C-D Glossary
C CQT: | County Qualifying Time. |
Camp: | There are many types of training camps for just about every level of swimmer. Normally organized by the individual clubs. |
Cap: | The silicone or latex covering worn on the head of swimmers. The colours and team logos adorning these caps are limitless. National Caps, County Team Caps, award caps, plain practice caps, etc. |
Carbohydrates: | The main source of food energy used by athletes. |
Cards: | Entry cards either handed to the swimmer by the coaches or meet organisers and given to the timer behind the lane. Cards usually list the swimmers name, ASA number, seed time, event number, event description, and the lane and heat number the swimmer will swim in. Each event has a separate card. |
Catch: | the point in the stroke pattern where the hand feels the most resistance and begins effective propulsive movement. |
Chlorine: | The chemical used by most pools to kill the bacteria in water and keep it clear and safe to swim in. |
Circle Swim: | Done when there are more than two swimmers in a lane. Swimmers swim up on the right side staying close to the lane line and return on the other in the same fashion. Always stay to the right of the black centre line. Each swimmer leaves 5 seconds apart so there is space between each person in the lane. This is referred to as lane etiquette, which includes other matters involving common courtesy. |
Clock: | The big clock on the wall or deck is used for interval training. The red hand goes around every minute (60 seconds). The 60 is sometimes referred to as the ?top?; and the 30 as the ?bottom?. Learn to calculate your times. Swimmers who watch the clock and know their times improve the most: they get feedback, learn pace, and improve technique. |
Colorado: | A brand of automatic timing system. |
Consolation: | Finals After the fastest 6 or 8 swimmers, the next 6 or 8 swimmers (depending on the number of pool lanes) in a heat/finals meet who, after the heat swim, qualify to return to the finals. Consolation or B finals are the second fastest heat of finals when multiple heats are held and are conducted before the Championship heat. These have largely been replaced at major meets by semi-finals. |
Course: | Designated distance (length of pool) for swimming competition. (i.e.) Long Course = 50 metres / Short Course = 25 metres. |
D Deadline | The date meet entries must be 'post marked' or 'in' by, to be accepted by the meet host/club. Making the meet deadline may not guarantee acceptance into a meet since many meets are 'full' weeks before the entry deadline. |
Deck Level | a system of re-circulating water in a pool where the side of the pool is at or just below the level of the water. This generated a continuous flow out of the pool and into the filtration system. This design is very successful at preventing waves reflecting off the side of the pool. |
Deck | The area around the swimming pool reserved for swimmers, officials, and coaches. No one but an 'authorised' person may be on the deck during a swim competition. |
Dehydration | The abnormal depletion of body fluids (water). The most common cause of swimmers cramps and sick feelings |
Descending | intervals or swims that decrease in time (1:15, 1:10, 1:05, 1:00, :55). |
Descend | To swim each repeat in a faster time than the previous. Ex. 4 x 50 yard on a 1 minute interval. Do #1 in 50 seconds, #2 in 48 seconds, #3 in 46 seconds and #4 faster than 46 seconds |
Development | A classification of meet or competition. The purpose of a developmental meet is to allow all levels of swimmers to compete in a lower pressure environment |
Disqualified | A swimmers performance is not counted because of a rules infraction |
Distance | How far a swimmer swims. Distances for short course are: 25 metres (1 length), 50 metres (2 lengths), 100 metres (4 lengths), 200 metres (8 lengths), 400 metres (16 lengths), 800 metres (32 lengths), 1500 metres (60 lengths). Distances for long course are: 50 metres (1 length), 100 metres (2 lengths), 200 metres (4 lengths), 400 metres (8 lengths), 800 metres (16 lengths), 1500 metres (30 lengths). |
Dive | Entering the water head first at the start of the race |
Diving Pit | A separate pool or a pool set off to the side of the competition pool. This pool has deeper water and diving boards/platforms. During a meet, this area may be designated as a swim-down pool with proper supervision. |
Drag suit | a second loose fitting swim suit worn by swimmers in workout and warm-up to add a certain amount of weight and resistance to the flow of the water around the swimmer |
Dropped Elbow | would be the opposite of the high elbow and ineffective for powerful propulsion through the water |
Dropped | Time When a swimmer goes faster than the previous performance they have 'dropped their time' or PBs |
Dry land | The exercises and various strength programmes swimmers do out of the water |