Team Swimming Glossary and Terms

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.