GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
When may the next swimmer leave the platform during a swimming relay?
Part Two Articles 10.4.4 and 10.4.5 require relay exchanges to begin from the starting platform and forbid a running start from the pool deck. The next swimmer’s feet must stay in contact with the platform until the incoming swimmer touches the wall to complete that quarter; Article 10.5 makes the referee’s determination part of the sanction rule.
For Swimming relay fans and athletes trying to understand when the next swimmer may leave the starting platform. · Updated
Platform contact lasts until the incoming touch
Article 10.4.4 says relay exchanges start from the starting platform and do not use a running start from the pool deck. Article 10.4.5 sets the timing point: the next swimmer’s feet remain in contact with the platform until the incoming teammate touches the wall to complete the quarter.
The rule states that contact requirement directly. It does not describe an added grace period or a separate number of milliseconds by which the next swimmer may leave early.
The sanction clause depends on the referee’s determination
Article 10.5 says that if the referee determines, in the referee’s sole discretion, that a person breached an Article 10.4 requirement, the relevant relay team will be disqualified; if an athlete breached it, that athlete will also be disqualified. This is not an automatic ruling based solely on a hypothetical description, and it should not be presented as an official call on a real exchange.
The cited rules are from the February 2026 World Aquatics edition. A particular meet may name different governing rules, so check its published regulations before applying this explanation.
Fictional 4×100 freestyle relay exchange
In a fictional 4×100 freestyle relay, the next swimmer’s feet leave the starting platform just before the incoming swimmer touches the wall. That timing does not match the Article 10.4.5 contact point. Article 10.5 assigns the breach determination to the referee; this example does not predict an official decision in a real race.
Related questions
Can the next swimmer take a running start from the pool deck?
No. Article 10.4.4 requires exchanges to start from the starting platform and prohibits a running start from the pool deck.
Is every early departure automatically a disqualification?
Article 10.5 makes disqualification follow a referee determination, in the referee’s sole discretion, that an Article 10.4 requirement was breached. The rule does not describe a separate grace-period threshold, and a guide cannot decide a real exchange.