyle events 500 yards or longer. Counting is done from the end opposite the starting end. The numbers on the cards are "odd numbers"only with the final lap being designated by a bright orange card.

Late Entries Meet entries from a club or individual that are received by the meet host after the entry deadline.

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

Long Course A 50 meter pool.

LSC    Local Swim Committee. Missouri Valley is the WKSC LSC.

Malfunction  A mechanical or electronic failure.

Mark   The command to take your starting position.

Marshall The adult(s) who control the crowd and swimmer flow at a swim meet.

May: Permissive, not mandatory.

Medals Awards given to the swimmers at meets. They vary in size and design and method of presentation.

Meet   A series of events held in one program.

Meet Director The person in charge of the administration of the meet. The person directing the "dry side" of the meet.

No-show: Failure of a swimmer to report to the blocks and compete after checking in. NS is marked on the final results.

Non-Conforming Time A short course time submitted to qualify for a long course meet, or vice versa.

Novice A beginner or someone who does not have experience.

Observed Meet A meet that is not conducted according to USA Swimming rules (high school, YMCA) where a request for observation has been procesed and approved in advance. Sufficient USA Swimming officials are present to certify that the athletes' swims are in compliance with USA Swimming technical rules.

 Observed Swim A swim observed by assigned USA Swimming officials for conformance with USA Swimming technical rules in a meet conducted under other than USA Swimming rules.

Officials The certified, adult volunteers, who operate the many facets of a swim competition.

OT Official Time. The swimmers event time recorded to one hundredth of a second (.01).

OTC Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Open Competition  Competition which any qualified club, organization, or individual may enter.

Pace Clock   The large clocks with highly visible numbers and second hands, positioned at the ends or sides of a swimming pool so the swimmers can read their times during warmups or swim practice.

Paddle Colored plastic devices worn on the swimmers hands during swim practice.

Plaque A type of award (wall plaque) given to swimmers at a meet.

Proof of Time An official meet result, OVC, or other accepted form. Swimmers/Coaches must supply proof of time with some meet entries, and other meets it is not required unless a swimmer misses a cut of time at the meet.

Psyche Sheet An entry sheet showing all swimmers entered into each individual event. Sometimes referred to as a "Heat Sheet" or meet program.

Qualifying Times Published times necessary to enter certain meets.

Race  Any single swimming competition.

Referee The head official at a swim meet in charge of all of the administration and decisions.

Registered   Enrolled and paid as a member of USA-S and the LSC.

Relays A swimming event in which 4 swimmers participate as a relay team each swimmer swimming an equal distance of the race. There are two types of relays Medley and Freestyle

Rest Area A designated area (such as a gymnasium) that is set aside for swimmers to rest during a meet.

Ribbons Awards given at swim meets for winning the heat.

Safety USA-S and each LSC now have a "Safety Coordinator" and each meet must have "Marshalls" in charge of safety.

Sanction: A permit issued by an LSC to conduct an event or meet. (Note: All athletes participating in any USA Swimming sanctioned swim meet must be registered USA Swimming members.)

Scratch To withdraw from an event after having declared an intention to participate. Some meets have scratch deadlines and specific scratch rules, and if not followed, swimmer can be disqualified from remaining events.

Sectionals   Nickname for Speedo Championship Series Open "senior level" meets held in the spring and summer.  Each Zone may hold up to four meets. Meets are commonly called "Sectionals."  Qualifying times, sites, dates and meet rules are determined locally.

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

Seeding  Deck Seeding - swimmers are called to report to the Clerk of the Course. After scratches are determined, the event is seeded. Pre Seeding - swimmers are arranged in heats according to submitted times, usually a day prior to the meet.

Senior Meet  A meet that is for senior level swimmers and is not divided into age groups. Qualification times are usually necessary and will vary depending on the level of the meet.

Session Portion of meet distinctly separated from other portions by locale, time, type of competition, or age group.

Short Course A 25 yard or 25 meter pool.

Simultaneously A term used in the rules of butterfly and breaststroke, meaning at the same time.

 Splash TheUSA Swimming magazine that is mailed bi-monthly. A benefit of being a member of USA Swimming.

Stations Separate portions of a dryland or weight circuit.

Start   The beginning of a race.

Starter The official in charge of signaling the beginning of a race and insuring that all swimmers have a fair takeoff.

Still Water Water that has no current caused by a filter system or no waves caused by swimmers.

Stand-up The command given by the Starter or Referee to release the swimmers from their starting position.

Step-Down   The command given by the Starter or Referee to have the swimmers move off the blocks. Usually this command is a good indication everything is not right for the race to start.

Stroke There are 4 competitive strokes:  Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle.

Stroke Judge The official positioned at the side of the pool, walking the length of the course as the swimmers race. If the Stroke Judge sees something illegal, they report to the referee and the swimmer may be disqualified.

Submitted Time Times used to enter swimmers in meets. These times must have been achieved by the swimmer at previous meets.

Taper The resting phase of a senior swimmer at the end of the season before the championship meet.

Timed Finals Competition in which only heats are swum and final placings are determined by the those times.

Time Standard A time set by a meet or LSC or USA-S (etc) that a swimmer must achieve for qualification or recognition.

Timer The volunteers sitting behind the starting blocks/finish end of pool, who are responsible for getting watch times on events and activating the backup buttons for the timing system.

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

Touch Pad   The removable plate (on the end of pools) that is connected to an automatic timing system. A swimmer must properly touch the touchpad to register an official time in a race.

Transfer  The act of leaving one club or LSC and going to another. Usually 120 days of unattached competition is required before swimmer can represent another USA-S club.

Travel Fund A sum of money set aside for a swimmer to use for travel expenses and entry fees to specified meets.

Unattached  An athlete member who competes, but does not represent a club or team. (abbr. UN)

Unofficial Time        The time displayed on a read out board or read over the intercom by the announcer immediately after the race. After the time has been checked, it will become the official time.

USA-S USA Swimming. The national governing body of the sport headquartered in Colorado Springs.

USA-S ID Number  A 16 part number assigned to a swimmer after they have filled out the proper forms and paid their annual dues.

USOTC United States Olympic Training Center located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Vertical At right angle to the normal water level.

Warm-up The practice and "loosing" up session a swimmer does before the meet or their event is swum.

Whistle The sound a starter/referee makes to signal for quiet before they give the command to start the race.

Zones            The country is divided up into 4 major zones: Eastern - Southern - Central - Western. At the end of the long course season (in August) the Zone Administration sponsors a championship age group meet.