The Officials Are Your Friends…I Promise

by Holly Lickwala

When the officials arm goes up in the air during a race, they unfortunately are not just stretching but rather have noticed an infraction in the rules during a race (DARN!) That outstretched arm can cause a collective gasp on the pool deck for those watching. The dreaded DQ next to your name when the results are posted can bring about a lot of emotions, especially after giving your all in an event. 

If a stroke and turn official clearly observes a swimming infraction, then they should report it. One thing that officials are commonly reminded of during the officials meeting is that the benefit of the doubt goes to the swimmer. The purpose of the officials on the deck is to observe the competition and apply the technical rules of swimming. If a stroke and turn judge observes a technical error during a race, they need to be able to clearly state the infraction and the rule to the head official who can overturn the DQ if they do not agree. The purpose of the officials is not to scrutinize or to over officiate but to help keep the meet fair for all. Yet, coming from personal experience during a 200-meter breaststroke, a DQ can be heartbreaking.

Just a little background on what the officials need to do to help our meets be “official”. There are different levels of certification based on experience, training, and testing. The on-deck wet side officiating consists of stroke and turn judge (level 1), starter (level 2) and deck referee. On the dry side are the administrative referee and administrative official (AO). There are mandatory classes, tests, training, and a required number of swim sessions needed to maintain credentialing.

Depending on the number of officials volunteering, each will be assigned a jurisdiction. For example, an official on the turn side of the pool may be watching 3 lanes from the middle of the pool to the wall and back or just from the flags to the wall and back. The more the officials the smaller the jurisdiction.

Now to the meat of the meet: common disqualifications that can bring tears to the strongest of us. Let’s start with everyone’s favorite… RELAYS!!!

RELAYS:

1. Early takeoffs are not allowed. The judges will be looking for the outgoing swimmer’s feet to leave the starting block or wall, if they look down and see that the incoming swimmer has not yet touched then an early takeoff will be recorded. Two independent judges must see and record this before it becomes an official DQ.
2. Crossing an active lane is not allowed. This is one that I don’t think a lot of swimmers know about and have seen at some national level meets. You are not permitted to cross into a lane of a swimmer who is still competing in the race REGARDLESS of if you interfere with their swim or not. If getting out of the pool with a high deck is just not going to happen, wait in your lane along the lane line (so to not interfere with your own team) and then swim to the edge ONLY when everyone is done swimming. You can also wait in the lane next to you if there is not a team competing in that lane.
3. Swimming out of order. The order which is submitted on the relay card is the order which the swimmers are permitted to swim in the relay. Trust me, you are being watched, and it will probably not go undiscovered. Make sure everyone on your team knows the order of the relay.

FREESTYLE:

Thankfully, not a lot can go wrong with this stroke but there are a couple of points to remember.

1. Your head must break the surface by 15 meters (same in backstroke). Make sure to be familiar with the competition pool to avoid this infraction.
2. No touch at turn. Some part of your body must touch the wall at each turn. I turn my gaze downward when I say that I recently made this mistake, at a big meet, in a distance event. I was too far away from the wall on my turn and no part of my feet made contact…ugggh! I had to quickly scull my way back to the wall to touch a toe before continuing. Definitely hurt my time but saved the race from a DQ.

BACKSTROKE:

1. Turning shoulders past vertical towards the stomach on the finish. (This is defined as turning past the vertical-if you are flat on your back, you can’t roll more than 90 degrees, or you are more on your stomach than on your back.) Know your stroke count to help avoid this.
2. The Turn: This is tricky, but the rule is that swimmers may roll to their stomachs, take one arm stroke and, IN ONE CONTINUOUS MOTION, do a freestyle flip turn and then push off the wall on their back. Infractions include delay initiating arm pull, delay initiating turn or multiple strokes. Think of it as one complete motion. Just as above, know your stroke count and practice it in warm up.
3. The Finish: Re-submerged. This is one infraction even recent Olympians have committed. When you reach back for the wall on the finish, you cannot be fully submerged prior to touching the wall. Some part of your body must be out of water during the touch.

BUTTERFLY:

1. Both hands must touch simultaneously, at the turn and finish, although they do NOT have to be on the same level. (i.e., one hand could be under the water, the other could be above.) Having your hands overlapped is NOT considered a simultaneous touch.
2. The feet must kick together. They can be separated, but they must stay that way. If the feet start crossing, it’s no longer a dolphin kick, it is a flutter kick—and it is a DQ.
3. Arms must be recovered OVER the water. If you pull down and then recover your arms for the next stroke under the water, you’re essentially swimming breaststroke, not butterfly. Arms must be recovered simultaneously OVER the water.

BREASTSTROKE:

This is the most challenging stroke to swim legally, and literally has pages more of text in the official rulebook than other strokes. I included just a few that tend to be the most common.

1. Both feet must be turned OUT during the propulsive part of the kick. If both feet are turned in, this is considered a butterfly kick. Both the scissors and dolphin kicks are illegal.
2. Both hands must touch the wall simultaneously, at the finish and at the turn, although, like butterfly, they do NOT have to be on the same level. Overlapped hands are NOT a simultaneous touch and not allowed.
3. Arm pull must be on the same horizontal plane. When coming off the wall or at the start, make sure you are fully on your stomach prior to starting your pull.

INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY:

1. All the individual stroke rules apply during that segment of the race.

Since this list is not all inclusive, please take a look at this recent article which talks about some additional Common Disqualifications.

If you made it this far through all that technical “stuff”, thank you and congratulations as you are now better on your way to a DQ free meet! If in doubt, ask questions from your coach or someone at the meet; swimmers love to share knowledge. Let me also extend an invitation to you to also consider becoming an official to share your love of swimming and support the swim community of all ages. Officials are always in demand and a vital part of any swim competition. You will not be disappointed as your experiences can be as broad as you want to make them to include Special Olympics, State, Regional and National Champions as well as your local swim community. Make sure to thank your officials as well as the volunteers you see at the meet. They help to make those top 10 times official and are there to help give us a great experience at the meet!