Competitive Swimming

Do you like to go swimming? Lots of people like to swim for fun. However, for some people swimming isn't just fun. For them, it's a sport.

Both kids and adults participate in competitive swimming. Some kids start swimming for sport when they are only four or five years old. Usually they swim as part of a swim team. A swim team is a group of swimmers who compete in different swimming events.

Swimming events are named by their length and the type of stroke. Some of the different swimming strokes include the backstroke, the freestyle, the breaststroke, and the butterfly. The lengths include 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, and 500 meters. Some events are relays. This is when multiple swimmers take turns swimming. Each person swims part of the distance.

Most swimming events are held during something called a swim meet. This is when multiple swim teams come together to swim against one another. On a team, different swimmers often swim different events. When swimmers place in first, second, or third place in an event, they earn points for their team. After all of the events are finished, the team with the most points wins.

Some competitive swimmers only swim on teams during the summer. Others swim year-round. They do this by swimming in indoor pools. They can also swim outdoors in areas where it is warm enough to swim all year. Many high schools and colleges also have swim teams. If swimmers are really good, they can go on to join an even bigger swim team - the national swim team that competes at the Olympics.