Disqualification: The Judges located around the pool perimeter may disqualify a swimmer for a variety of reasons. They mark on a red card the information and the reason for the disqualification. These cards, called DQ Cards, are then carried to the Computer Scoring folks, and the swimmer (or entire relay team) is DQ'd accordingly... and no ribbons are awarded. The DQ Cards should then be given to the team coaches to be reviewed with the swimmers...This is a learning opportunity. The DQ Cards do not have the swimmer names, but only have Event / Heat / Lane / Swimmer number. Therefore, it is extremely important that the timing sheets reflect the actual swimmer names, and the exact events & order they swam. This is also very true for team relays, and having the timing sheets and names reflect the exact order of the swimmers. Here are some examples of why a DQ happens... Not being present for the start of a race. Too many False Starts. Back Stroke: hips rotated past 90 degrees - except during turn. Breast Stroke: Illegal kick. head below water, one hand touch on turn. Butterfly Stroke: Illegal kick, illegal arm movement, one hand touch on turn. Freestyle Stroke: pulling yourself via the lane buoy, pushing off the bottom. Individual Medley: All of the above, - wrong stroke sequence. Team Medley Relay: All of the above, - false starts.

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This page was last updated on June 23, 2003 -