Disqualified???

This is key. When the ref says, "Take your mark", get into position quickly, and DON'T MOVE. I got DQ'd once in a freestyle race for flinching. Yes, it was 1000 free, and yes, they let me swim the whole race. Don't let it happen to you! Hey Forumites - I have a couple questions about DQs, having received my very first one in my life just recently. The situation: block was plastic, wet, and extremely slippery and the one for my lane happened to have a 5-10% difference in downward angle, making even more hard to stay on than the other ones I used that day. I was wobbling all over, desperately trying to cling to it before the start. Swam the race. No one said anything so I thought everything was ok until I looked at the posted results and sure enough - there it was,a big fat DQ. Went to the official to ask what it was for and was told it was for the start (but for a different reason than wobbling - according to the official it looked like I got off the block faster than the others in the heat, who, BTW, were all decades older than me, regardless, I can see how it might have looked that way - there was no staying on the block). I was chastised for 'not coming to sooner'. My questions: 1) are DQs treated like traffic infractions? What I mean is that I think of this as running a stop sign because of black ice. Did I run the stop sign, i.e, did I move at the start? Heck yes. My feet were coming off the blocks with or without me just as my car went through the stop sign, regardless of how hard I pumped the brakes. So, are DQs dependent on how understanding a cop you get? Some will give you the ticket regardless of whether or not events were out of your control? 2) Would 'coming to sooner' have made a difference? Assuming the officials had actually followed USMS rules, as I understand them, and actually told me I was DQ'd at the time of the finish, and had I explained things to them right then and there, would that have made a difference? Because they didn't follow the rules, is the DQ 'legal'? 3) For future reference, what options does one have when running into trouble on the block? When the starter said 'take your mark' and my feet started sliding in, do I have the option of saying 'hey, wait a minute, please, I'm falling in' or do I just have to go with it and hope no one notices the movement? Thanks in advance for your input!

This is key. When the ref says, "Take your mark", get into position quickly, and DON'T MOVE. I got DQ'd once in a freestyle race for flinching. Yes, it was 1000 free, and yes, they let me swim the whole race. Don't let it happen to you! Hey Forumites - I have a couple questions about DQs, having received my very first one in my life just recently. The situation: block was plastic, wet, and extremely slippery and the one for my lane happened to have a 5-10% difference in downward angle, making even more hard to stay on than the other ones I used that day. I was wobbling all over, desperately trying to cling to it before the start. Swam the race. No one said anything so I thought everything was ok until I looked at the posted results and sure enough - there it was,a big fat DQ. Went to the official to ask what it was for and was told it was for the start (but for a different reason than wobbling - according to the official it looked like I got off the block faster than the others in the heat, who, BTW, were all decades older than me, regardless, I can see how it might have looked that way - there was no staying on the block). I was chastised for 'not coming to sooner'. My questions: 1) are DQs treated like traffic infractions? What I mean is that I think of this as running a stop sign because of black ice. Did I run the stop sign, i.e, did I move at the start? Heck yes. My feet were coming off the blocks with or without me just as my car went through the stop sign, regardless of how hard I pumped the brakes. So, are DQs dependent on how understanding a cop you get? Some will give you the ticket regardless of whether or not events were out of your control? 2) Would 'coming to sooner' have made a difference? Assuming the officials had actually followed USMS rules, as I understand them, and actually told me I was DQ'd at the time of the finish, and had I explained things to them right then and there, would that have made a difference? Because they didn't follow the rules, is the DQ 'legal'? 3) For future reference, what options does one have when running into trouble on the block? When the starter said 'take your mark' and my feet started sliding in, do I have the option of saying 'hey, wait a minute, please, I'm falling in' or do I just have to go with it and hope no one notices the movement? Thanks in advance for your input!