| TERM |
DEFINITION |
| Freestyle |
Can be any stroke but is most commonly swum as the front crawl. |
| Backstroke |
The back crawl. |
| Breaststroke |
A frog-like stroke with a whip kick. |
| Butterfly |
A racing stroke in which both arms rotate together while the legs perform a dolphin kick. |
| Individual medley (IM) |
An individual event in which one person swims all four strokes in sequence — butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. |
| Medley relay |
An event in which four members of a team swim lengths of the pool in sequence, each swimmer performing one stroke — backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle. |
| Freestyle relay |
An event in which four members of one team swim lengths of the pool in sequence, all in freestyle. |
| Racing start |
A fast, shallow dive, usually off the starting block. |
| Backstroke start |
Swimmers begin in the water, usually with their hands gripping the starting block but with their feet underwater. |
| Relay start |
Beginning one’s leg of a relay by diving as soon as the incoming relay member touches the wall. |
| False start |
When a swimmer leaves the block before the starter’s signal, or before an incoming relay team member has finished by touching the wall. |
| Flip turn |
In the freestyle only, when a swimmer turns by completing a partial somersault and twisting underwater before pushing off the wall to resume swimming. |
| Backstroke flip turn |
Just before reaching the wall, the swimmer rotates onto his/her stomach with one continuous arm stroke, performs a partial somersault, and pushes off the wall on his/her back to resume swimming. |
| Touch turn |
In place of a flip turn, changing direction during a race by touching the wall with one hand, then pushing off with the feet. Backstrokers must push off on their back. |
| Finish |
In the backstroke and freestyle, when any part of the swimmer’s body touches the end of the pool. Backstrokers must not turn over to their front before the finish. In the breaststroke and butterfly, the swimmer must touch the wall at the turns and at the finish with both hands simultaneously. |
| Disqualification |
An error in performing the start, stroke, turn or finish. |
| Rules |
YMCA swimming is governed by the swimming rules adopted by the NCAA. USA Swimming is governed by separate rules. There are just a few, minor differences between the two sets of rules. |