--- title: "Swimming strokes and events: read Portuguese race codes" description: "Swimming strokes and events are listed by distance, stroke and group on Portuguese meet programmes. Read Mar, Est, Fem and Mas, then check the série and lane." url: "https://swimtrack.ai/blog/the-events-and-the-strokes/" lang: "en" author: "SwimTrack" publisher: "SwimTrack" license: "Free to read and quote with attribution to SwimTrack. Not for resale. https://swimtrack.ai/terms/" published: 2026-09-18 pillar: "parent-role" audience: "parent" --- # Swimming strokes and events: read Portuguese race codes Swimming strokes and events are listed by distance, stroke and group on Portuguese meet programmes. Read Mar, Est, Fem and Mas, then check the série and lane. > **Idea in Brief** > - **Every line follows one pattern.** Read the distance, stroke and group; relay lines put the team size first. > - **Five Portuguese words do the work.** Livres, costas, bruços, mariposa and estilos name every stroke entry. > - **Estilos has a fixed order.** It includes all four strokes, with a different relay order. The programme is taped to the wall, and you’re scanning the names for your swimmer. Beside the name sits “200 Mar Fem,” with a série and lane that still mean little. The code is simpler than it looks. A prova is an event or race, while a série is one heat within it. The balizamento is the heat-and-lane sheet that says who swims when and where. The caderno de provas or programa gives the full meet programme and running order. If the rest of the day feels unfamiliar, [your swimmer’s first meet](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/your-swimmers-first-meet) explains how a meet day runs. The federation writes five stroke words. **Livres** means freestyle. **Costas** means backstroke. **Bruços** means breaststroke. **Mariposa** means butterfly. **Estilos** means medley. The 2026-27 national programme spells them out, so a line reads “200 Mariposa Fem” or “400 Estilos Mas”. The qualifying-time table in the same document cuts each one to a single letter: **L**, **C**, **B**, **M** and **E**. Last season’s programme used three-letter forms, so “200 Mar Fem” and “400 Est Mas” name the same two races. **Fem** is short for femininos, and **Mas** for masculinos. An **estafeta** is a relay, so its line begins with the team size and distance. This season’s tables read “4x100 Estilos Fem” and “4x200 Livres Fem”. **Misto** marks a mixed team, as in “4x100 Estilos Misto”. Once you can read the event label, [the relay effect](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/the-relay-effect) explains why sharing a race can matter to swimmers. **Estilos** combines all four strokes in one race, and the order is fixed. In an individual estilos race, World Aquatics sets this exact order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle. Each stroke takes one quarter of the full distance. In an estilos estafeta, the exact order is backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle. **Livres** has a wider meaning in the rulebook. In a standalone livres race, the swimmer may use any style. Inside estilos, freestyle means any style other than backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly. Distances depend on the meet and age category. In this season’s Campeonato Nacional de Infantis programme, the only 50-metre event is 50 Livres. The Campeonato Nacional de Juvenis programme also carries 50 Costas, 50 Bruços and 50 Mariposa. At both national meets, 800 Livres sits on the women’s programme and 1500 Livres on the men’s. Those details belong to this season. The programme for any meet comes from that meet’s own regulamento, never from memory. Knowing the names lets you answer the useful question: what race is my kid swimming? It also tells you where to look on the balizamento. This is vocabulary, not technique. What the strokes are called and where they appear is your business. How your swimmer races them belongs to the coach. --- ### Share it with your swimmer Keep the explanation as short as the code: - **Under 12 (you're driving).** *“Mar means mariposa, so this is your 200-metre butterfly race.”* A direct translation keeps the code manageable. - **12–15 (sharing the wheel).** *“Can you read 400 Est Mas for me?”* Asking them to decode it helps the terms stick. - **16+ (they're driving).** *“I can read the balizamento if you want another pair of eyes.”* The offer leaves them in charge. ### Stay aligned with your coach Reading the programme is your lane; how the race is swum belongs to your swimmer and coach. If an entry is unclear, ask the coach, *“Can you confirm which prova this abbreviation refers to?”* Use the answer to find the right série, then leave the race plan with them. ### Keep exploring - [Your swimmer's first meet](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/your-swimmers-first-meet) — See how the waiting, logistics and short races fit into a first meet. - [The relay effect](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/the-relay-effect) — Learn how teammates’ energy lifts races and makes belonging worth protecting. - [Swimming meets in Portugal](https://swimtrack.ai/meets/) — Check national meet dates, host cities and links to each official source. - [Portugal's qualifying times (TAC)](https://swimtrack.ai/time-standards/portugal-fpn-tac/) — Look up FPN qualifying times and the rules for using them. ## Related reading - [First swim meet: what to expect before and between races](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/your-swimmers-first-meet/) - [Why swimmers go faster in relays: the relay effect](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/the-relay-effect/) - [Is that a good swim time for their age? How to judge it](https://swimtrack.ai/blog/is-that-a-good-time-for-their-age/) --- SwimTrack — https://swimtrack.ai HTML version of this page: https://swimtrack.ai/blog/the-events-and-the-strokes/