2009 21 Nov

A Brief Discussion Of Swimming As An International Sporting Event

The Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) presides over international swimming and other aquatic athletic competitions at the amateur category. The FINA is comprised of national organizations from about 100 nations. These organizations include U.S. Swimming, the Canadian Federation of Amateur Aquatics, the Amateur Swimming Union of Australia, and the Amateur Swimming Association of Great Britain. Swim meets are convened in both long-course swimming pools, which measure 50 meters long, and short-course swimming pools, which measure 75 feet long. Long-course swimming pools are divided into 6, 8, or 10 lanes, each of which is 2.4 meters wide. Short-course swimming pools have 6 or 8 lanes. Each lane measures 2.1 or 2.4 meters in width. In U.S. championship events, 8 lanes is required to be used in both long- and short-course swimming pools. The FINA recognizes international records established only in long-course swimming pools.

Water in an official swimming pool must be as a minimum 1.2 meters deep and have a temperature of about 78°F. Floats dubbed lane lines run the extent of the swimming pool. They indicate lane borders and help keep the surface of the water calm. Swimmers take part in five varieties of competitions – freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and individual medley. In a freestyle competition, a swimmer may decide on any stroke; but swimmers always use the front crawl since it is the quickest stroke. In the individual medley, athletes swim an equivalent space of each of the four styles. In national and international events, individual freestyle events are held at distances of 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1,500 meters. Breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly events are 100 and 200 meters in length. The individual medley deals with 200 and 400 meters. Team relays are among the most stimulating swimming events. A team consists of four participants, each of whom swims an identical distance. Men’s and women’s teams join in a 400-meter freestyle relay, a 400-meter medley relay, each member of the team swims an unlike stroke for 100 meters.

Swimming events are held at different levels of competition, from local to international. So many swimmers partake in competitive swimming that qualifying times are determined for large events. Swimmers must as a minimum equal the qualifying times for the competitions that they hope to enter in order to be eligible for those competitions. Big events have some officials. The lead official is the referee. The referee administers the other officials and makes sure that the swimmers stick to rules. Each participant in a race is given a lane. The competitors with the speediest qualifying times get the center lanes, and the slowest swimmers are given the outside lanes. The competition starts at the sound of the starter’s handgun or horn. Throughout the race, lane judges observe each swimmer’s strokes and the rolls at the end of the pool. An illegal stroke or turn disqualifies a swimmer. In many meets, an electronic timing and judging system resolves the sequence of finish and each swimmer’s time to 1/1000 of a second. The system activates mechanically at the starter’s signal. It records the time for each swimmer as the swimmer’s hand touches a plate affixed to the end of the swimming pool. Visit http://www.houston-pool-service.com for Houston Pool Service – Houston Pool Cleaning, etc.