Your swimmer just finished a race. They look up at the scoreboard. No time. Just the letters "DQ" next to their name. They look over at you in the stands with that face — the one that's half confused, half devastated.
If this hasn't happened to you yet, it will. DQs are a completely normal part of competitive swimming. They happen to eight-year-olds at their first dual meet and they happen to Olympic-level swimmers at national championships. It doesn't mean your kid did something wrong in a moral sense — it means an official observed a technical violation of the stroke rules, and the swim doesn't count as an official time.
That's it. It's not the end of the world, even though it might feel like it in the moment.
What Exactly Is a DQ?
A disqualification means the swim is invalidated. Your swimmer's time won't be recorded as an official time, it won't count for qualifying standards, and it won't show up in their time history. The swim essentially didn't happen, as far as the record books are concerned.
Officials (called stroke and turn judges) walk the sides of the pool watching every swimmer in every lane. When they see a rule violation, they write it up on a DQ slip — a small card that describes what they saw, which stroke, which part of the race, and which rule was broken. That slip goes to the referee, who makes the final call.
Your swimmer's coach will usually get the DQ slip or at least be told the reason. This is how the coach knows what to work on in practice.
Common DQ Reasons by Stroke
Every stroke has specific rules about body position, kick, arm movement, and finishes. Here's where swimmers most commonly get tripped up.
Freestyle
Honestly, it's pretty hard to get DQ'd in freestyle. The rules are the most relaxed of any stroke. The main ways it happens:
- Not touching the wall on a turn or at the finish
- Walking on the bottom of the pool (yes, this happens with very young swimmers)
- Pulling on the lane line
Backstroke
- Rolling past vertical toward the stomach on the finish — this is the big one. Swimmers sometimes flip onto their stomach too early when they're approaching the wall. You're allowed to rotate past vertical to initiate a flip turn, but only if it's part of a continuous turning action. If you just roll over and glide into the wall on your stomach, that's a DQ
- Not finishing on the back
- Taking more than a single continuous arm pull after turning past vertical during a turn — once the swimmer leaves their back to initiate the turn, the turning action must be continuous
Breaststroke
Breaststroke has the most technical rules, and it's where the most DQs happen, especially with younger swimmers.
- Alternating kick (flutter or scissor kick) — the kick must be simultaneous. If one leg does something different from the other, that's a violation
- One-hand touch — both hands must touch the wall at the same time on turns and at the finish. If one hand gets there before the other, DQ
- Arms pulling past the hips — on the arm pull, hands can't go past the hipline (except for the single pullout stroke underwater after a start or turn)
- Head not breaking the surface — the head has to break the surface of the water during each stroke cycle
- Non-simultaneous arms — like the kick, the arm pull has to be simultaneous
Butterfly
Butterfly shares some rules with breaststroke since they're both simultaneous strokes.
- Alternating kick — both legs must move together. If the official sees a flutter kick or one leg doing its own thing, that's a DQ
- One-hand touch — same as breaststroke, both hands must hit the wall at the same time on turns and finishes. This is probably the most common butterfly DQ. Swimmers reach for the wall and one hand gets there a split second before the other
- Non-simultaneous arm recovery — the arms need to come over the water together. If one arm is doing something different from the other, that's a problem
Starts and General
Staying underwater too long — in freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly, the swimmer's head must break the surface by the 15-meter mark after each start and turn. This applies to all three strokes, not just butterfly (breaststroke has its own separate pullout rules)
False start — under USA Swimming rules, it's one and done. There are no warning starts — a single false start results in a disqualification
Leaving early on a relay exchange — the next swimmer can't leave the block until the previous swimmer has touched the wall. This one stings because it affects the whole relay team, not just one swimmer
Delay of meet — not showing up to the blocks on time when your event is called
How Officials Call It
There are typically several stroke and turn judges walking the deck during a meet. They're the ones in white shirts watching each lane closely. They're not trying to catch your kid doing something wrong — they're there to make sure the competition is fair for everyone.
When a judge sees a violation, they raise their hand to signal the referee. Then they fill out a DQ slip with details: the event, heat, lane, what they observed, and which rule it falls under. The head referee reviews the slip and has the final say. Sometimes the referee will override a call if they disagree, but that's not common.
It's worth knowing that officials can only call what they see. They're human. Sometimes a violation happens and nobody catches it. Sometimes a borderline call goes against your swimmer. That's the nature of officiating in any sport.
How to React as a Parent
This is honestly the most important section of this entire post. Your reaction to a DQ matters way more than the DQ itself.
What NOT to do
- Don't argue with the officials. Seriously. Don't walk over to the stroke and turn judge and demand an explanation. Don't yell from the stands about a bad call. The officials are volunteers — parents just like you who took the time to get certified so the meet could happen. Confronting them is a bad look, it won't change the call, and it embarrasses your swimmer
- Don't interrogate your kid. They just got out of the pool after a race they put effort into, and they found out it doesn't count. The last thing they need right now is twenty questions about what happened with their kick or their touch
- Don't make it a bigger deal than it is. A DQ at a dual meet in January is not a crisis. It's a Tuesday
- Don't bring it up at dinner. Or in the car. Or the next day. Unless your swimmer brings it up and wants to talk about it
What TO do
- Stay calm. Your swimmer is going to look at you after a DQ. If you look upset, angry, or disappointed, they'll absorb that. If you shrug, smile, and give them a thumbs up, that sends a completely different message
- Let the coach handle it. The coach will get the DQ slip. The coach will talk to your swimmer about what happened technically. The coach will address it in practice. That's the coach's job, not yours
- Offer encouragement. "That's okay, it happens to everyone" goes a long way. "You looked strong in that race" is even better. Focus on the effort, not the outcome
- Move on. Your swimmer probably has more events that day. Help them shift their focus forward instead of dwelling on it
A Word About Repeat DQs
If your swimmer keeps getting DQ'd for the same thing — say, a one-hand touch on breaststroke — that's something to mention to the coach. Not in a "why isn't this fixed" kind of way, but more of a "they seem to be struggling with this, is there anything we can reinforce at home?" The coach is almost certainly already working on it, but it doesn't hurt to make sure everyone's on the same page.
It Really Does Happen to Everyone
I've watched state-level swimmers get DQ'd. I've watched kids who have been swimming competitively for years suddenly get called for something they've done correctly a thousand times. The rules are technical, the margins are small, and officials are watching closely.
A DQ isn't a failure. It's information. It tells your swimmer (and their coach) what needs work. Some of the most technically precise swimmers I've seen are the ones who got DQ'd a few times early on and learned from it.
Your kid's going to be fine. Give them a hug, hand them a snack, and remind them they've got another race coming up.