False starts and dq
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Anonymous
| We have been to several b meets and a meets and for the 8u I have seen countless false starts, and rarely a dq. Why sometimes it’s a dq and other times it’s not? Sometimes one kid goes in a 2 other follow other times it’s just one kid. |
Anonymous
| Because it's a B meet and their 8u - it's all learning and developmental as it should be. If they DQ at this age and level, find another league/program. |
Anonymous
This if four our league others may vary: If the false start is far enough ahead of the real start, that they can stop the start and recall the kid who started, they get to try again. If it's right before the signal, and the other kids have started racing, the race goes on and the kid is DQ'd. A swimmer can only get one restart per heat. So if you false start, they recall the swimmers, and you false start again that's also a DQ. |
Anonymous
Doesn't sound unreasonable. Even 8Us need to learn not to false start, and a "B" meet is a safe place to do so as there are no points at risk from a DQ. Speaking of false starts, I've seen older swimmers get DQ'd if they move out of their "set" position - not just swaying in place slightly - but actually lifting their hands and moving towards their dive position. |
Anonymous
| To be a false start, the swimmer needs to have been instructed to take their mark, take their mark, and then have either a forward or backward motion before the starting signal. There also needs to be no interference with the start (such as extra noise). |
Anonymous
| Oh yes. And even a twitch can create a DQ at a winter meet. DD earned one of those last year and still can't figure out why, even with video. Now we joke about "what if someone sneezes at the exact wrong moment?" (That is a good question, though - anyone know?) |
Anonymous
I haven't seen a twitch trigger a DQ, but I heard from another parent that their swimmer had involuntarily scratched an itch and was DQ'd. |
Anonymous
| In our division they updated the rules so that even if you false start you can still swim but it is still a dq. Which is in my opinion way better - no reason to make the little 8 and unders sad and not swim at a developmental meet or embarrass them by saying now you can’t swim. The point is to practice. But technically the time doesn’t “count” and it’s a dq. |
Anonymous
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We typically do not DQ 6&u's for a false start in a B meet. At that young age, the false start is objectively different from a stroke or touch violation and it doesn't affect the time of their swim (for ladder purposes). It's highly unlikely that a 6&u is trying to anticipate the start signal.
For older age groups, we would call the false start. But as others have posted, there are a lot of factors that go into whether it's really a false start (and a DQ) -- other noise, was the swimmer set, etc. B meets are typically loud and benefit of the doubt always goes to the swimmer. |
Anonymous
Because these are little kids who are new to swimming and new to the rules. If they get turned off as U8s there's no team later. They can be told about DQs and false starts by their coach at practice the following morning. That said, I have seen officials DQ littles at a summer "B" meet. Kid in question left the meet in tears and didn't swim again. |
Anonymous
You don't need to dq 8&unders for false starts; they aren't doing it to get an advantage. But you do need to dq for stroke violations. If you don't, then they can end up in an A meet, bumping a slower but legal kid. Now the kid with the poor technique gets dqed on Sat and the kid who worked on technique doesn't get to swim at all. |
Anonymous
I agree with you in concept but plenty of 8u get a dq. What I don’t get is why sometimes they’re nice and other times strict. It should be consistent. My 5yo got a dq on freestyle because he didn’t touch the wall first at his first b meet. Just stood up proudly. |
Anonymous
Yes, this is the rule. Ideally the starter notices someone moving and stands the swimmers up instead of proceeding with the start. But that isn’t always possible because sometimes a swimmer starts moving as the starter is finishing up saying take your marks or at the very end of that pause between the take your marks command and starting the heat. Humans can only react so quickly to what they are seeing. I wish coaches would put more of an emphasis on how important it is to not move a muscle once the swimmers are in the take your marks position. It makes it really hard on the starter to make a very quick decision if they see movement. You don’t want to wait too long between saying, take your marks and starting the heat, but you also want to prevent someone from being DQ for a false start if you can help it. Keep in mind that the starter and the ref have to agree that a false start occurred. This is done by the ref asking the starter if they saw anything right after the heat in question has started swimming. The starter is then supposed to tell the ref what they saw, if anything. If it matches what the ref is thinking, they saw, then it’s a DQ. If the ref asks the starter, whether they saw something and the starter says no, There is no DQ. These rules should be applied the same for everyone, regardless of the age or the meet. Kids don’t learn when the rules are applied inconsistently. |
Anonymous
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Sometimes a swimmer goes in early but it isn't a false start, and so it isn't a dq:
https://youtu.be/EcuBUqZkMiw?si=Vb64Cuj4oaMmN8WU |
Anonymous
Standing up during free is not cause for a dq. Pushing off the bottom is, though. |