Evidence of recreational swimming in prehistoric times has been found, with the earliest evidence dating to Stone Age paintings … See more

Competitive swimming became popular in the 19th century. The goal of high level competitive swimming is to break personal or world records while beating competitors in any given event. Swimming in competitio… See more

World Championship pools must be 50 metres (160 ft) (long course) long and 25 metres (82 ft) wide, with ten lanes labelled zero to nine (or one to ten in some pools; zero and nine (or one and ten) are usually left empty i… See more

Competitive swimming, from the club through to international level, tends to have an autumn and winter season competing in short course (25 metres or yards) pools and a spring and summer season competing in long cours… See more

There are several types of officials, which are needed to manage the competition.
Referee: The referee has full control and authority over all officials. The referee will enforce all rules and decisions of World Aquatics a… See more