23/05/2025
This morning I received a Facebook message from a swim parent about a rule on butterfly turns. Her swimmer had gotten DQ'd (disqualified), and she didn't understand why.
She was confused, and after reading her message, so was I.
My kids had a swim meet today, so I wanted to ask a couple friends who were officials about it, and told her I'd get back to her later on.
I'm not gonna lie. I was not up to date on this rule.
I've been around the swimming block, and I was schooled today.
But what was more interesting to me was after I thought about it, I realized I don't think I have ever told any of the swimmers I've coached about this rule since it went into effect, mostly because it's never been a situation I've dealt with in a meet.
Nobody wants their swimmers to get DQ'd.
Parents don't want their kids to get DQ'd, and coaches don't want their swimmers to get DQ'd.
But sometimes that's the easiest, fastest, and most impactful way to learn.
Swimmers don't often get repeatedly DQ'd for the same thing. It usually only takes one time to learn that lesson.
Because it sucks for a swim not to count. Especially a good swim.
But you learn so much from these mistakes.
And not just the kids who get disqualified.
After talking with some officials this morning, I was doing a lot of thinking.
I was pretty sure no coaches had ever made my kids aware of this rule. I know I hadn't.
I talked to all the kids about this today, out of curiosity.
I asked Kristofer, who is 19, if he knew you couldn't be fully submerged going into the wall on a butterfly turn.
"YES!" he said. "Because Timmy got DQ'd for that at a meet when it first became a rule like eight years ago, and ever since then it's the one thing I make sure I don't do."
Yikes. How did my kid know this and I didn't?
On the ride home from the meet I asked Kasen, Gretchen, and Marit the same thing.
"Did you guys know you can't be fully submerged on a butterfly turn or finish?" I asked them.
"What does that mean?" Kasen (14 years old) asked. 😂😂😂😂😂
Gretchen (15) was sitting in the passenger seat, and she just slowly turned her head and looked at me.
"Um, I'm pretty sure I do that every time I swim 200 IM," she said to me. "I had no idea that was a rule."
"I KNEW THAT WAS A RULE," Marit (13) said. "Jane got DQ'd for that at a meet and had a freakout."
That's when I really was able to appreciate DQ's from a different perspective today.
They taught my kids some things they never learned from a coach.
The scope of technical instruction and rules in swimming is virtually infinite.
There is so much to learn and focus on, and there is only so much time. Stuff falls through the cracks and kids can only absorb so much at once.
Today I realized that my kids (and I) have learned some really impactful lessons from other swimmers getting DQ'd.
And I know it goes both ways.
A few months ago, Marit got DQ'd at CT Age Group Championships in the 200 breaststroke for a one hand touch.
She's been swimming for 9 years, and she definitely knows this rule.
But sometimes you get lazy and sloppy and you stop paying attention to details.
She did a best time by a lot, and she would have been seeded 5th at finals.
She had to learn the hard way.
I felt bad for her, but it's better for her to learn this now than at a high school championship meet or higher level meet down the road.
Getting DQ'd doesn't prevent your kid from being a successful swimmer; it's integral to him or her becoming a successful swimmer.
After today, I realize Marit didn't just help herself when she got DQ'd. She helped other swimmers.
What comes around goes around.
And what you mess up almost always teaches you more than what you get right.
