Swimmers Information

Top tips for Warm up & Cool Down.
The short warm up
Sometimes when you go to a meet you only get a few minutes to warm up. If there are six different teams all wanting to warm up in just six lanes it can get a bit crazy! Sometimes the organisers will separate out the boys and the girls or give different time slots to different age groups so you can end up with as little as ten minutes to get warmed up. It’s nowhere near enough but if it’s all you can get then you need to make the most of it.
Make sure you keep moving for the whole time that you have allocated to you. Try not to get into a habit of stopping during each length to practice turns because it’s much more important to get your muscles warmed up than practice turns. If you’ve worked your turns hard enough in training you should be ready to race and if you keep moving in the warm up you’ll get to do more turns than you would if you keep stopping and starting.
In addition to your short time in the pool you should get yourself warmed up by stretching and generally moving around. Some people take a skipping rope to the pool and others will go for a brisk walk or gentle run outside before they get into the water. Stretching after you swim is actually more effective that stretching before you swim.

The championship warm up
If you go to a big event you might get up to an hour in the water to warm up. Work out what is the best distance for you to do in the warm up to feel ready to race. For many top swimmers this is around 1200 to 2000meters. Don’t wear yourself out, but a combination of gentle swimming, drills, harder efforts and sprints tends to work for most people. You really need to develop two types of warm up that become your routine, one for league and local meets and the other for championship events.

 

DQs at the start
Moving at the start, swimmers must
remain absolutely still on the block or
in the water, until the starting signal
has sounded.
 

Freestyle
Swimmers must touch the wall at every turn and at the finish of the race.

Backstroke
• Non continuous turning action, gliding into a turn is not permitted. 
A continuous single or continuous simultaneous double arm pull may be
used to initiate the turn.
• Swimmers must have returned to their backs upon leaving the wall.
• Swimmers must finish on their back.

Swimmers must practice counting how many arm strokes to do from the flags into the turn.

Breaststroke
• Incorrect start or incorrect turn. 
After the start and after each turn,
the swimmer may take one arm stroke completely back to their legs.  Their head must break the surface of the water
before their hands turn inwards at the widest part of their second stroke.
A single downward dolphin kick is permitted followed by one breaststroke
leg kick while totally underwater.
• All arm and leg movements must
be simultaneous and on the same
horizontal plane.
• The hands shall not be brought back to the hips other than at the start and turns.
• 2 handed touch, swimmers must touch the wall at the turn and the finish with both hands simultaneously.
• Feet not dorsiflexed. The feet must be turned outwards during the propulsive phase of the kick. 
• Incorrect kick.  No alternating, scissor
or butterfly kicking is permitted.
Taking two strokes under water at the
start or on the turns.

Butterfly
• Arms not clearing. There should be air between the arms and the water surface throughout the race.
• Arms must be brought forward together and brought back simultaneously.
• Alternating legs. Legs must move together and remain in the same relative horizontal plane.
• Incorrect touch. Swimmers must touch the wall at the turn and the finish with both hands simultaneously.

Individual Medley -
• Order of swimming - butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle.
• Make sure you use the correct finish
for each stroke ie,
fly – 2 handed touch, backstroke – on the back, breaststroke – 2 handed touch.

For more information on stroke techniques, starts
and turns click links

 

These are competitions where Club swimmers enter individually using their previously achieved personal best time for each stroke and distance.  The types of open vary according to the capability of the swimmers.  The ASA have a licensing system of 4 categories which have been designed to broaden the range of competition available to swimmers. 
 

Briefly the four categories are described as follows:

License 1

These are the highest grade of Open designed for swimmers of national standard and above.  There has to be a ‘lower qualifying times’ (no slower than) but there is ‘no upper qualifying times (no faster than).  Times achieved at these galas can be used for qualification to national, regional and county competitions.

License 2

These galas have both lower qualifying times and upper qualifying times although this is usually much faster than a national qualifying time and therefore not normally are restriction to entry.  The ‘lower qualifying times’ however can vary considerably from open to open.  Times achieved at these competitions can be used for qualification to national, regional and county competitions.

License 3

License 3 opens have upper qualifying times but not necessarily a lower qualifying time.  The cut-off can be anything up to a National Standard.  Times achieved at these opens can be used for qualification to county competitions.

License 4

These are intended for club swimmers and those beginning to enter individual open competitions. These opens must have an advertised upper qualifying time. Electronic timing is not compulsory, although preferred. Times achieved at these meets may be used for entry into meets at levels two and three and into county championships.