I swam at both the LC Nationals in Minneapolis and Worlds in Budapest this past summer and am wondering if others had the same reaction to the different backstroke start pads at the two meets.
At Nationals you had to hold a lever with one hand, pull the pad down with your other hand put one foot on the pad to hold it in place while you reached up to grab the block and put your second foot up. If your first foot slipped during the process after you let go of the lever the pad was likely to pop back up. The timers often helped with holding the lever but while watching many starts I noted many mishaps and much time taken for all swimmers to bet in place. It was also challenging to get the pad in the right location. All this happens in the rush of trying to get set for the start.
In Budapest it was much simpler. The pad hung from straps anchored to the starting block above. There was no need to position or adjust it. The pad was in the same location for everyone. The pad had a slight angle and was a bit wider in the in the vertical dimension. Once the swimmers started the timers pulled the pad out of the water. Swimmers just jumped in, grabbed the block and put their feet on the pad. Very simple. Less stress. Everyone has the same experience.
I vote in favor of the backstroke start pads from Worlds in Budapest. Abandon the ones from Nationals in Minneapolis.
well dan a long time ago there was not a 15m rule...so that still would not have worked.
A long time ago we were allowed to curl our toes over the edge of the gutter so there was no need for the wedge-ledge, except on those hideous European/FINA walls. What's with those anyway? they make it harder to get out of the pool so they especially $uck for very young kids and very old people. For everyone, if you don't time your short-axis turns perfectly you are in deep $hit because you can't hook the gutter with your fingers to compensate for not having enough momentum to execute a touch-turn. They create a huge reflected wave, unless there is a wave-absorbing bulkhead. Basically they are a seriously bad idea. Instead of FINA making curling the toes over the gutter illegal, they should have made those awful walls illegal, but when does FINA ever get it right?...
well dan a long time ago there was not a 15m rule...so that still would not have worked.
A long time ago we were allowed to curl our toes over the edge of the gutter so there was no need for the wedge-ledge, except on those hideous European/FINA walls. What's with those anyway? they make it harder to get out of the pool so they especially $uck for very young kids and very old people. For everyone, if you don't time your short-axis turns perfectly you are in deep $hit because you can't hook the gutter with your fingers to compensate for not having enough momentum to execute a touch-turn. They create a huge reflected wave, unless there is a wave-absorbing bulkhead. Basically they are a seriously bad idea. Instead of FINA making curling the toes over the gutter illegal, they should have made those awful walls illegal, but when does FINA ever get it right?...
