The backstroke wedges have been malfunctioning.
I didn't want to hijack Allen's thread about the "FINA Worlds Controversy" but his comment about the backstroke starts is something I've thought about a lot.
The swim events that I participate in are pretty much non-meet type events. So, I don't really have much experience with the starts in pool events. Consequently, there will probably be some disagreement with my comment, or just plane refusal to consider it. But I've talked with numerous swimmers who've had issues with backstroke starting "wedges" and/or handles, and other backstroke start related equipment. And, I've seen lots of complaints about that same equipment here in the swim forums. But...why in the world won't FINA take steps to have backstroke start up on the blocks like the other strokes and eliminate all that backstroke start equipment as a problem? Make it so that backstrokers dive into the water just like all the other strokes, and have to surface by the 15m line and first stroke must be on their back. Wouldn't that make things so much easier?
Dan
Yeah, IUPUI has the CTS ones, which retail at $650+ apiece. I think they have even more issues than the Omega ones that sparked the controversy at Worlds. I've used them at IUPUI, San Antonio, and Mesa and they've been problematic each time. Not just problematic for me--watching other swimmers practice with them during warmup and in races, I can't even count the number of times I've seen people have issues operating them or dealing with malfunctions.
Yeah, IUPUI has the CTS ones, which retail at $650+ apiece. I think they have even more issues than the Omega ones that sparked the controversy at Worlds. I've used them at IUPUI, San Antonio, and Mesa and they've been problematic each time. Not just problematic for me--watching other swimmers practice with them during warmup and in races, I can't even count the number of times I've seen people have issues operating them or dealing with malfunctions.
