INDIANAPOLIS — High school swimmers and divers will no longer face automatic disqualification for unsportsmanlike conduct for wearing jewelry or other improper attire during meets.

The National Federation of State High School Associations, the governing body for more than 18,500 U.S. high schools, has approved a change in rules to make the penalty "more appropriate for the severity of the violation," said Becky Oakes, the liaison to the federation's swimming and diving rules committee.

The new rule would disqualify the swimmer or diver only for the heat or round in which the infraction is detected. Ineligibility for the rest of the meet would result only if the situation were not corrected.

"The committee wanted to allow some flexibility in addressing something that was not an everyday occurrence, but at the same time create a structured penalty and emphasize accountability of the coach and athlete to adhere to competition rules," Oakes said Friday.

The committee also adopted the term "stationary" to swimmers' pre-race positioning rather than "motionless."

"By using the term stationary, a competitor cannot be disqualified by a twitching hamstring, something he or she can't control, but continues to not allow movement by the swimmers once in the starting position," Oakes said.