Swimming: how it is set up and scored.
Competitive swimming is an individual sport raced in a 50 metre long course pool or a 25 metre short course pool, with lanes 2.5 metres wide. Events progress through heats, semi-finals and a final, or heats and a final for longer distances. The result is recorded as elapsed time, with placings and records taken from those times. World Aquatics rules apply, administered in England by Swim England.
How swimming is set up.
- Size
- 50 m by 25 m
- Match
- 3 rounds
- Squad
- 1 on the field per side, no rolling substitutes
- Scoring
- A score is a win; the result is in wins.
- Rules
- World Aquatics Competition Regulations 2026 (Part Two: Swimming Rules)
How a result is recorded.
There is no lineup to pick in swimming. A coach records these for each athlete at every competition.
Scoring and results
- Race Win
- Podium
- Final Reached
- Qualified
Playmaking and performance
- Personal Best
- Season Best
- Club Record
Turnovers and non-finishes
- Did Not Start
- Did Not Finish
Discipline
- False Start
- Disqualified
Pick the shape, drag your players onto it and share the team sheet with parents before the game. The Vanta Club app is free.
