Swim Definitions
Free Relay: A relay race consisting of four swimmers usually swimming the crawl stroke.
Medley Relay: A relay race consisting of four swimmers, which is swum in the following order: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle.
Individual Medley: A race swum by a single swimmer, the order of stroke is –Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle. 8 and under, 9/10 and 11/12 years old swim only 25 meters of each of these strokes for a 100 I.M. 13-18 year olds swim 50 meters of each stroke for a 200 I.M.
Cards: Pink and blue cards are used to register swimmers for each race. They must be filled out by the swimmers/parents as completely and neatly as possible. These must include the event number, as well as the swimmer’s name, team, and the entry time (if available).
Split Times: Special watches allow coaches to obtain a swimmers time on a lap-by lap basis. For example, if an 8 and under child is doing the Individual Medley, a coach may find it beneficial to know how long it took the child to complete each 25 meter increment. Likewise, if a 17-18 year old swimmer is competing in a 200 meter Freestyle race the coach may wish to know the time for each 50 meter distance.
Officials: These are parents who volunteer their time to “judge” each swimmer for correctness of strokes and turns, false starts, and other possible disqualifications. There are always several officials on deck, including a starter and referee. They wear white shorts and shirts and will be wearing a blue and white Foothills Swimming Association nametag. If you disagree with an official’s call, please direct your concern to your child’s coach. Only a coach may lodge a protest. All officials have been through training.
League: This term refers to the FSA league championship meet. Swimmers must qualify with “league” times as listed on the qualifying times sheet (provided in this packet). Relay swimmers are not required to have an individual league-qualifying time to compete with their relay.
State: This term refers to the Colorado State Swimming Championships. A swimmer must have state-qualifying times to compete in an individual event. Relay swimmers are not required to have an individual state-qualifying time to compete with their relay.
Summer Club: A group of swimmers who participate in meets during the summer season. Year-round swimmers such as those from the Foothills Swim Team are not allowed to swim with summer club teams unless they have ceased practicing and competition with their year-round team before May 15th. This does not apply to high school swimmers.
Swimming age groups: A swimmers age on May 15 of each season shall determine the age group in which he/she competes during the season.
Developmental Meets: These are meets specifically designed to assist swimmers in attaining faster times. For instance, a swimmer with a C or slower time in one or more strokes may be instructed by the coach to attend the C/D meet.
Intrasquad Meets: These are meets with only Green Mountain swimmers present. This is simply to help the swimmers better their times or establish a time in a stroke they have not swum before. The intrasquad meets are staffed by qualified officials who will judge as in any other meet. These meet times also count towards league and state qualifications. There are no relays during these meets.