What to Watch in a Swim Meet

A guide to all of the strokes, the pool, strategies and more (reprinted from USA-Swimming)

The Racing Course
The length of a short course racing pool is 25 yards.  The length of a long course racing pool is 50 meters. World records may only be set in 50-meter (long course) or 25-meter pools.

Freestyle
In the freestyle, the competitor may swim any stroke he or she wishes. The usual stroke used is the Front Crawl. This stroke is characterized by the alternate overhand motion of the arms and a flutter kick which can be either a six-beat-per stroke or two-beat-per-stroke cycle rhythm. The slower two-beat kick is used in the distance races, while the faster, six-beat kick is used in the sprint events and at the very end of the distance races. In all U.S. Swimming and FINA competition, each swimmer's head must surface within 15 meters of the start of the race. This rule was passed at the 1998 FINA Congress in Perth, Australia..

Backstroke
In the backstroke the swimmer must stay on his or her back, except during the turns. The stroke is an alternating motion of the arms -- much like the crawl stroke -- with a flutter kick. Since April of 1991, a swimmer is no longer required to touch the wall with his or her hand before executing the turn maneuver. The key to proper interpretation of the backstroke rule is the phrase "continuous turning action", i.e., a uniform, unbroken motion with no pauses. In a more technical interpretation, after the shoulder rotates beyond the vertical toward the breast, a continuous simultaneous double arm pull may be used to initiate the turn. There shall be no kick, arm pull, or floatation that is independent of the turn. The position of the head is not relevant. In all U.S. Swimming and FINA competition, each swimmer's head must surface within 15 meters of the start of the race.

Breaststroke
Perhaps one of the most difficult strokes to master, the breaststroke requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. The hands are pushed forward from the breast on or under the surface of the water and brought backward in the propulsive stage of the stroke simultaneously. The kick is a simultaneous thrust of the legs called a "frog" or breaststroke kick. No flutter is allowed. Swimmers must touch the wall with both hands at the same time before executing their turn.

Butterfly
The most physically demanding stroke, the butterfly features the simultaneous overhead stroke of the arms combined with the dolphin kick. The dolphin kick features both legs moving up and down together. No flutter kicking is allowed. As in the breaststroke, swimmers must touch the wall with both hands before turning. The butterfly was "born" in the early 1950's as a loophole in the breaststroke rules and in 1956 became an Olympic event in Melbourne, Australia. In all U.S. Swimming and FINA competition, each swimmer's head must surface within 15 meters of the start of the race. This rule was passed at the 1998 FINA Congress in Perth, Australia.

Individual Medley
The individual medley, commonly referred to as the "I.M.," features all four competitive strokes. In the I.M. a swimmer begins with the butterfly, changes to the backstroke after one-fourth of the race, then the breaststroke for another quarter and finally finishes with the freestyle.

Medley Relay
In the medley relay, all four strokes are swum by four different swimmers. No swimmer may swim more than one leg of the relay, which is swum in backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle order.

Freestyle Relay
In the freestyle relays, four swimmers each swim one fourth of the total distance. As in the medley relay, no individual may swim more than one leg of the relay.

Starts and Turns
Many races are lost in poor starts and turns. In the start, the swimmer is called to starting position by the starter who visually checks that all swimmers are in the down positions and still. Then, once the starter is satisfied, the race is started by either a gun or electronic tone. If the starter feels that one of the swimmers has jumped early, the race will be recalled and the offending swimmer disqualified. Quick turns are essential to a good race. In all events the swimmer must touch the wall, but in the freestyle and the backstroke, the swimmer may somersault as he or she reaches the wall, touching only with the feet. In the other two competitive strokes, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands before executing the turn.

Strategies
The sprint races are an all-out scramble from start to finish. The slightest mistake can cost precious hundredths of seconds -- and the race. The 200-meter events require the swimmer to have a sense of pace as well as the ability to swim a controlled sprint. This distance is considered by many swimmers to be the most difficult to master. The 400, 800 and 1500-meter freestyles require the swimmer to constantly be aware of where they are in the water and the fatigue of their muscles. Swimming the first portion of the race too fast can sap a swimmer's strength and cause a poor finish. Swimming the first portion of the race too slowly can separate the swimmer from the pack and make catching up impossible. Swimmers may elect to swim the race evenly (holding the same pace throughout the race) or they may "negative split" the race. A negative split occurs when the swimmer covers the second half of a race faster than the first half. In the late 1970s and early `80s "negative splitting" was considered the way to win a distance race. World records have been set by Janet Evans and Jorg Hoffman using "even pace" strategies as well.