The length of a short course pool is 25 yards. Most racing courses have 6-8 lanes and are usually four feet deep or deeper. The front edge of the starting blocks should be 30 inches above the surface of the water, the temperature should be between 78-80 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Meet

There are 16 individual events and five relay events in championship meets, conducted under the governing rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules. A swimmer can compete in up to seven events, of which no more than three can be individual events.

Freestyle Events

In a freestyle event, competitors may swim any stroke they wish, the usual stroke being the Australian crawl, characterized by the alternate overhand motion of the arms.

Backstroke Events

In backstroke, swimmers must stay on their backs except during turns. The stroke is an alternating motion of the arms. Rules allow a swimmer to turn over and do flip turns as in freestyle, before touching the wall with their feet.

Breaststroke Events

Perhaps one of the most difficult strokes to master, the breaststroke requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. The hands are pushed forward from the breast on or under the surface of the water and brought backward in the propulsive stage of the stroke simultaneously. The kick is a simultaneous thrust of the legs. No flutter or dolphin kicking is allowed. At each turn a swimmer must touch with both hands at the same time.

Butterfly Events

The most beautiful and physically demanding stroke, the butterfly features the simultaneous overhead stroke of the arms combined with the dolphin kick. The dolphin kick features both legs moving up and down together. No flutter kicking is allowed.

Individual Medley Events

The individual medley, commonly referred to as the "IM," features all four competitive strokes. The swimmer begins with the butterfly, then the backstroke, the breaststroke next and finally the freestyle.

Medley Relay

In the medley relays all four strokes are swum by different swimmers. The relay begins with the backstroke, then the breaststroke, the butterfly and ends with the freestyle.

Freestyle Relay

There are three freestyle relays that compete over 200, 400 or 800 yards. Four swimmers each swim a quarter of the race.

Starts and Turns

In the start, the swimmer is called to the starting position by the starter who visually checks that all swimmers are down and still. Once the starter is satisfied, the race is started by gun or electronic tone.

If the starter feels the one of the swimmers has jumped early, the race will be recalled and the offending swimmers disqualified.

Quick turns are essential to a good race. In all events, the swimmer must touch the wall. In the freestyle and backstroke, the swimmer may somersault as he reaches the wall, touching only with the feet. In the other two competitive events, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands before executing the turn.

Strategies

The sprint race (50 or 100 yards) are an all-out effort from start to finish. The 200-yard events require a sense of pace as well as the ability to swim a controlled sprint. Distance events (500 or 1650 yards) usually are either swum holding the same pace evenly throughout the race or negatively split.

Diving

In a championship meet, diving competition in the 1-meter event consists of five voluntary and five optional dives. In 3-meter diving competition, a competitor does five voluntary dives and six optional dives. Platform diving consists of four voluntary dives, four optional dives and three additional dives. A diver may compete from any platform level.

Event Scoring

At the PAL CCS Swimming and Diving meets, each event scores through 16 places.  The top eight competitors from the preliminaries compete in the evening finals of an event, and the next eight compete in consolation finals.  The scoring is as follows, with relays counting double points:

Place	Points	Place	Points	Place	Points	Place	Points
1st	20	5th	14	9th	9	13th	4
2nd	17	6th	13	10th	7	14th	3
3rd	16	7th	12	11th	6	15th	2
4th	15	8th	11	12th	5	16th	1