[header] How to not get disqualified when swimming freestyle [title] Don't false start. [step] It is better to be the last to leave the blocks, and not get disqualified than to be first off the blocks and have the embarrassment of getting out of the water either halfway through your event, or at the finish. If you do a false start, you are automatically disqualified in most competitions, unless the official says otherwise. 
[title] Don't go past the 15 metre mark underwater. [step] In any event you cannot pass this marker underwater, you have to have surfaced before this.