Here is a handy list of swimming terms that might help you understand better what is going on. If there is a swimming-related term about which you are curious and it is not covered here, please let us know and we’ll add it to the Glossary.

DQ (Disqualified)

(Sorry, it’s not Dairy Queen!) This indicates that the swimmer has been disqualified from the event. Swimmers can be disqualified for a variety of reasons, including moving on the starting block, false starts, wrong stroke or kick, not touching the wall correctly. Officials monitor the swimmers to ensure that they are performing correctly.

Deck Entry

On-site registration for a race. Most entries are submitted prior to the start of the meet. That way, the host team can plan for the number of swimmers, the number of heats, etc. Often there is at least one heat in an event that is not filled. If there are extra lanes available, swimmers may sign up the day of the meet. Coaches are responsible for submitting deck entries.

Fly-Over Start

Swimmers start the next race before swimmers finishing the previous race have exited the pool. The starters actually “fly-over” the heads of the other swimmers who are waiting by the wall. This method of starting is a bit disconcerting at first (especially if you’re the one waiting in the pool!), but it saves time and keeps the heats flowing smoothly.

Heat

Heats are races within the same event. Most pools have 6-8 lanes. A heat consists of 6-8 swimmers at a time. If there are more swimmers than lanes available, there will be multiple heats for a single event. Within a heat, swimmers are also ordered fastest to slowest. Faster swimmers will be in the center lanes. Slower swimmers will be in the outer lanes.

Heat Sheet

A list of swimmers competing in each event. Swimmers are listed by heats with the slowest swimmers at the beginning and the fastest swimmers at the end.

I.M. (Individual Medley)

An event in which all four strokes are swum in the following order: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle. Rules for turns in the IM are slightly different than events with only one stroke. Be sure to review with the coach what is the proper technique.

N.T. (No Time)

Appears after a swimmer’s name to indicate that the swimmer does not have an official time recorded for this event.

Program

See Heat Sheet.

Seed Time

A swimmer’s best official time for an event. This time will appear next to the swimmer’s name in the heat sheet. It will determine where in the race that swimmer will be placed.

Split Time

Registered partway through a race. In longer events, coaches will often clock a swimmer’s split time to determine the pace of each lap. Results will sometimes list the split times for an event. Here you can see a list of splits for a 200 yard event.

Split Times
Event	#	Elapsed Time	Lap Time
9-10 200 Free	1	49.45	49.45
	2	1:50.73	1:01.28
	3	2:49.07	58.34
	4	3:43.42	54.35

The first number represents the lap count, the next number is the elapsed time from the beginning of the race, the final number is the duration of that particular lap. When you see splits that are very close, that means the swimmer is swimming at a consistent pace throughout the race. Splits that get longer or even shorter towards the end indicate that the swimmer is slowing down or speeding up, respectively.

Streamline

A body position that offers the least amount of resistance.