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Competitive Strokes
The four competitive
strokes are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and
butterfly. Events are held in
all of the competitive strokes at varying distances depending on
the age group of the
swimmer.In addition, there is a combination of the
strokes swum by one swimmer called the individual
medley. Other swimming events include
relays, which are a group of four swimmers who either all swim
freestyle (freestyle relay) or each swim one of the competitive
strokes in the order of backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and
freestyle (medley
relay).
Swim
Seasons
The swim year
is divided into two seasons. The winter, or "Short Course", season
runs from mid-September to Mid-March. The meets are held in a
25-yard pool. The summer, or "Long Course", season runs from early
April to mid-August with meets held in 50 meter pools (Olympic
size). The team takes a break after the Long Course season for
three weeks, usually the last two weeks of August and the first
week of
September.
Levels
of Achievement
There are seven
different age group classifications recognized by United States
Swimming: 8-Under, 10-Under, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18, and
Senior. The Senior classification includes any age registered
swimmer who has achieved the prescribed qualifying time for the
event. Not all age group classifications are offered at every swim
meet. The swimmer’s age on the first day of a meet will
govern the swimmer’s age for the entire meet.
Within each age-group there are different nationally recognized
levels of achievement based on times. All swimmers begin as "C"
swimmers. As they improve, they advance from "White" to "Red",
"Blue", "AA", "AAA", and ultimately "Q". Times required for each
ability level are published each year by Southern California
Swimming. This permits fair, yet challenging, competition on all
levels.
In some cases, a swimmer may be in a
different class in each stroke. An example: a "White" breaststroke
time, a "Red" freestyle time, and a "AA" backstroke time.
Some swim meets set
certain qualification standards. In order to swim in a certain
classification, a swimmer must have achieved the qualifying time
for that particular classification. "AB" meets are held for
swimmers with a "B" time or above. "C" swimmers may not attend
these meets. "BC" meets, on the other hand, are for "B" and "C"
swimmers only.
Meet
Schedule
Each
season’s meet schedule is posted by the head coach at the
outset of the season – both short and long course.
Competition
…and the winner is … the TSM
coaching staff does not see the first place person as the only
winner. We’d rather look to see who behaves like a winner.
There are certain characteristics of a winner, and every swimmer,
no matter where they place, has the opportunity to emulate those
characteristics: concentration, listening skills, and working
toward goals.
Sports is not an end in itself, but a vehicle
we use to teach children life skills and how to reach their
potential. We use sport as organized play to demonstrate and
measure one’s abilities. Seen in that light, winning without
learning is not TSM’s desired intention. In competition, the
important measure is not who collected the most medals, or even who
improved the most seconds. The real critical measure is who learned
the most from the competitive experience.
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