Swimming Jargon
KASC is a competitive club and you will become familiar with the following terms:
F.I.N.A. – The world governing body for all swimming disciplines.
British Swimming – is the governing body of all swimming disciplines in Britain.
Scottish Swimming (S.A.S.A.) – Scottish Swimming is the corporate name for the Scottish Amateur Swimming Association and is the governing body of all swimming disciplines in Scotland.
West District – S.A.S.A. is split into four districts, North, East, Midland and West. KASC is in the West District and competes at their district championships.
PB – Personal Best which indicates the swimmers fastest time for a given event.
DQ – Disqualification which means that a swimmer has broken the set FINA rules of competitive swimming.
ALT – Alternate meaning that a swimmer is a reserve for an event. They will only get a swim if a swimmer who has qualified is withdrawn.
SCR – Scratched meaning that a swimmer has been rejected for an event and will not be able to swim. Reasons may be due to being slower/faster than the required time or if the gala has been oversubscribed.
Entry time – the time submitted by the club for a swimmer being entered in a gala. If entries are made well in advance, the entry time may not be the swimmers current PB.
Consideration time – the maximum entry time for a particular event that the organisers of a gala will consider. However, achieving this time does not guarantee acceptance of entry. The number and quality of other entries will determine this.
Qualifying time – the time required to qualify outright for a particular event. This should lead to acceptance of entry but is only used for big national meets.
Accredited meet – a gala where there is a sufficient number of technical officials to ensure that all swims are legal and therefore, accredited.
Accredited time – a time that has been achieved at an accredited meet. These are required for bigger meets, for example the Scottish Championships.
Flyer – a false start or an early take-over in a race.
Freestyle – a competitive swimming stroke. Swimmers can choose to do any one of the four competitive stokes (see below) in an individual Freestyle race, with Frontcrawl chosen as it is the fastest. In an I.M. or Medley relay swim, swimmers must swim Frontcrawl.
Frontcrawl – The front crawl involves alternating arm strokes with a flutter kick while keeping your body flat and streamlined in the water. Breathe by turning your head to the side as one arm recovers, and focus on smooth, continuous movements to maintain speed and balance.
Backcrawl – The back crawl involves alternating arm strokes while floating on your back, keeping your body flat and your face above the water. Use a flutter kick to help with balance and propulsion, and focus on smooth, rhythmic movements for efficiency.
Breaststroke – The breaststroke involves a frog-like arm movement and a circular kick, with both arms pulling in front of you and then sweeping out to the sides. Keep your head above water, and focus on a steady, rhythmic stroke for a smooth and efficient glide.
Butterfly – The butterfly stroke involves a powerful, simultaneous arm movement with a dolphin-like kick, where both arms sweep forward and then out to the sides. Keep your body undulating in a fluid motion while breathing by lifting your head just above the water during each stroke.
I.M. – Individual Medley where the swimmer swims all four strokes in the order: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle (Frontcrawl).
Medley Relay – four swimmers each swim a different stroke where the order is: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle (Frontcrawl).
Heat Declared Winner (HDW) – no final is swum and the positions are decided by the times swum in the heats.
Swim Too Fast – where a swimmer has swum faster than the time band in a graded meet and is ineligible to win a medal. They instead win a ‘Too Fast’ award from the host club and KASC will also award a special trophy.
Short course (SC) – event held in a 25m pool like the galleon.
Long course (LC) – event held in a 50m pool.
Currently when swimmers swim at a gala and they achieve a P.B. (personal best time ) they receive a P.B. certificate from the club.
The club also has its own award system - The Sprint Award Times and you can view the qualifing times by clicking HERE.
When a swimmer achieves the time they will be awarded the relevant certificate. The aim is for swimmers to collect the full set. The purpose of the awards is to get the swimmers to swim faster, aiming to hit the times and receive the next certificate. This means that they will need to work hard in training for a long period of time for it to pay off.
