Track start vs. Traditional start?

A coaching friend of mine acually did some research comparing traaditonal grab start vs. an "upright" track start vs. a "leaning back" track start in 15m sprints. I don't have all the details but the botton line was that hands down the fastest to 15m was the "leaning back" version track start (grad was slowest). This would totally contradict the PowerStart theory. There are so many variables however, in my case my height is a hindrance getting off the blocks in all three versions but I try to make up for it with power, streamline and kick. I did get DQ'd using a grab start in Baltmore which led me to play around with the track version. Personally I had the flatter entry of a track start and it "feels" slower. Again, probably best for each of us to "test" all three versions with timed starts to 15m?

Next time you are in Socal, give me a buzz; we can commandeer a lane at UC Irvine and have Lucy Johnson evaluate. I'll even set up the video cam/tripod and we can make a study of it with a Diedrich's Coffee review period later.

Here's my take (feel free to do with it what you wish)... Grab start has to be more powerful, both feet get full thrust off the blocks, the minimal amount of force that can be applied with the arms in the track start just doesn't seem like it overcomes the loss of power by having one foot back. One nice feature they've been printing in world class meet results is the reaction time splits. They are fairly similar across the board. It would be interesting to research who does what start and what the average RT's are. No technical data here but I would imagine the difference is negligible between the two groups of starters (even when considering races are decided by 1/100ths). The main concern that I see when determining what start a swimmer should use is entry depth. Grab starts lend themselves to steeper entries while the track start provides a flatter plane and more shallow entry. It seems the grab start would make sense for breaststrokers (pullouts) and for people with fantastic underwater dolphin ability. Good dolphin kickers can kick faster than they can swim, therefore it is advantageous to them to remain underwater kicking. A poor underwater dolphin kicker would be well-advised to surface sooner to take full advantage of their start speed and begin swimming before they could possibly slow down below their maximum race pace. I think these swimmers should experiment with the track start. I see it in age group swimming a lot, a deep dive, the young swimmer kicks to the surface and has really slowed down before they begin swimming. That's also why I'm a proponent of surfacing at a max of 5 yds off the turns for most age group swimmers as well. They just don't seem to have the leg strength and core body strength to make UW kicking a benfit - yet. The other option is to learn to shallow out a grab start entry, or to surface sooner. As Tall Paul was saying, a lot comes down to taking the time with your coach or your swimmers to do 15 yd sprints and figure out what works best. For the 50 and 100 swimmers (maybe even 200 swimmers) 2/10ths or 3/10ths can be a big deal. I imagine a lot of the improvement will come from maximizing your use of your start speed in the first 10 yards than the .05 that you may lose while on the block doing one start pr the other. For you distance swimmers (first off you are wackos!) the start should be fairly inconsequential. Regards, RM

I first learned to start WAY back when, and in those days we did a very flat start. When I was trying to learn the new-fangled start, I just couldn't overcome my tendency to go flat. It is very hard to relearn something. Somebody suggested that I try the track start, and it worked. I had never done a track start, so I had nothing to "unlearn", and from the beginning I was able to not hit the water flat like I used to. So, for me the track start is definitely the way to go. No matter what the stats say, we are all individuals and different things work for different people (different strokes for different folks).

What's intersting about this Phil is that there is such a huge difference between the preferences of the two starts between Masters vs. Elite USS and College atheletes. Last weekend ASU men (#11 in the US) swam against Auburn (#2) and few of us were able to attend. Without exception every swimmer on both teams in every event used a track start (from a 45.2 100 free to a 1:47 200 fly to a 9:20 100 free). On the other hand it was mentioned earlier in this thread that the vast majority of Masters swimmers in New Zealand used a traditonal grab (I'm sure quite a few used your arm swing technique as well). Another observation, ALL of the relay swimmers stood toward the back of the blocks and took a quick, short step forward into the dive. Very cool. Interesting discussion, Wayne still waiting to hear from ya!

I thought bent over with your arms behind you, ready to swing forward and contribute to your forward speed, was the traditional start? Where I was at the age to 12 the grab start was introduced as 'new.' Anyway, the track start violates all of the principles that I understand important in a start: stay in the air as long as you can, you will never be faster; clean entry with as little splash as possible; have your weight positioned so that you are ready to push off right away. The track start is usually weak with only one leg, shallow, so you enter the water too soon, late, because you have to pull your weight over the front of the block, and splashy. I grant the advantages mentioned for a track start - fewer false starts and easier to balance, but these are not problems for most of us. I *do* believe that the grab start requires a little more skill and training. That is because if you use the legs for good height, necessary for good air time, you need a good entry technique to not go too deep in the water, while still having a splashless entry. Most of the testing I have seen on this subject use relatively novice swimmers and brief training times.

When I was coaching younger swimmers, I prescribed the track start for those who had slower reaction times. If you are quick, and I mean really quick, two legs thrusting should be better than one........ I agree with Paul that body type is also a factor. I'm waaaaayyyy faster with a grab start. Bert

Also, I remember reading a study that examined which part of the start made the most difference to get to the 15 m mark - reaction time, time in the air, time in the water, etc. I remember two things - speed under water was the most important, and reaction time was the least important. So I think coaches should work on the start that positions the swimmer to enter the water well, and ignore reaction time issues. Since we are getting anecdotal and personal, here, I am *way* slow off the blocks, I am *way* higher than other swimmers in the air (I have pictures of me even with other swimmers, with my head up and a meter or more above my competion), and often first to the 15 meter mark (that doesn't last :( )

Paul, I was going to post a similar post. I recently got into competing and I only learned the track start. The one meet I participated in in the U.S. had about a 50/50 mix on track vs. traditional. I competed last month in Melbourne, Australia and I would say 90 to 95% of the swimmers did the traditional start. This included most of the top elite swimmers, including some current and former Olympic swimmers. It got me wondering because I never tried the traditional start. I practiced the traditional start while I was in Melbourne and it felt much stronger to me than the track start. I haven't used it in competition or practiced enough to give a final opinion, but I'm thinking for me the traditional start will work much better. I am interested to see what others think. Dan

Interesting thread. I recently learned in talking to a Div 1 women's college coach that most of her swimmers use the track start because that is what they were taught as younger swimmers. My daughter was told by a starter that she had to use a "track start." This is not within the rules of competition but I've never seen any of the HS girls use a grab start. I suspect the popularity of the track start is that it's easier to teach and you are less likely to false start (a big factor for younger swimmers). I think the grab start is faster for me. I'm able to keep my weight forward and can balance on the edge of the blocks holding on with my barest fingertips. This helps me get off the blocks faster. I also think that my entry is somewhat steeper using the grab start versus track start. I find this steeper entry works wells for me since it means more torque and that translates into greater distance off the dive. It may be that the grab start works better for swimmers who have "larger" body types (that's me).