Para swimming words · Intermediate

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I · Intermediate · 62 words · Step 2 of 2

General terms

World Para Swimming

The name under which the International Paralympic Committee governs para swimming. In the rules the two are the same body.

Also called: WPS
See also: Para swimming

The ruleWhat is para swimming?

Recognised competition

A competition whose results count for qualifying times and rankings: the Paralympic Games, other IPC competitions, and sanctioned and approved competitions. Only swimmers licensed before the competition have their results recognised for rankings.

Technical documentation

The documents published for each competition that set its entry criteria and other competition-specific rules, such as qualifying times and the list of events, which are not fixed in the general rules.

Sport classes

S1 to S10

The ten sport classes for swimmers with a physical impairment in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. A lower number means a greater activity limitation, so S1 is the most limited and S10 the least.

The ruleWhat do S, SB and SM mean in para swimming?

SB1 to SB9

The nine breaststroke sport classes for swimmers with a physical impairment. There is no SB10.

SM1 to SM10

The individual medley classes for swimmers with a physical impairment. They are not assessed separately but calculated from the swimmer's S and SB classes: three times S plus SB, divided by four, for S5 and above, and twice S plus SB, divided by three, for S4 and below. The result is rounded to a whole number, so 6.5 becomes SM7.

S11 to S13

The sport classes for swimmers with a vision impairment, which apply to every stroke and to medley as S/SB/SM11 to 13. S11 is the most severe. S12 is visual acuity from LogMAR 1.50 to 2.60 inclusive and/or a visual field under 10 degrees, and S13 is acuity from LogMAR 1.0 to 1.40 inclusive and/or a field under 40 degrees.

S14

The sport class for swimmers with an intellectual impairment, written S/SB/SM14. Before evaluation the swimmer must meet INAS eligibility and have completed a training history and sport limitation questionnaire in the last twelve months.

Point score

The number of points a swimmer keeps after the physical and technical assessments, out of 300 for S strokes and 290 for breststroke, which decides the class. Each class is a band of 25 points, from S1 at 65 or fewer to S10 at 266 to 285 (SB9 reaches 275). A swimmer must lose at least 15 points to be eligible.

Not eligible

The designation for a swimmer who loses fewer than 15 points in the physical assessment, in which case the technical assessment is not held, or in the technical assessment, and so is not eligible to compete in para swimming.

Also called: NE
See also: Para swimming, Physical assessment

Classification not completed

A designation, not a sport class, given when a class cannot be allocated, for example when the water safety test shows the swimmer cannot safely complete the assessment. A swimmer marked CNC may not compete until the matter is put right.

Also called: CNC
See also: Water safety test

Change of class during a competition

If observation or a protest moves a swimmer to a class with greater limitation, their first appearance results and medals stand and the times count in the new class. If the swimmer moves to a class with less limitation, the first appearance results and medals are not recognised in the old class and they may enter only events in the new class.

Classification terms

Eligible impairments (para swimming)

Ten types, all of which must be permanent. Eight are physical: impaired muscle power, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis and impaired passive range of movement. The others are vision impairment and intellectual impairment.

Physical assessment

The part of classification for physical impairment that measures points lost by muscle testing, coordination testing, joint movement, loss of limb, body height and leg length difference. The panel decides which tests are used.

Technical assessment (water test)

The part of classification held in the water, in which the panel watches how the impairment affects the swimmer's strokes, start and turn. It begins with a water safety test, then looks at strokes or drills at different paces and at the start and turn, and it is also where codes of exception are set. The swimmer brings the equipment and starting devices used in competition.

Water safety test

The first step of the technical assessment. If the swimmer cannot do it safely the evaluation stops with the status classification not completed. If they are safe but swim with poor technique, the assessment continues and the swimmer must end with the status Review.

Vision classification

Classes S11 to S13 are decided by the vision of the better eye with the best optical correction, measured by a LogMAR chart and/or the Berkeley Rudimentary Vision Test for acuity and by a perimeter test for field. The swimmer must have visual acuity of LogMAR 1.0 or worse, or a field under 40 degrees, and the diagnostic information must be from an ophthalmologist and under twelve months old. Observation in competition does not apply.

Sport cognition test battery

The set of five tests used to classify S14 swimmers: four components (processing speed and attention, memory and learning, executive functioning, and visual perception and fluid intelligence) plus a separate test of visual-motor ability. Observation in competition is added if the panel needs it.

Codes of exception

Exceptions to the stroke and start rules that the classification panel gives a swimmer to fit their impairment, set during the technical assessment. Each stroke allows only some codes: none in freestyle, only 1 in backstroke, 4, 5 and 7 in butterfly, and 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12 and + in breaststroke. A change can be asked for only through a medical review request.

The ruleWhat are exception codes in para swimming?

Start and support codes

The letter codes. H is a hearing impairment needing a light or signal, Y a starting device, E unable to grip for a backstroke start, A assistance required at the start, T a tapper and B blackened goggles.

Touch and start codes 1 to 7

The number codes for hands. 1 is a one-hand start in backstroke, 2 a one-hand touch in breaststroke, 3 simultaneous intent to touch in breaststroke, 4 a one-hand touch in butterfly, 5 simultaneous intent to touch in butterfly and 7 a touch with part of the upper body.

Leg codes 8, 9, 12 and plus

The breaststroke leg codes. 8 means the right foot, and 9 the left foot, need not be turned out. 12 means the swimmer must show intent to kick or trail the legs. The plus sign marks a swimmer who can do a butterfly kick, which is illegal in breaststroke except the single kick allowed after the start and each turn.

Events and entry

Individual events

World Para Swimming chooses each competition's events from a list: 50 m freestyle S1 to 13, 100 m freestyle S1 to 14, 200 m freestyle S1 to 5 and S14, 400 m freestyle S6 to 14, 50 m backstroke S1 to 5, 100 m backstroke S1 to 2 and S6 to 14, 50 m breaststroke SB1 to 3, 100 m breaststroke SB4 to 9 and SB11 to 14, 50 m butterfly S2 to 7 and 100 m butterfly S8 to 14. Individual medley is listed separately.

Open water (para swimming)

Racing in rivers, lakes, oceans or channels, over 1.5 km, 3 km and 5 km for the classes S1 to 10, S11 to 13 and S14. Events start with a dive from a fixed platform or in the water and finish in the water, and the stroke rules do not apply to beach starts and finishes.

Minimum qualifying standard

A time set for each event that a swimmer must reach to be eligible to compete, apart from wild card and invitational entries. It can be reached only at recognised competitions and split times do not count. A time set in an earlier class still counts if the swimmer meets the standard for the new class.

Also called: MQS

Minimum entry time

A second time standard used alongside the MQS. A swimmer must reach the MET to be eligible, provided they also meet a qualifying time for another event, apart from wild card and invitational entries. Like the MQS, it can be reached only at recognised competitions.

Also called: MET

Multiple class event

An event for several sport classes, each with its own qualifying time, with medals given to each class. There are five formats in all, from a single class event to a point system event in which classes race together and medals are awarded by points.

The ruleWhich events are in para swimming?

Seeding and direct final

Swimmers are placed in heats by their submitted best times. At the Paralympic Games and championships a single heat of eight or fewer swimmers is a direct final, swum only in the final session.

Lane seeding

The fastest swimmer goes in lane 4 in an eight-lane or ten-lane pool, in lane 3 in a six-lane pool and in the centre in a pool with an odd number of lanes. The next fastest goes to their left and the others alternate. Finals use only eight lanes.

Call room

The room where swimmers report before a heat or final, no later than fifteen minutes before the published start time. At the Paralympic Games, championships and sanctioned competitions a swimmer who does not arrive is withdrawn from the event and fined.

Minus one rule

The way medals are cut when an event has very few entries. With three swimmers on the start sheet two medals are given, with two swimmers one medal, and with one swimmer none.

The ruleHow are heats seeded in para swimming?

Technical protest

A formal objection that the rules were not followed, or to a decision of the referee, though never to a decision of fact. It must be in writing from the team leader, with a deposit of 150 euros, within 30 minutes of the publication of the official results.

Start terms

Whistles and take your marks

The referee gives a short series of whistles, then a long whistle for swimmers to take their place on the platform, or to enter the water in backstroke and medley relays. A second long whistle brings backstroke swimmers to the start. The starter then calls take your marks and fires the signal when all are still.

Water start

The start for backstroke, the 75 m and 150 m individual medley and medley relays, from the water. A swimmer may be permitted to start in the water, with one hand on the starting place until the signal. Standing in or on the gutter or on the bottom is not allowed.

Start adaptations

Changes permitted at the start for an impairment: one support staff may help a swimmer balance on the platform without giving momentum or holding them past 90 degrees from vertical, and a swimmer may start beside the platform, sitting or in the water. In S1 to S3 support staff may hold the feet or lower limbs to the wall until the signal. In backstroke a swimmer may use one hand, hold the end of the pool, or use an approved starting device.

False start

A swimmer who starts before the signal may be disqualified. If the signal has already sounded the race continues and the swimmer is disqualified at the end. If the disqualification is declared before the signal, the signal is not given and the others are called back to start again.

Strobe start light

A light given to swimmers with a hearing impairment so that they can see the start, matching the code H. Extra arm signals from the starter must be requested by the team leader before the session. Support staff may give a non-verbal signal to some swimmers when no light is available.

The ruleCan para swimmers start in the water?

Stroke terms

Stroke cycle (S1 to S5)

For swimmers in S1 to S5 in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, some part of the body must break the surface in every complete cycle. One cycle is one full rotation of the shoulder joints and/or one complete up and down movement of the hip joints.

15 metre submersion limit

In freestyle, backstroke and butterfly a swimmer may be completely under water at the turn and for not more than 15 metres after the start and each turn. By that point the head must have broken the surface. In backstroke a swimmer may also be fully submerged once the head has passed the 5 m mark before the finish.

Freestyle leg of a medley

In the freestyle part of a medley the swimmer must stay on the breast except at a turn. A swimmer may leave the wall on the back, but may not kick until back past the vertical onto the breast, when kicking, including a butterfly kick, may begin.

Touch

At each turn and the finish of breaststroke and butterfly the touch is made with both hands separated and simultaneously, at, above or below the water. Separated means the hands cannot be stacked, though they need not show a gap, and touching at the fingers by accident is allowed. A swimmer with arms of different length need touch only with the longer arm, and one with very short or no upper limbs touches with the upper body.

Leg drag

When an impairment means only one leg is used in butterfly, the other leg must drag, that is not give any propulsion although it may follow the movement of the hips. In breaststroke a swimmer with a leg impairment must show intent to kick throughout or trail the leg or legs.

One-arm stroke

A swimmer who can use only one arm touches with that arm and drags or stretches the other forward throughout. In butterfly the body must stay in line with the water surface, not swimming on the side.

Race terms

Own lane

A swimmer must stay in and finish in the lane they started in, and a swimmer who surfaces in another lane is disqualified. Swimmers with a vision impairment and a tapper are treated differently.

Turn (para swimming)

A swimmer must touch the end of the pool when turning, and the turn must be made from the wall. Taking a stride or step from the bottom of the pool is not allowed.

Obstruction and lane rope

Pulling on the lane rope is not allowed. Swimming across another lane or otherwise obstructing a swimmer disqualifies the offender, and the referee reports an intentional foul. If a foul spoils a swimmer's chance, that swimmer may be allowed to swim in the next heat or, in a final or the last heat, the referee may order the race swum again.

Prosthesis and orthosis ban

No swimmer may use a prosthesis, except an eye prosthesis, or an orthosis during the race. Cochlear implants and insulin pumps may be worn.

Pace making

Not allowed. No device may be used and no plan adopted that has the effect of pace making.

Disqualification (para swimming)

A swimmer who breaks the rules is disqualified, and the result is recorded with no time or place. If a technical official's error follows a swimmer's fault, the referee may expunge the fault.

Also called: DSQ

Automatic officiating equipment

Timing and touch equipment whose times and places take precedence over the human judges and timekeepers. Times are recorded to a hundredth of a second, and swimmers with the same time at that level share the same place.

Also called: AOE
See also: Touch

Swimwear (para swimming)

Only approved swimwear may be worn, one swimsuit in one or two pieces and at most two caps. Men's suits may not go above the navel or below the knee, and women's may not cover the neck, pass the shoulder or go below the knee. Modifications for an impairment can be allowed if recorded by officials before the competition.

Relay terms

Relay points

A relay team has four swimmers whose class numbers are added, so S6 is worth six points and SB7 seven. A team's total may not exceed 20 points for 4 x 50 m, 34 points for 4 x 100 m in S1 to 10 or 49 points in S11 to 13. The S14 relay events are listed without a points maximum.

Mixed relay

A relay of two men and two women. Split times from these events cannot be used for records or for entry.

Vision impairment relay

A 49 point relay for classes S11 to 13 must include at least one swimmer in S/SB11, and the other three may be anywhere in S11 to 13.

Also called: 49 point relay

The ruleHow do para swimming relays work?

Medley relay order

In a medley relay the strokes are swum backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle, each for a quarter of the distance, and the swimmers are listed by stroke.

Relay declaration form

The form naming the swimmers, their classes and the order they swim, due at least an hour before the session. A team that fails to submit it is withdrawn and the national committee fined. Swimming out of the listed order is a disqualification, and a change is allowed only after an accepted medical withdrawal.

Relay takeoff

A relay team is disqualified if a swimmer's feet or body leave the starting place before the previous swimmer touches the wall, whether the start is from the platform or in the water. A team is also disqualified if another team member enters the water during the race before every swimmer has finished.

Relay medals

The team may change between heats and final. Medals go to every swimmer who swam in the heats and/or the final, so at most eight swimmers.

Vision impairment terms

Tapping device

The pole or device a tapper uses to tap the swimmer. It must be approved in advance for safety, both in construction and length.

Blackened goggles

Opaque goggles that every S/SB/SM11 swimmer must wear for the whole event, unless they have prostheses in both eyes. If the face will not hold goggles the eyes are covered with an opaque covering. The goggles are checked at the finish, and a swimmer whose goggles fall off or break accidentally is not disqualified.

Wrong lane (vision impairment)

A swimmer with a tapper who surfaces in an unused lane may finish there without penalty. In a lane in use they should return to their own, may be fully submerged while doing so and are not penalised if they cannot, and the tapper may give directions only after naming the swimmer. An accidental foul can lead to a re-swim.

Support staff (para swimming)

Any person a national committee names to help a swimmer with logistics or directional instructions. They may not coach or massage, may not carry stopwatches, communication devices or bags on the pool deck or in the call room, and may help a swimmer on deck only if that need is recorded on the classification master list.