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What does scratch mean in swimming?

Author

Emily Ross

Published Jan 23, 2026

Scratch. Scratching an event is declaring that, while you are at the meet and intend to race, you will not be participating in a particular race.

Why did swimmers scratch?

Scratching should only take place with a coach's approval. "Many times a new swimmer will let nerves convince them that scratching is the best way to feel better. ... However, unless there is an injury or illness, the coach will want the swimmer to follow through. The nerves they feel will be dissolved by water."

What is a Olympic scratch?

The governing body of the event would then have the authority to “scratch” the athlete from the list of competitors listed and participating in the event. Nov 1, 2018 8:34pm.

What does scratch mean in competition?

scratchnoun. a competitor who has withdrawn from competition. start, starting line, scratch, scratch linenoun. a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game.

Why are they called psych sheets in swimming?

Psych sheets are meant as a sneak peek into the meet. You can see how close the swimmers ahead of you are, and you can mentally prepare for racing your competition. You'll usually receive a psych sheet via email or in person directly from your coach.

34 related questions found

What does cut mean in swimming?

A (A Cut) Is a time classification for a swimmer or a swim. Known as the National Age Group Time Standard A. A times are faster than the BB time standards and slower than the AA time standards. AA (AA Cut) Is a time classification for a swimmer or a swim.

What does XNT mean in swimming?

They will swim in. Heat 1, Lane 4. Their team has not yet received a legal seed time and is also an exhibition race, so they have “XNT.” This means that their relay time will ​receive a time, but do not score.

What does scratch mean in a race?

A scratch in horse racing simply means that a horse that was entered to run in a race will not be running in that race. There are all sorts of reasons that a horse can be scratched from a race. First off is because of a decision by an owner or a trainer.

What is a scratch handicap?

A "scratch golfer" is a player who can play to a course handicap of zero on any and all rated golf courses. A male scratch golfer, for rating purposes, can hit tee shots an average of 250 yards and can reach a 470-yard hole in two shots at sea level.

What does scratch your scores mean?

an estimated number of strokes for a hole or course that a scratch player should make. Results will be compared to competition scratch scores.

What is the omnium?

/ A four-event pure-endurance competition with all disciplines taking place in a single day. The four events are the scratch race, elimination race, points race and the tempo race.

What does scratch mean in cycling?

A scratch race is a track cycling race in which all riders start together and the objective is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. UCI regulations specify that a scratch race should be held over 15 km for Elite Men and 10 km for Elite Women.

What does SCR mean in swimming?

SCR (Scratch) - If a swimmer decides to withdraw from an event (e.g., by failing to mark their name during Positive Check In) they are listed as SCR in meet results.

Why was Simone Manuel out of the pool in April?

Simone Manuel, after failing to make the Olympic Trials 100m freestyle final, revealed that she was diagnosed with overtraining syndrome in March, was out of the pool for three weeks until April 17 and dealt with depression, anxiety and insomnia.

How do you scratch in Olympic swimming?

Scratching From an Event:

To scratch from an event, either the swimmer or the swimmer's coach must fill out and sign a Scratch Sheet which must then be deposited in the Scratch Box within the 30 minute scratch period.

Why did Simone Manuel not swim?

"I had moments when I didn't want to go to the pool because I knew it would be bad." That was when, with the advice of her coach, Greg Meehan, and her doctors, Manuel was asked to take a three-week break from swimming. Manuel said she suffered from insomnia, depression and sore muscles.

Is Jordan a scratch golfer?

Considered the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan's not too bad on the golf course either. As per reports, the six-time NBA champion has a golf handicap of 1.3, which is much better than many other celebrity golfers.

Is being a scratch golfer good?

Scratch attains his excellent scoring level through meticulous short game consistency. The Tour players are so good that they try to get even highest-risk shots close to the hole, confident that if they miss the green they will save the next — which they do 75 percent of the time.

How many golfers are scratch?

While the USGA hasn't released a formal study, popular opinion is that only 2% of golfers are considered scratch golfers. Several surveys have found that 16% of all golfers in the US are an 8 handicap or lower.

What does scratch mean in sports?

A scratch team is a team, usually in sport, brought together on a temporary basis, composed of players who normally play for different sides. A game played between two scratch teams may be called a scratch match.

What does late scratching mean?

A late scratch is a horse that is pulled from the race shortly before the race is scheduled to begin. A late scratching is usually the results of a veterinary decision after an incident at, or on the way to the barrier stalls.

Why do they scratch horses?

Racehorses get scratched from races because of injuries or sickness, changes in track conditions, and even starting position. Additionally, trainers or owners might scratch a horse because they don't like the competition or feel their horse may get claimed. There are many reasons to scratch a racehorse from a race.

What does SB mean in swimming?

The sport class names in swimming consist of a prefix “S” or “SB” and a number. The prefixes stand for the strokes and the number indicates the sport classes. The prefixes stand for: • S: freestyle, butterfly and backstroke events. • SB: breaststroke.

What does DFS mean in swimming?

Declared False Start. A declared false start is a disqualification for a swimmer.

What does seeded mean in swimming?

Seeding – The process of assigning swimmers to lanes and heats by time. In general the swimmers with the slower seed times swim in the earlier heats. The order of swimming in the final heats depends on the type of meet.