A few facts about high school swim meets:
Basic Rules for Relays:In relay races, competitors must have contact with the starting platform when the preceding swimmer finishes his part of the race. If any swimmer leaves before the previous swimmer touches, the relay is disqualified and scores no points. In the 200 Medley Relay, four swimmers each swim two pool lengths with splits of backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle, in that order. Basic Rules for Each Stroke:Freestyle - Swimmers in these events are allowed to swim any stroke, although nearly everyone will swim the crawl stroke the entire distance. The crawl is easily recognized by the "overhand" stroke. Because of their shorter distance, turning to breathe often becomes a factor in the sprint events (50 to 75 yards), and the swimmers will seldom slow down to catch a breath. However, oxygen balance is more important in the longer events, and distance free stylers usually breathe every cycle. 200 Yard Individual Medley - This race challenges the versatility of a swimmer by requiring them to swim 50 yards of butterfly, back, breast, and freestyle, in that order. Butterfly - This stroke is the most energy-consuming of the four strokes. Both arms must be brought forward over the surface of the water and thrust backward simultaneously. The leg kick must be a downward thrust with the legs and feet together. The use of a scissor or breaststroke kicking movement is not permitted. Backstroke - During this stroke, the swimmer must swim on his back until he approaches the wall for a turn. Once the swimmer pushes off of the wall, he must return to his back. The pennants hanging across the pool are designed to warn the backstroker of an approaching turn. Breaststroke - This stroke is the most difficult for swimmers to learn. This stroke must be swam with at least some part of the head above the surface of the water, except on starts and turns where the swimmer is allowed one kick and one pull of the arms underwater. All movements of the arms must be simultaneous and in the same horizontal plane without alternating moving. The hands be pushed forward together from the breast and brought back simultaneously and symmetrically. The swimmer's breast and both shoulders must be held in line with the surface of the water. The leg kick must be squeezing action with no downward thrust of the legs. All vertical and lateral movements of the legs must be done together. The feet must turn outwards in the backward movement. |
Turns - Turning is often the difference between winning and losing the race, so watch the turns carefully! Generally, the swimmers must touch the end of the pool when turning. In freestyle events, some portion of the swimmer's body must contact the end wall. Free stylers usually do a somersault in the water and push off the wall with their feet. Backstrokers can touch with their hands and then do a backward somersault off the wall, or may flip to their stomachs before doing a freestyle flip turn. In breaststroke and butterfly events, the swimmers must touch the wall with both hands before executing the turn. The two-hand touch at the turn and the finish must be simultaneous. Starts - Every race begins with a starting signal given by the starter. This is usually a gun shot or a horn signal. All freestyle, breast stroke, and butterfly races begin with the swimmers standing on the starting block and then diving into the pool. The backstroke events begin with the swimmers in the water hanging onto the bottom of the starting platform, Upon the command "Take you mark!," each swimmer will assume his desired starting position. When all swimmers are motionless, the starter fires the starting signal. The starter's job is to see that every competitor gets an equal start. Any swimmer who leaves before the starting signal is charged with a false start. If a swimmer commits a false start, that swimmer is disqualified from the race. A swimmer may also be charged with a false start for not being steady and motionless before the starting signal or for being late to respond to the "Take your mark!" command. A second firing of the starting signal alerts the swimmers to stop the race following a false start, After the referee blows the whistle for a start, all competitors and fans must remain quiet. Enjoying and Understanding Diving:As is the case with any form of athletic competition, some basic knowledge on the fundamentals of the sport will increase one's pleasure while viewing the activity. This is especially true with diving. The job of the diver is to keep his feet and legs pressed together while spinning and twisting at around 50 miles per hour. While he is accomplishing this feat, he is also being judged on his initiation into the dive as well as any deviation he makes from the accepted form and position. Along with flawless execution, he/she is expected to stand straight, walk forcefully, and dive with determination. Since his entry into the water is the last judges see of our contestant. It too must be beyond reproach with little or no splash. About this time, a whistle is blown by the Diving referee and all judges simultaneously communicate their judgment of the dive to the Scoring Table via their score cards. Each judge may award zero to ten points. The judges' scores are added together and then multiplied by the "degree of difficulty" of the dive. The degree of difficulty is a number assigned to each dive. A low number is associated with an easy dive and a high number is assigned to more difficult dive. When the degree of difficulty is multiplied by the judges' scores, the total score results. If there are five judges, the top and low scores are not counted. Only three scores count per dive. A diver must perform six dives with a required dive for all the divers, and progressing to five more dives of his choice. There are five categories of dive Front, Back, Reverse, Inward, and Twisting which can be performed in one of four positions: Tuck, Pike, Straight, and Free. |
