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Age Group Provincial Championships-Often referred to as "A's" or "provincials". Alberta's premier swimming championships. To enter the meet, swimmers must have attained "A" qualifying times. They are held in winter (short course) and summer (long course). |
| Block- The starting platform. |
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Dry-land Training- Training done out of the water that aids and enhances swimming performance. Typically includes stretching, calisthenics, and/or weight training. |
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DQ or Disqualification - Occurs when a swimmer is given no time for a particular event due to non-compliance with the rules of that event. Typically, a swimmer may be disqualified for incorrectly performing strokes or turns. |
| False Start - Occurs when a swimmer is moving at the start. One false start may result in disqualification.The championship heat of an event in which the top six or eight swimmers from the preliminaries compete. |
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Final - The championship heat of an event in which the top six or eight swimmers from the preliminaries compete. |
| Finish - The final phase of the race. The touch at the end of the race. |
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Flags - Backstroke flags placed 5 meters from the end of the pool. They enable backstrokers to execute a backstroke turn more efficiently by counting their strokes. |
| Junior Provincials - Often referred to as "B's". A provincial competition for swimmers who have achieved "B" qualifying standards but have not achieved "A's". Held in the winter (short course) and summer (long course). |
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Long Course - Competitions swum in pools which are 50 meters in length. |
| Meet - Competition designed to be a learning experience. By implementing what has been learned in practice, the swimmer tests himself against the clock to see improvement. |
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Official - A judge on deck of the pool at a sanctioned competition who enforces Swim Alberta rules. |
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Pace Clock - Large clock with large second hand used to check pace or maintain intervals in practice.To withdraw from an event in a competition. |
| Short Course - Competitions swum in pools that are 25 meters in length. Split - A swimmer's intermediate time in a race. Splits are registered every 50 meters and are used to determine if a swimmer is on record pace. In certain circumstances, splits may also be used as official times. |
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Sprint - Describes short events of 50 or 100 meters. To swim as fast as possible for a short distance.The position used to gain maximum distance during a start and/or push off from the wall in which the swimmers body is as tight as it can be. |
| Streamline - The position used to gain maximum distance during a start and/or push off from the wall in which the swimmer's body is as tight as it can be. |
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Time Trial - A "time only" event which is not part of a regular meet. |
| Touch Pad - A large, sensitive board at the end of each lane where a swimmer's touch is registered and sent electronically to a timing system. |