Osseo Senior High School Boys and Girls Swimming and Diving
Why Swimming?
Like all extracurricular activities, competitive swimming expands upon the growth and development of its participants that begins with families and education. Swimming offers many unique advantages over other sports and clubs that make it an ideal choice for young people. Swimming: • Uses all the body’s major muscle groups, promoting complete development. • Offers the most complete aerobic fitness possible. • Enhances flexibility while building strength. • Helps develop superior coordination skills because of the complexity of the four multidimensional strokes and various techniques. • Is a low impact sport and therefore enjoys a low rate of serious injuries. • Adapts as one ages and can be enjoyed for a lifetime. • Develops swimmers mentally, through strategy, concentrations and discussions of related areas, such as physiology, nutrition, and psychology. • Develops self-discipline, which transfers over to life skills outside the pool. These are just some of the obvious benefits, but the advantages are too numerous to list. Long-time swimmers can attest to the life skills gained by participation, including time management, goal setting, cooperation and independence.
Competitive Strokes
The four competitive strokes are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. In addition, the individual medley consists of one swimmer swimming all four strokes. Events are held in all of the competitive strokes at varying distances depending on the age group of the swimmer. Meets also offer relays. Four swimmers in the same age group swim either all freestyle (free relay) or one stroke each (medley relay) in the order of back, breast, fly and free.
Very Basic Swimming Rules
1. False starts are not allowed. Any movement before the starting signal can result in disqualification (DQ). 2. Freestyle turns and finishes are legal as long as the swimmer touches the wall. 3. Breaststroke and butterfly turns and finishes must be conducted with a two-handed, simultaneous touch. 4. Backstroke turns must be initiated on the final stroke and completed before that stroke ends. Any gliding on the stomach is grounds for a DQ. The finish must be completed on the back with some part of the body above the surface. 5. When swimming breast and fly, both arms and legs must move simultaneously.
What to take to a meet
1. Competition suit, team cap, goggles, team parka/warm-ups. It is a good idea to have a spare cap and goggles. Team caps at swim meets are recommended – not only for coaches to identify swimmers but also for officials to recognize “what team” is in any given lane. 2. Towels. Pack at least two. The meets are long with lots of in and out of the pool. 3. Clothes. Winter meets are chilly. Have warm sweats – preferably with a hood - to wear. 4. Shoes/Sandals. Wear something on your feet to prevent injury and stop slipping on the wet deck. 5. Food. Concession areas are available at most meets, but they often lack healthy food for good performance. Some suggestions: Granola bars, fruit, cereal, bagels, sports drinks, and plenty of water.
Before the meet starts
Swimmers need to be at the site early enough to change, stretch, and find the team area. Once there, swimmers need to prepare to enter the water. Goggles and caps should be located and put on in preparation for the team warm-up. The staff cannot emphasize enough how important warm-up is to the swimmers. Without proper warm-up, the swimmers will not perform as well and, more importantly, risk serious injury to muscles. The coaches will take care of your swimmer. No parents are allowed on deck for any reason. The officials running the meet will escort you from the deck. Teams can be fined if parents are on deck. Only licensed coaches and officials can join the meet volunteers on deck. Any questions parents may have about meet results, officiating, or how the meet runs should be addressed to the coaching staff when they are not busy with the swimmers and should occur off deck.
When the meet starts
The order of events will be listed in a program, free or for sale by the hosting team. The program lists all swimmers and at multi-team invitationals, their “seed time”, or entry time. Swimmers are placed in “Heats”. Heats are groups of swimmers racing together at one time. For example, 30 swimmers in a 6-lane pool would make up 5 heats of 6 swimmers each. Most events are seeded slowest to fastest. During the meet, the coaches will guide the swimmers. They will make sure the swimmers know what, where, and when they are swimming. After each swim, the swimmer should report back to the coach. The coach will then offer constructive feedback of the swimmer’s race performance. This feedback consists of three components: 1. Positive comments or praise. 2. Suggestions for improvements. 3. Further instructions (such as cool down swims). Between races, swimmers should stick close to the team area. They may have time to eat or drink or visit with parents, but should check with a coach to be sure. Anytime the swimmers leave the pool deck they should tell a coach. Results from events are posted somewhere in the facility, usually between the pool and the concession area. These results list official times and places for each swimmer. When applicable, awards are usually given to the coaches at the conclusion of the meet. (Awards are usually awarded through sixth or eighth place, depending on the number of lanes in the pool.)
If your athlete has a poor race and feels bad, talk about the positives. There is always something good to say about a race! There is nothing wrong with the swimmer acknowledging a poor race; they should know when they did not perform well. Many times, swimmers learn much more from a poor race than a quality one. That’s part of swimming and part of learning life-skills. Be positive, though, and let the coach handle the negative aspects. The parent’s role is to be supportive, no matter what. If your swimmer is disqualified, do not criticize. Be supportive. For beginning swimmers, a disqualification (DQ) should be a learning experience, not a punishment. A DQ alerts the swimmer and coach to what aspect of a stroke needs work. A DQ is much like an incorrect answer in school; it points out what the swimmer must improve on or may not understand. Disqualifications are needed to keep the sport fair and equitable. Proper treatment of DQ’s by parents, swimmers, coaches, and officials will keep a DQ’ed swimmer’s experience positive.
One of our team goals is to qualify as many swimmers as possible for the State Championship meet. The Championship meets are a special experience and extremely important in the athletes’ development. Swimmers quickly learn that they typically swim faster at Championship meets. The adrenaline pumps faster, and the excitement is more intense. The privilege of swimming at these meets is earned through dedicated, hard work. There is a big difference between “wanting” to go, and “deserving” to go. To make the most of a State meet, swimmers must be properly prepared. 1. Swimmers need a minimum of 14 weeks of solid training before the meet. This is a minimum requirement, provided the swimmer attends practices regularly. 2. Swimmers must attend meets to have the race experience necessary to excel. Racing is different than training, and races must be practiced under race conditions. There is no substitute for experience. Making a qualifying time is merely earning the right to participate. While participating is the first step, the goal is to be prepared to swim as fast as possible at the highest level possible. The coaching staff rewards swimmers who make the commitment to preparation by selecting them for relay spots. This means that the four fastest swimmers are not always the ones who swim at State on relays, if there are more athletes who qualify and have been more committed, etc. Coaches will inform swimmers of the criteria needed to make a relay team.
The mission of our program is to use the sports of swimming and diving as a vehicle to teach the following values to all our members: fairness, honesty, human dignity, service to community, excellence, potential, and growth. Along with teaching these values, the staff will emphasize the importance of hard work, time management, dedication, team building, and individual improvement to maximize the potential of each member. All levels of instruction, competition, and recreation will be aimed at promoting a safety-conscious attitude. It is important that we take a leadership role in safety in the pool, on the building grounds, at meets, and everywhere we are present. Swimming and diving programs should provide quality educational experiences in an aquatic environment. Recognizing the wide range of interests, needs, and abilities represented in the student population, the goals of these programs will accommodate those needs and interests. The goals of the program are to provide a comprehensive swim/dive program from Learn-to-Swim through the Olympic level that also fosters a lifetime love of aquatic activities as a lifetime fitness alternative.
Practice Rules
1. Be on time for water entry! For example, if practice starts at
What are they talking about??? GLOSSARY OF SWIMMING TERMS Block – The starting platform, the area from which a swimmer dives into the pool to begin a race. Bulkhead – A wall constructed to divide a pool into different courses, such as a 50 meter pool into two 25-yard courses.
Cap -- Latex or lycra head covering used during a race or workout to protect a
swimmer's hair from the effects of chlorine; also serves to eliminate
drag from a swimmer's hair. Catch phase -- The beginning part of the stroke where the arms and hands start to propel the body.
Circle Swimming – Performed by staying to the right of the black line when swimming in a lane to enable maximum use of pool space. Coach – a person who trains and teaches athletes in the sport of swimming. Code of Conduct – An agreement signed by a swimmer prior to travel or participation stating that the swimmer will abide by certain behavioral guidelines.
Command --
On the long whistle from the referee, swimmers step onto the starting
platform or, in the case of the backstroke and medley relay races,
enter the water. On the starter's command -- "Take your mark" --
swimmers immediately take a starting position, with at least one foot
at the front of the starting platform. When all swimmers are
stationary, the starter gives the starting signal.
Cut – Slang term for qualifying time. A time standard necessary to attend a particular meet or event. Distance – Term used to refer to events 400 meters/500 yards or more.
Dolphin kick -- Used in the
butterfly, and during underwater portions of freestyle and backstroke
races, where the thrust of the kick comes from the hips, and the feet
and legs are held together.
DQ or Disqualification – Occurs when an official observes a rule violation by the swimmer. A disqualified swimmer can not receive awards or use the result as an official time.
Drag suit -- A second,
loose-fitting suit worn in workouts and warm-ups to add weight and
resistance. The concept is similar to a baseball player swinging two or
three bats in the on-deck circle
Drill – An exercise involving isolation of a portion or part of a stroke, used to improve technique. Dry Land Training – Training done out of the water. Aids and enhances swimming performance. Usually includes stretching, weight training, and/or calisthenics.
Exchange -- Occurs
during relays when one swimmer touches the wall and the next swimmer
dives in. Relay exchanges are often where false starts occur, as
swimmers on the blocks looking for an edge accidentally dive in before
the previous swimmer actually touches the wall, and the team is disqualified if a swimmer leaves before
that.
False Start – Occurs when a swimmer is moving at the starting signal. A false start will result in disqualification (DQ). Occurs when a swimmer either
leaves the starting block or is moving on the block before the starter
officially starts the race. Since 1998, there has been no warning false
start. Any swimmer starting before the starting signal will be
disqualified. If the starting signal sounds before the disqualification
is declared, the race will continue and the swimmer(s) will be
disqualified upon completion of the race.
FINA -- The
Federation Internationale de Natation is the world governing body for
aquatic sports including swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized
swimming. FINA sets qualifying standards and the rules for aquatic
sports at the Olympic Games.
Final – The championship heat of an event in which the top swimmers from the preliminaries compete. The last race of an event; typically, a final
comprises the eight fastest swimmers from the preceding, semifinal
races. Finish – The final phase of the race: the touch at the end of the race. Flags – Pennants strung across the pool 5 yards or meters from the end of the pool. They enable backstrokers to execute a turn more efficiently by counting their strokes from the flags to the wall.
Flat start -- Refers the start of a
race, where the swimmer stands still on the blocks and waits for the
starter's signal, as opposed to a relay start via an exchange. A flat
start is considerably slower than a relay start. Flip turn --
Used in freestyle and backstroke races, where swimmers flip over before
reaching the wall and push off with their feet, never touching the wall
with their hands.
Goal – A specific time achievement a swimmer sets and strives for. Can be short or long-term.
Goggles --
Eyewear worn in the pool to protect swimmers' eyes from the effects of
chlorine. In the past, swimmers used saliva or wiped a cigarette on the
inside of their goggles to prevent them from fogging up mid-race.
Today's goggles are fogless, fit better and even come with polarized
lenses to cut down on outdoor glare; this innovation is particularly
helpful to backstrokers, who used to go "sun blind" swimming outdoors. Gravity wave --
Wave action caused by the bodies moving through the water. Gravity
waves move down and forward from the swimmer, bounce off the bottom of
the pool and return to the surface in the form of turbulence.
Gutter – The area along the edge of the pool in which water overflows during a race and recirculates through the filtration system. Deep gutters catch
surface waves and don't allow them to wash back into the pool and
affect the race. I.M. – Short for individual medley, an event in which one swimmer swims equal distances of each stroke in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.
Lane lines --
The dividers used to create lanes. These are made of individual finned
discs that are strung on a cable and rotate when hit by a wave. The
rotating discs dissipate surface-tension waves in a competitive pool.
Lap Counter – A set of plastic display numbers used to keep track of laps during a race 500 yards or longer. Also, the person who stands at the opposite end from the start and counts for the swimmer. Long Course – A term used to describe a pool in which one length measures 50 meters. USA Swimming conducts most summer swimming in long course. The Olympic Games are conducted at long-course venues. Meet – Competition designed to be a learning experience. By implementing what has been learned in practice, swimmers test themselves against the clock to mark improvement. Middle Distance – Term used to refer to events of 200 yards/meters to 500 yards/400 meters in length. Negative Split– A race strategy in which a competitor swims the second half faster than the first half. Official – A judge on the deck of the pool at a sanctioned competition who enforces USA Swimming or MSHSL rules. There are stroke and turn judges, administrative officials, starters, timers, and referees. Pace Clock – Large clock with a large second hand and a smaller minute hand, used to check pace or maintain intervals in practice. May also be digital. Preliminaries (Prelims) – Short for preliminaries, which describes the round of races in which
competitors try to qualify for the semifinals (or finals, in events
without semifinals). Also called heats.
Pullout or pulldown --
The beginning of a breaststroke start or turn, where a swimmer is
allowed one long pull and one kick with dolphin motion underwater
before coming to the surface. Raccoon eyes -- Circular marks left in one's face by goggles Reaction time --
The time it takes for a swimmer to leave the blocks after the starter
gives the signal. Modern timing systems are equipped with sensors that
mark the time elapsed, which is generally less than one second. In
relays, reaction time for the second, third and fourth legs is measured
from when the swimmer in the water touches to when the next swimmer
leaves the blocks Recovery phase -- The conclusion of the stroke where the hand and arms finish pulling and set up to start the next stroke cycle.
Relay – An event in which four swimmers compete together as a team to achieve one time.
Relay start -- Refers
to the second, third and fourth swimmers in a relay, where they dive in
when the previous swimmer touches the wall. Relay starts are faster
than flat starts, because swimmers are able to anticipate when they can
dive in, and they are allowed to leave the blocks up to .03 of a second
before the previous swimmer touches. Roll --
To move on the starting blocks prior to the starting signal. A roll
usually is caught by the starter and called a false start, but swimmers
often will try to guess the starter's cadence and get a good start.
Similar to illegal procedure in football.
Scratch – To withdraw from an event in a competition.
Shaving --
To cut down on resistance and provide a feeling of slipperiness in
water, a swimmer shaves his/her entire body before big meets. The
physical effects are minor, but the mental factor often is enormous.
Short Course – A term used to describe a pool in which one length measures 25 meters
(or 25 yards). Most college pools are short-course, and most events
during the winter are held at short-course venues. USA Swimming conducts most of its winter competition, and high school conducts all of its competition in short course. The Olympics are
held in long-course (50m) pools. Split – A swimmer’s intermediate time within a race. Splits are registered every 50 yards or meters and are used to determine if a swimmer is on pace. Splits can be used to show which segment of a race a swimmer covered in
noteworthy time, to indicate rank order after each 50m increment, and
to convey whether a swimmer is on record pace. Under certain conditions, splits may be used as official times. In a relay, the time for one of the four individuals.
Sprint -- Refers to short intense swims of usually not more than 100 meters or 100 yds.
Streamline – The position used to gain maximum distance during a start and/or push-off from the wall in which the swimmer’s body is as tight as it can be. Taper – The final preparation phase of a season. Prior to major competition, an older, more experienced swimmer will ease yardage and allow the body to recover. Often during taper, swimmers will shave his/her entire body to reduce resistance, aid in the dissipation of lactic acid, and heighten sensation in the water. A perfectly
designed taper will enable the swimmer to compete at the peak of
his/her ability. Time Trial – A time-only swim which is not part of a regular meet event.
Touch -- The finish of the race.
Touch Pad – A large sensitive board at the end of each lane in the pool where a swimmer’s touch is registered and electronically sent to the timing system, which sends the time to the scoreboard.
Track start -- Position on the starting blocks where the swimmer places one foot at the front of the block and one foot farther back. Turnover -- The number of times a swimmer's arms turn over (cycle) in a given distance or time during a race.
USA Swimming – USA Swimming, Inc. The national governing body for amateur competitive swimming in the United Sates.
Warm-down -- Additional swimming or activity used by a swimmer to rid the body of excess lactic acid generated during a race.
Warm Up – Low intensity swimming used by a swimmer prior to a main practice set or race to get muscles loose and warm and gradually increase heart rate and respiration.
Copyright 2005 Osseo Swimming. All rights reserved.
