IV.

Competitive Swimming

Competitive swimming is one of the most popular participant sports in the world. In the United States alone, more than 250,000 individuals belong to the sport’s governing organization, USA Swimming. Many leagues exist for competitive swimmers, including ones sponsored by summer programs, cities, Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) chapters, Jewish Community Center (JCC) chapters, high schools, colleges, and Masters Swim programs.

A.

Pools

Pools for competition come in two basic sizes. Short-course pools measure 25 yd (22.8 m) or 25 m (27.3 yd) in length. (The United States is the only country that conducts competition in 25-yd pools.) Long-course pools measure 50 m (54.6 yd) in length. Most major swimming events take place in 50-m pools.

Most pools for high-level competition have eight lanes—one for each swimmer. (Many public pools or pools at recreational facilities have only six lanes.) The lanes extend the full length of the pool and range up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide. Floating plastic lane markers separate the lanes, reduce turbulence, and help each competitor swim in a straight line. Each lane also has a line painted on the bottom. This line serves as a visual reference for the competitor when swimming with the head down. At 5 m (5.5 yd) before each wall, the line becomes a T, signaling the swimmers how far they are from the wall, so that they can prepare their turns or their finish. Also at 5 m, a line of flags is strung across the width of the pool, providing the same information to backstrokers.

Pools used for competition also have lines at the sides of the pool at the 15-m (16.4-yd) mark. Used by judges during competition, these lines indicate the farthest distance a swimmer is allowed to swim under water after the start and when making a turn.

Crawl, breaststroke, and butterfly competitors begin racing by diving from starting blocks that are 75 cm (30 in) above the surface of the water. Backstroke swimmers start in the water by holding on to the side of the pool in a crouched position, and then lunging backward away from the wall.

At most high-level competitions, electronic timing devices record how long each competitor takes to complete the course. The device starts timing when the starter’s horn goes off. Each lane has an electronic touch pad on the wall that the swimmer pushes when completing the race. The pad stops the timing device and records the swimmer’s time in a computer. The score is then transferred to a scoreboard that the swimmers, fans, and judges can see. Each lane also has a timekeeper with a handheld stopwatch, in case the electronic timing device fails. All timing is done to the hundredth of a second, and many races are decided by small margins.

B.

Equipment

In competition, swimmers wear a swimsuit, a swim cap, and goggles. Swimsuits are made of a material such as Lycra or Spandex that clings tightly to the swimmer but also permits a free range of motion. A swim cap worn over the hair and ears also helps to reduce the resistance a swimmer encounters when moving through the water. Swim goggles allow swimmers to see better under water. They also protect swimmers’ eyes from irritation caused by chlorine and other chemicals in the pool water, and from salt or pollution in natural bodies of water.

In a sport where races are decided by hundredths of a second, every advantage is important. For major meets, most swimmers shave the body hair off of their arms, legs, and any other surface area that is in contact with the water. This reduces resistance and can lower a swimmer’s time by as much as 1 or 2 percent—a significant difference.

C.

Training

Most swimmers at the highest levels of competition train for four to five hours a day and five to seven days a week. They typically swim about 10,000 to 20,000 m (6 to 12 mi) per day and supplement their workouts with flexibility exercises, weight training, and other routines.

As major competitions near, swimmers spend hours honing their starts and turns, trying to execute them as quickly as possible. They also spend time working on technique so they maintain as streamlined a position as possible.

Most swimmers train by doing groups of distances, called sets, following strict instructions. For example, a coach may instruct a team to swim “6 x 400 meters on 5:00, descending 1-3 and 4-6.” This means that a swimmer will do six 400-meter swims, one starting every five minutes. If the swimmer completes the first 400-meter segment before five minutes, he or she can rest until the five minutes have elapsed. But the second 400-meter segment must be swum at a faster pace than the first, and the third segment faster than the second. The swimmer then starts over, easing up on the fourth swim, but picking up the pace again for the fifth and sixth segments. Many training regimens exist; all are designed to build strength and endurance.

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.

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.