CHECK-IN - The procedure required before a swimmer swims an event in a meet. Each swimmer must see the Head Coach to have their name marked on a list to confirm they are present for the meet. Failing to do so will mean the swimmer is not seeded in his or her entered event.

CIRCLE SEEDING - Used only in the prelims of Championship meets with events that have "prelims & finals." This affects the top 24 seeded swimmers (8-lane pool) who compete in the last 3 heats. All other heats are regular seeding. In Circle seeding, the fastest-seeded swimmer will be in the last heat in lane 4. The second fastest swimmer will be in the second to last heat lane 4. The third fastest swimmer will be in the third to last heat lane 4. The fourth fastest swimmer will be in the last heat lane 5 and so on.

Clerk of Course -The area where meet administration and officials handle the seeding, placing, scoring, and all other functions of swim meet processing.

IM (INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY) – A race done by an individual swimmer consisting of one equal leg of each of the four competitive strokes - butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle - in that order.

FINALS - All Y-USA swim meets we will swim in are timed finals.

HEAT SHEET - A listing of all swimmers in a meet by event number, heat, and lane assignments.

PSYCH SHEET- A ranking by seeding times for all the swimmers entered in each race of a meet.

MEET REFEREE - The Y-USA SWIMMING official who has authority over all other officials at the meet. He makes all final decisions and sees to the efficient running of the meet.

SEEDING TIMES - The time a swimmer uses to enter a meet. This time usually determines one's heat and lane in a particular event.

SHORT COURSE - A type of competitive pool that measures 25 yards or 25 meters in length. In American swimming, it will almost always be 25 yards. The Age Group Swimmers short course season usually lasts from September to March while the Seniors short course season varies depending on level and age.

SPLIT - An incremental time that may be in the results and that coaches often record for teaching the concept of pacing. For instance, a swimmer's time for each 50-yard leg of a 100-yard event.

Negative Split– Making the second split of a race faster than the first split. For example, in a 200-yard free this might be 101.00 for the 1st 100 and .59 for the 2nd 100.

STARTER - The USA SWIMMING official at a meet is responsible for starting each heat and calling the next to the blocks. Starters rotate throughout a meet.

STROKE JUDGE - A certified Y-USA SWIMMING official, who determines the legality of strokes and disqualifies swimmers who do not conform to USA SWIMMING rules.