Swimming Terms and Lingo

Organisations and Governing Bodies

  • SNSW - Swimming New South Wales, one of our governing bodies
  • SMNE - Swimming Metro North East, our local district
  • OWS - Open Water Swimming
  • Metropolitan - Metropolitan Champs, covering all of Sydney
  • SAL - Swimming Australia Ltd
  • IOC – International Olympic Committee
  • FINA – Federation Internationale de Natation…Swimming’s International Federation
  • WADA – World Anti-Doping Agency
  • ASADA – Australian Anti-Doping Agency
  • ASCTA – Australian Swim Coach and Teachers Association
  • AIS – Australian Institute of Sport
  • NSWIS – NSW Institute of Sport

The Strokes

  • BF / FLY - Butterfly
  • BK - Back stroke
  • BS/BRS - Breast stroke
  • Form - any stroke other than Freestyle
  • FS - Freestyle
  • IM - Individual Medley = FLY, BK, BS, FS swum in that order
  • Fifth Stroke (5th Stroke) – Underwater butterfly kick in streamline
  • Medley Relay – all 4 strokes done in the relay in order of BK-BRS-FLY-FS

Equipment

  • Swimmers/Togs/Suits
  • Goggles – keeps water out of the eyes and gives vision underwater
  • Caps – keeps hair in place, enhancing speed. Also keeps the pool cleaner
  • Pull Buoy – floatation device worn between legs during a pull set
  • Kick Board – floatation device held onto during kick sets
  • Fins – enhances/focuses on swimmers kick
  • Snorkel – keeps head in neutral position while swimming. Enhances body alignment
  • Paddles – worn on handles to enhance pull sets
  • Drink Bottle – always stay hydrated!
  • Kit Bag – holds all your equipment

Facilities

  • Blocks - starting platform where the swimmers dive in to begin a race
  • Wedge/Kicker - the foot platform (not found on all blocks) for the swimmers back foot
  • Flags - ALWAYS placed 5 meters from the wall, used to count strokes for backstroke
  • Lane Ropes – The dividers used to set out the lanes in a pool. These are made of individual finned disks strung on a cable, that turn on the cable when hit by a wave, dissipating the wave.
  • 15 meter marker – A mark in the lane rope, or a rope that goes across the pool to indicate the 15 meter mark. Swimmers are only allowed underwater on any given lap for 15 meters then they must surface.
  • Lap counter: The large numbered cards (or the person turning the cards) used during the freestyle events 800 metres or longer. Counting is done from the non-starting end.
  • 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 (not at every facility).
  • Clock: The big clock on the wall or deck is used for interval training. The red hand goes around every 60 seconds. Swimmers who can read the clock and know their times find it easy to monitor their own progress. Your child’s coach will be happy to explain the clock to you.
  • Deck: the pool area/tiled area. Often heard at meets “ see you on pool deck”  see you down by the pool.

Carnival/Meet /Competition

  • Invitational - Club competition the team is invited to, not open to all teams
  • SC/LC - Short Course (25meter pool) and Long Course (50meter pool)
  • SOPAC - Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre - where most NSW championship meets are held
  • Marshalling - area where swimmers go to at a carnival before their event
  • Starter/Referee/Technical Official - volunteers (who are certified) needed to make a swim meet official
  • DQ – Disqualified
  • DNS - Did not start (a race)
  • DNF - Did not finish (a race)
  • NT - No Time (no entry time submitted)
  • PB - Personal Best (time) - a swim achieving a time faster than you've done before/your fastest time
  • QT - Qualifying Time - time standard to enter a meet, usually applies to Championship level meets
  • Break Time - Opposite of qualifying time. Designed to encourage swimmers to try other events, cannot enter an event if faster than a certain time
  • Heat:A group of swimmers in an event who compete at the same time. Most heats are arranged by entry time, though pyramid seeding is arranged differently. All the heats in any one event are run from slowest to fastest. Within any one heat, the swimmers are arranged in lanes so that the fastest swimmers are in the middle. In a 6-lane pool, the swimmers (based on their seed times) would be assigned to lanes fastest to slowest thusly: 3-4-2-5-1-6. That is why many events finish in kind of an "arrowhead" pattern. At a seeded meet, when you see a swimmer win an event from an outside lane, that swimmer is probably having a good swim.
  • Heat sheet:A meet program, which lists each event and the swimmers, entered in that event. It will usually cost a few dollars to purchase a heat sheet.
  • Swim-Off: A race between (usually) 2 swimmers to break a tie
  • Relay: a 4-person race. Can be free or medley.
  • Alternate: First person waiting to be selected. Can be applied to relay (as a backup) or the next person to enter finals if someone decides not to swim
  • Finalist: The top 8 that race in the finals of a championship meet.
  • Age Group: Referred to swimmers under 18 years old, or can refer to a specific age group…i.e. the 14s
  • Open: All ages
  • Anchor: Last swimmer of a relay team
  • Circle Seed:Used only in the prelims of Championship meets with events that have "prelims & finals". This affects only the top 24 seeded swimmers (8 lane pool), which compete in the last 3 heats. All other heats are regular seeding. Circle seeding goes like this: The fastest seeded swimmer will be in the last heat in lane 4. The second fastest swimmer will be in the second to last heat lane 4. The third fastest swimmer will be in the third to last heat lane 4. The fourth fastest swimmer will be in the last heat lane 5 and so on.
  • Gun/Bell Lap: During distance events, the official will ring a bell or fire a cap gun to signal to the athletes/timers that they are on their last lap
  • OWS: Open Water Swimming
  • Feed stick: a device used to hand athletes food during a race
  • Stations/pontoons: where the feeders and race marshals go during a race
  • Registration: All swimmers must check in at registration to confirm their entry and to be notified of any course change
  • Numbers: most OWS event athletes will have registration numbers inked or drawn on them, for safety and to keep track for the race officials
  • Supply Boats: sometimes used by feeders or officials to ensure the safeness of the course
  • Turn Buoys: big floats anchored down to mark the course
  • Handlers: person responsible for the athlete, usually the coach
  • Transponders/Chips: electronic timing devices worn on straps around the wrist of the athlete
  • Finish Chute: a section marked off with ropes where the OWS races finish.

Training

  • Warm-up: The practice and loosening session a swimmer does before the meet or their event. The blood flow to the muscles warm up creates is essential to avoid injury.
  • Warm down: Used by the swimmer to rid the body of excess lactic acid generated during a race or training
  • Set: a grouping of distances composing part of a workout or drill; 5 x 100 is a set that is 500 meters long; 500, 400, 300, 200, 100 is a set that is 1,500 meters long.
  • Repeats: the components of a set; 5 x 100 is a set of 100 repeats.
  • Interval/Cycle: the time given to complete a certain drill. A 2:00 interval for 100 meters means that if you can swim 100 meters in 1:40 minutes, you will have 20 seconds ofrest before repeating the next one.
  • Descending: increasing one's speed incrementally during a set distance (She is descending her one-mile race by 100 meters).
  • Build: Starting out slow and ending fast. 5x100s build means EACH 100 starts slow and finishes fast
  • Split:
  • Negative Split: a race or training swim where the 2nd half of the effort is faster than the 1st.
  • Even Split: a race or training swim that is evenly paced throughout.
  • Circle swimming: swimming in a lane in a standard clockwise direction, up the left side of the lane. Preferred when more than one swimmer is in the lane.
  • On the top:starting a set on the 12 o'clock (or 60-second) mark on a poolside pace clock.
  • On the bottom: starting a set on the 6 o'clock (or 30-second) mark on a pace clock

Types of Training/Sets

  • Aerobic: Technically the means you are training at a pace or an effort that allows you to use carbohydrates,fat, and protein as a source of energy. Oxygen is required. This is usually 60-80% of maximum capacity and is perceived as moderate to moderately hard effort
  • Aerobic Overload: A long hard aerobic swim or set that pushed your aerobic capacity to the limit. An endurance test.
  • Anaerobic: Without oxygen. This type of training is done at an intensity that requires chemical changes to occur in the absence of oxygen. Energy is created in the form of ATP. This is usually above 90% of maximum capacity and is perceived as hard or "all-out" effort. Sprints are purely anaerobic.
  • A.T.: Anaerobic Threshold. The level of output above which the body cannot operate for an extended period of time. The point whereaerobic meets anaerobic. A.T. is can be determined with a timed 1500.
  • Threshold: the maximum time you can hold, or repeat, for a given distance during a highly aerobic set.
  • Hypoxic training: any type of set where a breathing pattern is the focal point of the drill.
  • Kick: training that focuses on the legs. Can be done with equipment (fins and board) or without, or even vertically in deep water
  • Pull: training that focuses on the arm phases of the stroke, can be with equipment or without

Stroke Phrases

  • Bilateral breathing: Most common in freestyle. Breathing to the left side then swimming three strokes and breathing to the right side, then swimming three strokes and breathing the to left side, and so on.
  • Tumble turn: Used in freestyle swimming, similar to a somersault under the water upon reaching the pool wall. Is faster than ‘touch and go’ once technique is mastered.
  • Open Turn:
  • Break out:The transition from the push off or dive into the full swimming pattern.
  • Catch phase:The beginning part of the stroke where the arms and hands "catch" the water and start to propel the body
  • Slipping: When the swimmer doesn’t catch the water. Will appear to be moving their hands very fast without much swimming speed. Coaches will say the swimmer is slipping instead of grabbing the water for a good catch.
  • Recovery: When the arms are NOT propelling the swimmer forwards, usually when the hands are out of the water.
  • Propulsion: during the pull, when the swimmer is in the act of pushing the water behind them, this is the propulsion phase
  • Streamline: the most important part of every race. Off each wall the streamline position (hand over hand, squeezing the back of the head, ankles together toes pointed, core engaged) is the most efficient position (almost twice as efficient as normal swimming!)

School v Club

  • School is age you are turning that year. Club you are the age you are at that meet
  • Competitions: Schools pull from their own population, and use the placement advancing method (i.e. top 4 advance from School Champs to an Interschool Meet) while Club (Swimming NSW) based meets usually have time standards
  • Competition: Clubs aiming for time standards generally higher. Generally, but not always, those advancing in the school systems swim for a club

Other

  • Sammy Save Up: Any swimmer who "loafs" a series of repeats in an effort to be a hero on the last one. Also Sally.
  • LIFO: Last in First Out, instead of a time cycle, the first swimmer in each lane begins the next effort when the last person completes the previous one
  • LOFO: Last one, fast one
  • EBEF: Easy, Build, Easy, Fast
  • Serpent/Snake: Up one lane, down the next, until the swimmer has swam in all lanes of the pool
  • Supersuits v Textiles: The banned suits (as of 2009) gave swimmers lots of buoyancy and as a result almost every world record was broken. Now suits are made of textiles (normal swimwear fabric). Often will hear the phrase “textile best” when comparing to the world record or to the athletes best time done in the supersuits.
  • WR/CR/OR: World Record/Country or Commonwealth Record/Olympic Record.

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