1-
History & Object
2- Strokes
3-The Essentials
4- Pool
Diagram
5- Diving
The Essentials
Game Length
A typical high school swim
meet consists of 12 events,
including 8 individual races,
3 relay races, and a diving
competition. Depending on the
level (dual meet vs. championship)
and the schools preferences,
Junior Varsity, Varsity, boys,
and girls may compete separately
or together. If the competition
is combined, the races are held
in separate heats, and each
group only competes with members
of the same group.
Start of the game
At the start of each race
(except back and medley relay),
swimmers step onto the starting
blocks. The starter says, On
your mark,” and fires
a starting pistol or sounds
a horn to begin the race. Swimmers
dive into the pool and begin
to race. In most events, swimmers
dive from the starting blocks
to start the race. For backstroke
and the medley relay, however,
the swimmer begins in the water,
holds onto the starting block
or wall, and performs a backwards
dive to start. In relay events,
the second, third, and fourth
swimmers dive from the starting
blocks and must keep their feet
in contact with the block until
the previous swimmer touches
the wall.
Team Scoring
Swimming is a team sport made
up of individual races, relay
races, and diving. The team
with the most points at the
end of the meet is the winner.
Points are award to the top
finishers; the exact point breakdown
depends on the number of teams
competing and the number of
entries per team. For example,
two teams competing in a dual
meet where three entries are
allowed per team (six lanes)
would be as follows:
Individual events (includes
diving): 6-4-3-2-1-0 points
for first, second, third, fourth,
fifth, and sixth, respectively.
Relay races: 8-4-2-0
points for first, second, third,
and fourth, respectively.
Events
Below is the list of events
in the typical order:
200 medley relay: Four
swimmers compete in this relay,
each swimming a different stroke.
The order of the strokes is
backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly,
and freestyle.
200 freestyle: An eight-lap
midrange freestyle race.
200 individual medley:
One swimmer completes two laps
of each stroke. The order of
the strokes is butterfly, backstroke,
breaststroke, and freestyle.
50 freestyle: A two-lap
all-out freestyle sprint.
1-meter diving: Divers
perform 11 dives from the 5
categories of forward, back,
reverse, inward, and twist (see
diving section for more details).
100 butterfly: A four-lap
butterfly sprint.
100 freestyle: A four-lap
freestyle sprint.
500 freestyle: A 20-lap
freestyle distance swim.
200 freestyle relay:
An eight-lap, all-out freestyle
sprint relay in which each swimmer
completes two laps.
100 backstroke: A four-lap
backstroke sprint.
100 breaststroke: A
four-lap breaststroke sprint.
400 freestyle relay:
A 16-lap freestyle relay in
which each swimmer completes
four laps.
Positions
Swimmers are usually specialists
in one or more strokes (freestyle,
backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly)
and are either sprinters or
distance swimmers. There are
no positions, per se, but swimmers
are usually seeded, or ranked,
by speed. A teams fastest
seeded swimmer in a race competes
in one of the middle lanes,
with slower swimmers in the
outside lanes. During relays,
the two fastest swimmers usually
swim first and last. The fastest
person, called the anchor, races
last.
Equipment
Equipment in swimming is minimal.
In competition, swimmers wear
a tight-fitting swimsuit that
has minimal drag and a pair
of goggles to help them see
underwater. Some swimmers wear
a swim cap on their head to
lessen drag that longer hair
causes.
Common Referee Signals
A typical meet has at least
one sanctioned official who
is the referee. Referees ensure
that the rules are enforced
and that the meet runs smoothly.
The referee usually serves as
the starter to signal the beginning
of each race. Volunteers may
fill the roles of timer to time
the swimmers in each lane, and
scorer to record the results.
At championship meets, additional
personnel assist the referee
in his duties and can include
the following: stroke inspectors
to ensure that the swimmers
strokes do not violate the rules,
turn judges to examine the turn
at each wall, relay takeoff
judges to make sure the feet
of the swimmers diving remain
on the block until their teammates
have touched the wall, and finish
judges.
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