What are figures in artistic swimming, and who still performs them?

• Who: each athlete in the solo, duet, mixed duet and team performs "four (4) or two (2) figures, according to the age group category".
• Which figures: drawn from the published list 18 to 72 hours before the session. The draw is public.
• One session: "Only one Figure session shall be held."
• Dress: a black swimsuit and a white cap. Goggles and nose clips may be worn.
• The judges: panels of four to six, seated high enough for a profile view. One, two or four panels may work at once.
• The marks: 0 to 10 in tenths, "from the standpoint of perfection considering design and control".
• The sum: the highest and lowest awards are cancelled and the rest averaged. The result is multiplied by the figure's degree of difficulty.
• The wrong figure: if the athlete does not perform the announced figure, or leaves out a required part, the result is zero.
• In a duet or team: the swimmers' figure results are averaged, and that average is added to the free routine score.

The glossary has figures, the score scale and the degree of difficulty.

A routine can hide a weaker swimmer in a pattern. Figures cannot: each swimmer shows the basic positions alone, in a plain suit, with nothing to look at but the body line. That is why they are kept for the age groups, where the basics are being learned.