Swim tracking guide
Swimming gala terms glossary
A first gala can feel like a new language. Heats, seeds, splits, declared winners and qualifying windows all arrive at once, often shouted across a busy poolside.
Direct answer
Most swimming gala terms describe one of four things: the time you enter with, how the racing is organised, what happens during the race, and how the result is recorded. Once you can place a word in one of those groups, the meet pack and the result sheet become much easier to follow.
Times and entries
Entry time, or seed time, is the time a swimmer is entered with for an event. It is used to sort swimmers into heats and lanes, so a faster seed usually means a faster heat and a more central lane.
Qualifying time is a published target a swimmer must record to enter, or be considered for, a specific event at a specific meet. Consideration time is a softer benchmark that can support selection but does not guarantee a place.
No time, often shown as NT, means the swimmer has no recorded time for that event yet, so they are usually seeded in an early heat.
How the racing is organised
A heat is one race within an event. Larger events are split into several heats, swum slowest seed to fastest, so the fastest swimmers often race last.
A final is a later race for the quickest qualifiers from the heats. Not every meet runs finals. Many age-group meets use heat declared winner, where places are decided across all the heats on time alone.
A session is a block of racing, often a morning or afternoon. Warm-up is the timed pool access before a session, and it is usually split by club or lane group.
During the race
A split is the time recorded at a set point in a race, such as the first 50m of a 100m swim. Splits show how a race was paced rather than just the final time.
A turn is the change of direction at a wall. Short course pools have more turns than long course pools for the same distance, which can change the final time.
A false start happens when a swimmer leaves before the starting signal. Under current rules this usually leads to disqualification.
Results and outcomes
DQ means disqualified, so the swim does not stand as a legal time. DNS means did not start, and DNF means did not finish. None of these produce a usable time for that swim.
A PB is a personal best, the swimmer's fastest legal time for that event and course. A meet record is the fastest time recorded at that particular competition.
Reaction time is the gap between the starting signal and the swimmer leaving the block, where electronic timing is used.
Course, age and category
Short course means a 25m pool and long course means a 50m pool. The same event in each course should be treated as a separate time.
Age group is the band a swimmer competes in. Many UK meets use age at 31 December for the competition year, so a swimmer's competition age can differ from their age on race day.
Once you have the vocabulary, the next step is recording each result clearly so the times mean something across a season.
FAQ
What is a seed time?
It is the time a swimmer is entered with for an event. It is used to place swimmers into heats and lanes and is not always their current PB.
What does NT mean on a meet entry?
NT means no time. The swimmer has no recorded time for that event, so they are usually seeded into an early heat.
Is a heat the same as a final?
No. A heat is one of the races used to swim everyone in an event. A final is a later race for the fastest qualifiers, and many age-group meets do not run finals at all.
What is the difference between short course and long course?
Short course is a 25m pool and long course is a 50m pool. Times in each course should be tracked separately because the number of turns differs.
Why do gala terms vary between meets?
Each competition sets its own format, age rules and entry conditions. Always check the meet information for the exact terms used at that gala.
Related resources
What is a swimming meet pack?
What a swimming meet pack is, the sections it usually contains, and why it is the official source for entry times, sessions and rules for that gala.
How to read a swimming meet pack
A step-by-step guide to reading a UK swimming meet pack: finding your events, warm-up times, session order, withdrawal deadlines and key rules.
DQ, DNS and DNF in swimming explained
What DQ, DNS and DNF mean on a swimming result sheet, the common reasons for a disqualification by stroke, and how to handle them in a progress record.
Seed times, entry times and PBs explained
How seed times and entry times differ from a swimmer's PB, why they decide heats and lanes, and how to choose an entry time when filling in a meet.
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