stingray talk

Stingray Talk

swimmers...

take your mark

go

we seem to have our own language . . . and we start teaching it early!

THE STINGRAY LINGO

Like any family, the Stingrays have their own way of communicating.

A "DQ" at the pool doesn't mean a chocolate-coated soft serve, but your swimmers may try to convince you otherwise!

Blocks: The diving platforms located at one or both ends of a pool during a swim meet.

Bullpen: The area of seating where the swimmers report before each event to check in, pick up their entry card, and line up in the correct order for relays.

Deck: The area immediately around the pool. Parents, spectators, and swimmers who are not competing are asked to stay clear of this area to allow officials a clear view of the pool.

Disqualification: “DQ”, a technically incorrect stroke, kick, turn, finish, or false start. If a swimmer is disqualified the time does not count and the team receives no points for the event. Examples of a DQ would be having your toes curled around the gutter on a Backstroke start or missing the wall on the Freestyle turn.

False Start: A swimmer leaving the blocks before the sound of the starter or before a swimmer touches the wall on relay exchanges. A false start in a relay exchange is a reason for disqualification.

Event: The race in which a swimmer participates.

Heat: One race within a single event. A race with swimmers seeded at the same level. There may be several heats in an event depending on how many swimmers have entered that event and the number of lanes in the pool. The fastest swimmers are placed in the final heat of the event. Home teams are usually placed in the ODD numbered lanes and visitors are placed in EVEN numbered lanes.

Heat Sheets: A listing of all events in an invitational or at CHAMPS, with all the swimmers entered for an event, their lane assignment, and heat assignment. These may be purchased before the meet.

Invitational: More than four teams participate in a meet, which is hosted and run by a team at their home pool. Swimmers/Parents may choose the swimmers events. Entry fees are due prior to the meet.

Scoring: The times for all swimmers in all heats in a particular event are scored fastest to slowest. The fastest times place first, next fastest second, and so on. Team points are awarded as follows in dual meets:

• • Individual Events: 1st = 5 points; 2nd = 3 points; 3rd = 2 points; 4th = 1 point

  • Relay teams: 1st= 7 points; 2nd= 4 points

Scratch: A coach removes a swimmer prior to the scheduled event. A scratch can happen if a swimmer does not show up at the bullpen for their event.

Seed Time: Swimmer’s placement in an event according to their time, designated as A, B, C, etc. on the event card. The time determines the swimmer’s heat and lane assignment. The fastest times swim the middle lanes, slower times in the outer lanes. Usually the seed time is the swimmer’s best time in that event during the season.

Time: Three timers using stopwatches time the swimmer in each heat. The middle time is the swimmer’s recorded time. If only two timers are used the times are averaged together to get the official time.

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