Swimming

D

Swim Meets

Swim meets are organized competitions that pit individual swimmers or swimming teams against each other. Most meets feature preliminary races, called heats, that occur before the finals. The top eight swimmers from the preliminaries compete in the finals of each event. In the finals, the fastest swimmers are assigned to the middle lanes. These lanes are considered most desirable because the swimmers in them are most aware of the positions of their competitors. Swimmers in the middle lanes also encounter the least wave action from the water as it travels from the swimmers and bounces off the sides of the pool.

During competition, swimmers must obey the starter’s commands. When the starter announces “Take your marks,” all the swimmers must assume the starting position by crouching on the blocks. The starter’s horn (or pistol) then sounds, indicating the start of the race, and the swimmers dive into the water. In most meets, any swimmer who makes a false start by leaving the starting block before the horn sounds is disqualified. In Olympic competition, two false starts are allowed for the competitors as a whole. After these two, any competitor who makes a false start is disqualified.

Swimmers are also disqualified for swimming the wrong stroke or for swimming the stroke incorrectly, as judged by officials. Turning incorrectly or failing to surface 15 m after the turn can also lead to disqualification.

E

Officials

Meet officials ensure that the swimmers compete fairly and that the meet is conducted in a safe manner. The number of such officials varies, depending on the level of competition and the number of participants. Generally, meet officials include a starter, a referee, stroke judges, and turn judges. At high-level competitions other officials are responsible for bringing the competitors to the starting blocks and for making swimmers available for drug tests and press interviews after the race.

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F

Events

Events take place in the freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and individual medley. In the individual medley event, the swimmer completes an equal distance of each of the four strokes in this order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.

At major national and international competitions, the freestyle events are swum at six different lengths. They are 50-meter, 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1,500-meter races. Swimmers race the backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly at two lengths, 100 meters and 200 meters. Individual medley events are 200 meters and 400 meters in length.

Meets also involve relay events, in which four swimmers compete as a team, taking turns swimming equal distances. The team with the fastest combined time wins. The relay events are the 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay, the 4 × 100-meter medley relay, and the 4 × 200-meter medley relay. In the medley relays, the first member of the team swims the backstroke, the second swims the breaststroke, the third swims the butterfly, and the fourth swims the freestyle. At some meets, swimmers not only compete on an individual level but also win points for their teams. The team that scores the most points wins the meet.

G

Amateur Competition

Swimming has many levels of competition. In the United States six official age groups are recognized: 10 and under, 11 to 12, 13 to 14, 15 to 16, 17 to 18, and 19 and over. Each age group has predetermined time standards that ensure that swimmers almost always are competing against others of the same skill level. Other countries have similar age-group systems.

State interscholastic organizations govern high school swimming. The National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA) oversees all national rules for high school competition within the United States.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) governs swimming at the collegiate level. College teams swim against one another at dual meets (involving two teams) or invitationals (involving several teams). Individual swimmers who meet qualifying standards in an event advance to the NCAA championships, which are held each March. The championships determine the national individual champion of each event as well as the team champion. Smaller colleges and universities compete in national meets governed by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) or the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

In many countries, adult swimmers who are no longer eligible for collegiate events compete at the Masters Swim level, which organizes events in five-year age groups such as 35 to 39, 40 to 44, and so on. Thousands of Masters Swim meets are held across the United States each year, including one short course (25-m) and one long course (50-m) national championship. Every two years the Masters world championship occurs, featuring more than 1,500 of the world’s best adult swimmers. Representing more than 50 countries, the competitors range in age from 25 to 90.

H

International Competition

The highest level of swimming competition occurs at the Summer Olympic Games, held every four years and governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA; French for “International Federation of Amateur Swimming”) governs almost all other international competitions. The two most important meets are the long-course (50-m) world championships and the short-course (25-m) world championships, which are held in alternate years. Each winter, FINA also sponsors a World Cup circuit held in 25-m pools.

Many regional meets are held every two or four years. These include the Pan-Pacific Championships for nations in Asia and the Pacific Ocean region, the European championships, the Pan American Games for the countries of North and South America, and the African championships.

To participate in international meets, a swimmer must be selected by his or her national federation. Many countries base the selection on performances at national championships or Olympic trials. In addition, swimmers must meet international time standards predetermined by FINA. However, each country is allowed to select one swimmer per event regardless of the swimmer’s times.

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