TSA Swimming 101
The Tarheel Swim Association (TSA) is North Carolina's largest summer recreational youth swim league! Over 10,000 athletes aged 18 and under competed in 2014 for TSA's 82 member teams located all over Wake County. For more information, check out the TSA web site at http://www.tsanc.org.
Some Important Rules to live by at a TSA Meet
To protect the health and safety of swimmers, participants, and attendees, smoking will not be allowed within the pool enclosure.
Drinking of alcoholic beverages will not be allowed during the meet by spectators, parents, participants, coaches and all meet volunteers.
Overt displays of unsportsmanlike conduct by parents, swimmers, coaches, guests, or any person at the swim meet, will not be tolerated. Such disturbances could warrant removal of the person or persons from the property.
On the blocks and during a race, a swimmer is not permitted to wear a cap bearing the name of any team other than the TSA team for which he or she is competing.
Meet Format
All TSA meets start with Medley Relays for the 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-18 age groups.
Following the Medley Relays, all ages will swim the four competitive swimming strokes, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, with the exception that 6 and under swimmers do not participate in butterfly.
The Freestyle Relays are at the end of the meet for the same age groups as the Medley Relays.
In Freestyle events, the competitor may swim any stroke. The stroke most commonly used is sometimes called the crawl, which is characterized by the alternate stroking of the arms over the surface of the water surface and an alternating (up-and-down) flutter kick.
Backstroke consists of an alternating motion of the arms with a flutter kick while on the back. On turns, swimmers may rotate to the stomach and perform a flip turn and some part of the swimmer must touch the wall. The swimmer must finish on the back.
Breaststroke requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. The hands are pressed out from in front of the breast in a heart shaped pattern and recovered under or on the surface of the water. The kick is a simultaneous somewhat circular motion similar to the action of a frog. On turns and at the finish, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands simultaneously at, above or below the water surface.
Butterfly features a simultaneous recovery of the arms over the water combined with an undulating dolphin kick. In the kick, the swimmer must keep both legs together and may not use a freestyle, scissor or breaststroke kick. Both hands must touch the wall simultaneously on the turns and the finish.
