50-METER POOL: synonymous with the term Olympic pool, 50-meters is equivalent to approximately 60 yards or 180 feet; many pools are commonly 25 yards (75 feet) in length

AGE GROUP SWIMMING: (1) a structure of the U.S. Swimming organization where children break up into groups according the their age and ability and work on swimming technique and endurance with the help of a trained coach (2) nationally recognized age groups are 10 and under, 11-12, 13-14, 15- 16, 17-18 and 15-18; local swim meets may include events for 8 and under

ANCHOR: last swimmer in a relay

BACKSTROKE FLAGS: see flags

BLOCK: starting platform

BULKHEAD: a wall constructed to divide a pool into different courses such as a 50-meter pool into two 25-yard courses

CIRCLE SWIMMING: performed by staying to the right of the black line when swimming in a lane, to enable more swimmers to swim in each lane

CODE OF CONDUCT: agreement signed by a swimmer prior to travel stating that the swimmer will abide by certain behavioral guidelines

COPING: deck tile, usually about one foot wide, at the edge of the pool

COURSE: designated distance over which the competition is conducted; standard is 25 meters for summer league meets, 50 meters for Olympic competition, and 25 yards for regular year-round and college competition

CUT: (1) slang for qualifying time (2) time standard necessary to attend a particular meet or event

DISTANCE: events over 400 meters/500 yards

DIVING BOARD: recreational mechanism for entering a swimming pool, consisting of a semi-rigid board that derives its spring from a fulcrum mounted below the board and attached to the deck

DIVISIONALS: championship meet of the summer league season

DQ: disqualification from an event

DRILL: an exercise involving a portion or part of a stroke, used to improve technique

DRYLAND TRAINING: training done out of the water that aids; enhances swimming performance

DUAL MEET: competition between two clubs

FAILED SWIM: where a meet calls for proof of a time standard and the swimmer fails to meet that standard in a particular race

FALSE START: swimmer moving before the start of a race

FINALS: championship heat of an event in which the top six or eight swimmers from the preliminaries compete 

FLAGS: (1) colorful vinyl pennants spaced and sized to meet competitive swimming requirements; generally placed five yards (short course) or five meters (long course) from the end of the pool (2) enables backstroke swimmers to execute a backstroke turn more efficiently by counting their strokes

GUTTER: overflow trough at pool edge; also called a perimeter or recirculation system

HEATS: see prelims

IM: (1) individual medley (2) event in which the swimmer uses all four strokes in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle

LANE LINE: a rope with buoys that extends across the pool is to section off the water into long straight "lanes" so that swimmers do not bump into one another

LANE ROPE: floating markers attached to a line that stretches from the starting end to the turning end of the pool to separate each lane

LANE: specific area in which the swimmer is assigned to swim

LAP COUNTER: (1) set of plastic display numbers used to keep track of laps during a distance race (2) the person who counts for the swimmer stationed at the opposite end from the start

LAP SWIMMING: designated time when swimmers may use the distance of the pool at their own pace

LEG: part of a relay event swum by one individual swimmer

LIFELINE: rope line across a pool to designate a change in slope in the pool bottom, or the beginning of deep water; usually supported by regularly spaced floats

LONG COURSE: pool 50 meters in length

LONG DISTANCE: (1) any freestyle event over 1500 meters, normally conducted in a natural body of water, such as a lake, river or ocean (2) also known as marathon swimming

LSC: (1) Local Swimming Committee (2) governing body for swimming on a local level