Disqualification question

I was a turns judge at an age group meet on the weekend and I have to say that judging backstroke turns was torture, especially with the younger and slower swimmers. In so many cases there was a glide between the end of the pull and the start of the flip, and usually it was just on the border of whether it was clear enough to DQ. There were probably at least four cases that a more experienced/confident judge would have DQed, including the girl in one of my lanes in the very first heat of the very first event. I only actually DQed one swimmer in backstroke and that case was really really clear. A second cause of torture, and what suprised me more was the number of breaststrokers who went too deep on their pullout and didn't break the surface by the start of their insweep. Again there were several that a more experienced judge likely would have called, only one that was so clear that I DQed him. It is hard to watch two swimmers in two lanes at once if they are relatively even. I also had a girl that I am quite sure dolphined a little as she glided into the wall, but I was focused on watching her hands for the two handed simultaneous touch that I was too late to clearly see it. But I can't think why else her hands and head started to bob up and down while gliding. I did see the guy that won the 100 *** gliding into the wall when his feet actually came out of the water and then caused a splash as they went back down. But it wasn't my lane and the judge in that lane was focused on the hand touch. There was also a girl who I am pretty sure was still well on her back when her toes left the wall in fly on her first turn, but it took me by surprise so I waited for her next turn, and it was very close but legal. I wonder if at some point judges will have some sort of video playback to check.

Originally posted by knelson Not only this, how much time do you want to spend at a meet. When each heat is over I don't want a couple minutes of down time while the officials review the tape. That was my thought too. I guess one way to address this is to give the judges until the swimmers in the next heat are told to get on the blocks. No time-outs. No delays. If they don't raise a hand/flag/spear by that time, it's too late to deek a swimmer from the previous heat.

Hello, Thanks for the interesting comments. I like the idea of the paper-- It would have left less doubt in my mind. I actually thought I was getting some advice on stroke technique rather than DQed which is why I asked when I got out of the pool. People may think that is strange, but as a fairly decent breaststroker (national qualifier) in the mid-80s (before the head position rule was changed). I remember occasions where an official would tap his/her head and say "Watch it" I generally swam my next event like a periscope in the up position and everything would be fine. Ande was right it was a "Kitajama" call. Although he was not actually called for it so I am not sure I can say that. My coach protested. Due to where I was swimming and the configuration of the pool, she had the best view of the turn. I supposed those in the stands had a better view but since even my husband was in the rec pool with my son I don't think anyone was paying that much attention. :D My coach's protest was very sweet and showed me a lot about her dedication to the team (and to me). I appreciated it. That said, I had a great time at the meet and especially enjoyed seeing the 80+ year old women strut their stuff!

Don' t get Michael started on that camera thing! (Oh, hi Michael :p). Why would having to review the tape delay the meet. The swimmer, a judge(s), and the video go to a review room. The rest of the meet goes on... It's not like results are posted as soon as you get out. What 's the big deal?

Mary, the rule on disqualifications states: 102.15.2—The referee or designated official making a disqualification shall make every reasonable effort to seek out the swimmer or the swimmer’s coach and inform them as to the reason for the disqualification. There is no specific script for the official to follow when informing the swimmer.

"Do the officials usually tell you that they are disqualifing you?" yes they do when they see a swimmer do something that disqualifies them, they first raise their arm, then they notify the head judge, after the swim is done, they walk over to the swimmers lane and tells the swimmer their swim was disqualified and the reason for the disqualification. It sucks to get DQed, especially when you feel you didn't do anything wrong. It also sucks when a swimmer should be DQed and isn't. Like when Kosuke Kitajima in the 100 *** at the Olympics, he took a dolphin kick in the prelims and the judges didn't call him on it. He won Gold, Hansen took Silver or when the east german and chinese women were taking steriods. DQ's are worse when you're the reason a relay gets disqualified. You may feel like you let your team down. to decrease the likelihood of getting DQed in a meet Always use legal technique in practice I confess that I often break stroke in fly, do one handed turns in fly and *** and pull on the lane rope on backstroke but I try not to in meets. Ande

Originally posted by Mary Never having experienced this before, I was wondering do the officials usually actually say "I am disqualifying you" or "You are disqualified" or is the suggestive comment supposed to serve this purpose. I've only been disqualified once, and the only notification I received of it was seeing a DQ in place of a time when the heat results were posted 15 or 20 minutes later. I then had to find out who had disqualified me and chase him down to get a reason. It turns out that he had disqualified me for doing a flutter kick after my turn. I was certain that I had not, in the ordinary sense, done a flutter kick at any time during the heat, but I did recall that after I had turned and was rolling onto my ***, my body had momentarily wobbled along the axis of my spine. If you do this and your feet aren't completely together, it can look like a momentary flutter kick.

Wow Maryyyyyyy - that's a great photo. But I would tell everyone you were legal and everyone else is just trying to catch up!

Please let's not go down the Kitajima road again :rolleyes: DQing seriously sucks. Sorry to hear that. Do you know what you did wrong so you know not to do it again? I think Masters officials are usually fairly lienient (sp?) but they have to call obvious dqs - one that comes to mind is the backstroke turn where one flips onto their stomach but doesn't flip. Anyway ... I'd make sure you know for next time. Also, people get DQ'ed ALL the time ... there were SEVERAL dqs in final heats in the Olympics so don't stress, just try not to do it again.

I got rightfully dqd 2 years ago in a long course 50m fly race for false start. I just plain took off way before the whistle blew. I knew I'd be dqd but I swam out the race. The official informed with a belly-aching laugh when I reached the other end of the pool. I was laughing pretty hard too, as were all my friends. Got a great photo of it! Let's see if I can attach it....