DNF (Did Not Finish)
Indicates that a swimmer did not complete the race.

DQ (Disqualification)
Issued when a swimmer breaks a technical rule (for example: false start, incorrect stroke, illegal turn or finish).

Disqualifications are part of competitive swimming at all levels and should be viewed as a learning opportunity.

HDW (Heat Declared Winner)
Only heats are swum — there are no finals. The swimmer with the fastest overall time in the age group wins the event, regardless of which heat they competed in.

Hot Heat
A randomly selected heat where a small spot prize is awarded. This is not an official Swim England term and varies by meet organiser.

IM (Individual Medley)
A race where all four strokes are swum in this order:
Butterfly → Backstroke → Breaststroke → Freestyle

Common distances: 100m, 200m, 400m

In a Medley Relay, the order is:
Backstroke → Breaststroke → Butterfly → Freestyle

Long Course (LC)
A 50m pool.
Regional and National Championships are held in Long Course pools.

Short Course (SC)
A 25m pool.
Short Course times are usually faster due to additional turns and push-offs.

Short Course and Long Course times are recorded separately.

Swim England Rankings
The official database where times from Licensed Meets are recorded.

Ranked times can be used for qualification to County, Regional and National competitions.

Scratch / SCR
When an event is oversubscribed, organisers may remove entries to stay within time limits.

• At Level 3 meets, the fastest swimmers are often scratched first.

• At Level 1 and 2 meets, the slowest swimmers are usually scratched first.

Scratched entries are marked as SCR.

Splits
Intermediate times recorded during a race (usually every 25m or 50m).

Splits help swimmers and coaches analyse pacing and performance. On Swim England Rankings, a stopwatch icon indicates splits are available.