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
Wedges on the blocks can malfunction, too. Maybe not in the same way, but they can not seat, not move, seat on one side, etc. So I don't think moving to the blocks is a good idea. If the retractable ones are a problem, there are some that don't retract, but are a fixed distance, and rely on the officials/timers to pull them up after the start. If anyone has been to the pools in Cary or Greensboro in North Carolina, that is how they are
I officiated at the TYR Pro meet in Bloomington in May where they used the same Omega wedges as at Worlds.
As officials we had to remember to pull them out of the water after the start. Occasionally someone would forget and another official would have to remind them. It was like developing a new habit and a bit of a distraction, taking your focus off the race.
The bigger problem was the design of the wedges themselves where the straps would get tangled, or the height adjustment would slip. There was an Omega tech sitting on the start end with one or two spare wedge assemblies that they would swap out if one caused a problem.
Again, like at Worlds, after struggling with the wedges during prelims, they limited the adjustment settings for finals, if for no other reason to make sure they didn't have problems during the televised finals.
I do think that the wedges serve a useful purpose to help prevent slipping, especially against the slippery surface of the touch pads. But the powers that be need to take another look at the overall situation based on the recent issues.
I officiated at the TYR Pro meet in Bloomington in May where they used the same Omega wedges as at Worlds.
As officials we had to remember to pull them out of the water after the start. Occasionally someone would forget and another official would have to remind them. It was like developing a new habit and a bit of a distraction, taking your focus off the race.
The bigger problem was the design of the wedges themselves where the straps would get tangled, or the height adjustment would slip. There was an Omega tech sitting on the start end with one or two spare wedge assemblies that they would swap out if one caused a problem.
In Cary, they had the timers do it. Which makes sense, as they have nearly a minute to sit there. Like I'd said, they were fixed, so no adjustment. Just tied to the block and dropped in. At Futures last weekend, it may have been officials, I didnt notice. Deck was more crowded.
A wedge could be built into the pad but that would make the pool shorter.
I think the biggest problem would be hitting them with your feet and the potential for injury.
I didn't even try to use it at Nats last year. Fumbled with it during warmup and didn't want to deal with the extra stress for just two backstroke starts.
I didn't even try to use it at Nats last year. Fumbled with it during warmup and didn't want to deal with the extra stress for just two backstroke starts.
I really don't like them--I tried one start in warmup in Mesa with it and it malfunctioned, so I did a gutter start sans wedge for my 200 back. I had less than a 50% success rate with them last year in Indy, but thankfully was able to use it successfully for my 200 back there. They are super finicky in my opinion.
In response to my suggestion of forward-facing standing starts on the blocks...the only opposing responses have been "ugh." OK, I understand that some backstrokers wouldn't like it. But why? Is it simply a matter of people generally resisting change? Why is it such a bad idea? Alternatively, I guess the standing backstroke start (standing on the edge of the pool, holding onto the block, with a backwards dive) would be 'doable' too. It just seems to me that eliminating the (often failing) apparatus would be a better situation.
Dan
How about we just get rid of the stupid wedges and go back to starting from the pad?
I'm gonna hazard a guess that money is the reason the wedges will stay around. Omega and Colorado Timing Systems charge beaucoup bucks for their wedges and both are huge names in the equipment industry. Both companies make probably $600+ off of each backstroke wedge they sell, giving them a significant incentive to put pressure on the governing bodies to keep allowing wedges.
Two possible ways to resolve the slipping issue sans block mounted backstroke wedge:
1) Mandate a truly nonslip surface on touch pads
2) Create a touch pad that has some sort of spring loaded, automatically retracting platform
#1 is easily achievable--there are some pretty cool nonslip materials out there that could make backstroke start slipping a very rare occasion. #2, on the other hand, while probably technically feasible, would likely be far too mechanically complex to implement.
They already have retractable wedges - IUPUI has them, for example - but I imagine they're much more expensive than alternatives.
I just don't see why they were necessary in the first place. Yes, backstroke starts have evolved a bit in the past decade or so, but IMO the solution to more swimmers adopting a higher risk/higher reward technique like modern backstroke starts isn't to try to eliminate the risk by adding more toys...
