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Isport - Glossary of swimming Category: Sport and Leisure > Swimming Date & country: 02/12/2013, USA Words: 370

T-30
A test set used to determine a swimmer's threshold pace. After a complete warm-up, the swimmer swims their fastest sustainable pace for thirty minutes.

Q-time
See qualifying time.

S-pull pattern
A term for the shape of the hand's movement during the freestyle pull.

J.O.s
Abbreviation for Junior Olympics. See Junior Olympics.

B
USA Swimming classification for Age Group Swimmers. Time standards for this classification are .01 seconds faster than the C time standard, and .01 seconds slower than the BB time standard. See USA Swimming's National Age Group Time Standards chart for current standards in specific events. See also: NAGTS.

B/C Meet
Meet for swimmers who have achieved a B time in the events they wish to race, and for swimmers who race at the C level. B and C swimmers compete in separate categories. Swimmers are not allowed to compete in an event where they have already achieved an A time.

A Meet
Meet that requires swimmers to have achieved an A time in the event(s) they wish to race.

A/B Meet
Meet that requires swimmers to have achieved an A or B time in the event(s) they wish to race. A swimmers and B swimmers race in separate categories.

A/B/C Meet
Meet that has three categories of racing: swimmers who have achieved A times, swimmers who have achieved B times and C swimmers, who have not yet achieved B times in the event(s) they wish to race.

A
USA Swimming classification for Age Group Swimmers. Time standards for this classification are .01 seconds faster than the BB time standard, and .01 seconds slower than the AA time standard. See USA Swimming's National Age Group Time Standards chart for current standards in specific events. See also: NAGTS.

whip kick
Old term for breastroke kick.

Zone(s)
USA Swimming term used to divide the United States into 4 pieces: Western, Eastern, Southern and Central Zones. Each Zone holds its own championship meet for age group swimmers every August.

Zoomers
A brand of short fins. Used in practice to improve butterfly, backstroke or freestyle kick technique.

warm-down
Easy, recovery swimming done after a workout or after a race.

warm-up
The process of getting ready to race or preparing for a main set at practice. Warm-up is both a physical (or physiological) and mental process.

watches
See stopwatch.

wave-eating lane line
See wake-eating lane line.

VO2 Max
The maximum volume of oxygen a person's body can transport and utilize. VO2 Max is thought of as an athlete's aerobic capacity. Training can improve an athlete's VO2 Max, which is an athletic performance limiter.

visualization
Mental skill used to imagine or mentally rehearse a race.

USMS
Abbreviation for United States Masters Swimming. USMS is the national governing body for competitive swimmers 25 years of age or older, with age groups spanning five year increments up to 100-104.

USOTC
See OTC.

vasa trainer
A piece of dryland equipment that allows swimmers to build upper body strength and mimic their strokes on land.

vertical kicking
Kicking done in a vertical position in deep water.

USA-S ID Number
Identification number for USA Swimming members, which is based on a swimmers' name and birthday.

USA-S
Abbreviation for USA Swimming.

USA Card number
See USA-S ID Number.

USA Swimming
The national governing body of youth swimming in the United States.

Tub position
With the face at the surface, the knees are bent in towards the chest, keeping the shins on the surface and the thighs perpendicular.

tube
Equipment sometimes used with a pull buoy. The tube is wrapped in a figure 8 around a swimmer's ankles to keep the feet from kicking.

turnover
The speed of a swimmer's arm stokes. Turnover can be measured by stroke rate.

turns
See open turn and flip turn.

upside-down breastroke
See elementary backstroke.

tri-meet
A meet with three teams competing against one another.

travel fund
Account used to reimburse certain athletes for their travel expenses to national-level competitions. Most national governing bodies have a travel fund to support and encourage qualified and promising athletes. Qualifications vary.

transfer
To leave one club or team and join another. Most of the time there is a period of time the swimmer must be unattached before he/she can represent the new club at a meet or competition.

trainer
In the United States: an athletic trainer who is usually in charge of dryland and physical therapy activities; in Europe, trainer refers to the coach.

touch
The finish of a race; to touch the wall.

touch pad
A soft, black pad placed in the water across each lane at both the start and turn ends of the pool, the touch pad is part of an electronic timing system. Swimmers stop the clock for their lane when they hit the pad. Swimmers must hit the touch pad with enough force to stop the clock.

Torpedo scull
A type of over-head sculling used to travel feet-first most often when in a back layout or variation of one.

top-end speed
Sprint speed. The fastest a swimmer can go.

timer
Volunteer at a swim meet who stands at the finish end of the pool and is responsible for timing the swimmer in their lane. Each lane must have at least two, but preferably three, timers. Some electronic systems will have buttons for each timer to push, which stops the clock for that lane. Timers also will have stopwatches, which are used to record backup times, in case the electronic timing system fails.

Top 16 Award
USA Swimming's award to the fastest 16 swimmers in the country, given to each gender in every age group for each event. In order to be considered for the award, swimmers must have met the NRT standard.

time standard
A time set by teams or local organizations or national governing bodies that a swimmer must achieve in order to enter a meet or achieve some level of recognition.

time trial
A practice race, often used to evaluate improvement or establish a time to use for meet entry.

timed final
Meet format in which swimmers' times from the heats are their final time in the event. The swimmers with the fastest times are the event winners.

tempo
See turnover.

test set
A practice set designed to test a swimmer's fitness.

threshold
See lactate threshold.

Throw lift
A type of lift where swimmers launch one or more teammates into the air.

time card
The card used to record a swimmer's splits and final time for a race. If time cards are used at a meet, they are given to swimmers prior to their races. This is not common at USA Swimming meets.

team records
Team statistics, which show the fastest times ever swum by team members. Records usually show the swimmer's name, their time in each event, and the year the record was set. Records are usually kept for every age group.

SWIMS
USA Swimming database that tracks every time swum by every swimmer.

Tailgater
A person who swims very close to the swimmer in front of him. A tailgater tends to swim right on the feet of that swimmer.

take your mark
The command from the starter for swimmers in a race to take their start position and remain still until the gun or beep.

taper
The final recovery phase of a training plan before an end-of-season championship meet. During taper, the swimmer reduces the intensity and length of workouts in the weeks or days leading into an important race. This allows the body to fully recover, or repair itself, from the training of the previous weeks and months. Some athletes will taper only once a year. Others will taper two or three times a year.

swim-off
A tie-breaker race. Used at prelims/finals-formatted meets to determine which swimmer gets to race in finals, or if there is a tie for the alternate spots.

Swim America
Professional swimming lesson program, which is licensed to coaches and instructors by the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA).

swim interval
See interval.

swim to the interval
Phrase used at practice to tell swimmers that they should swim at a pace appropriate to the interval given for a set. In other words, swim easy on easy intervals and swim fast on fast intervals.

Surface arch
The body arches underwater and bends at the lower back with the legs together and extended at the surface. Hips, shoulders and head are in line.

stroke shortening
Making the power phase of the stroke shorter than it can/should be by pulling the hand out of the water early or by not reaching far enough on the entry.

submitted time
The time a swimmer gives when they enter a meet. With few exceptions, submitted times must have been recorded in a prior meet.

suit
What a swimmer wears in the pool. Styles and materials vary widely, and are, to an extent, dependent on the level of competition the swimmer is engaged in.

stroke rate
The amount of time it takes for a swimmer to complete one stroke cycle.

stroke judge
See stroke and turn judge.

stroke cycle
One complete cycle of the stroke. In freestyle and backstroke, one stroke cycle is two pulls: one with the left arm and one with the right arm. In butterfly, the stroke cycle begins and ends when the hands enter the water. In breastroke, the stroke cycle begins and ends with the glide.

streamline
The most hydro-dynamic position a swimmer can have in the water. Arms are straight above the head, squeezing the ears; hands are sandwiched one on top of the other; legs and feet are pressed together, with toes pointed.

stretch cords
Think, stretchy, rubber tube with a handle at each end. Used in dryland training to build strength.

stroke and turn judge
Officials who walk along the side of the pool during a race to ensure all swimmers are swimming with legal strokes. If a stroke and turn judge sees a swimmer doing something illegal, they inform the meet referee, who can decide to disqualify the swimmer.

stations
Term used in dryland training to indicate an area where swimmers will do one exercise or a short series of exercises with one piece of equipment. Swimmers take turns rotating through all the stations.

step down
The command swimmers may hear from the starter, asking them to step off the blocks.

still water
Water that has no turbulence or current.

stopwatch
Handheld watch used by timers and coaches to record a swimmer's time in an event. In meets with electronic timing, timers will still use stopwatches to record back-up times, in case the electronic timing system fails.

starting blocks
Platforms at the end of the pool from which swimmers dive at the start of a race. Each lane will have a starting block.

starter
The official in charge of beginning races and ensuring that the start of each race is fair, or without false starts. The starter asks swimmers to step onto the blocks, gives the command for them to take their marks, and signals the start of the race. If there is a false start, the starter will call the swimmers back to the blocks for a fair re-start.

start
The beginning of a race.

STARS
Acronym for USA Swimming's Swimming Tracking and Recognition System.

stand up
The command swimmers may hear from the starter, asking them to stand up out of their start position.

sports medicine
A division of medicine focused on preventing, diagnosing, and treating sports/exercise-related injuries.

sport science
The study of science as it relates to sports and athletic performance. Within the field of sport science, areas of study vary wildly and include physiology, nutrition, biomechanics, and physics.

sport psychology
The study of psychological and mental factors that affect an athlete's behavior and performance in sport.

split
A swimmer's time for a portion of a race.

speed work
To practice swimming at sprint pace, or to practice swimming fast.

specialty
A swimmer's best stroke.

short course meters
See short course pool.

short course pool
A pool that is 25 yards/meters long.

short course yards
See short course pool.

short-term goals
A swimmer's goals for the next day, week or month.

silly stroke
See crazy stroke.

skin suit
Slang for technical suit.

short course
See short course pool.

shave down
To shave the entire body (arms, legs, back, and chest) prior to an important meet in order to reduce drag.

set
A portion of practice. There are many types of sets, such as warm-up, kicking, main, and cool-down. The specific details of a set are limited only by the imaginations of the coaches writing the workouts.

seed times
The times used to assign swimmers to heats and lanes for an event at a meet. These are usually the entry times.

seeding
Swimmers heat and lane assignments for each event in a meet. Seeding is done according to swimmers' entry times.

seeding times
See seed times.

send-off
See interval.

Senior swimming
The most advanced level or practice group on a USA Swimming team.

session
Part of a swimming meet, usually preceded by opening the competition pool to warm-up. Events held in a session vary, depending on the meet format and the meet's sanction.

sectionals
Nickname for USA Swimming's Speedo Championship Series.