I have looked through the rules and either they have changed since I looked at them a couple of years ago or I am remembering wrong. Anyway here's my problem.
I have been told my flip turns are bad, I haven't seen this but that's not the point. I reciently changed my free style turn. Now instead of turning over near/around the wall I stay on my back until I break the water then turn over with my first stroke.
The rule as I remembered it was that you have to do Fly, Back, *** and then anything except the other three strokes. I did not find anything like this in the current rules but am worried that it may look like I am doing a backstroke when I am not.
I talked to my coach about it and he looked it up as well but could find nothing saying that I couldn't do it. Also will I have a problem under the FINA rules, I will be swimming in Ireland in a few weeks and do not want problems there either.
Parents
Former Member
To be a backstroke doesn't even take a stroke of any kind on your back, just being past the vertical towards the back qualifies as a back stroke. (As a matter of fact being prone, butterfly kicking all the way across the pool is a butterfly even if you do no stroke that looks like butterfly). There was a discussion amongst officials about how far a person could go on their back underwater before being deemed a backstroke. Although no definite measure was named it seemed to be that if it looked like the swimmer came off the flip turn on the back if they proceeded to turn over in the process of making their way to the surface that would not be a disqualification. If you are traveling underwater on the back and it doesn't look like you are even making a move to be prone and you surface with shoulders being past the vertical toward the back then you are on your back whether you take a stroke or not.
I myself come off on my back from a flip turn also and I dolphin on my side until about halfway to the surface then get completely over by the time I am at the surface.
Now that is just my take on the question. You could write to the head of the officials committee for a ruling.
To be a backstroke doesn't even take a stroke of any kind on your back, just being past the vertical towards the back qualifies as a back stroke. (As a matter of fact being prone, butterfly kicking all the way across the pool is a butterfly even if you do no stroke that looks like butterfly). There was a discussion amongst officials about how far a person could go on their back underwater before being deemed a backstroke. Although no definite measure was named it seemed to be that if it looked like the swimmer came off the flip turn on the back if they proceeded to turn over in the process of making their way to the surface that would not be a disqualification. If you are traveling underwater on the back and it doesn't look like you are even making a move to be prone and you surface with shoulders being past the vertical toward the back then you are on your back whether you take a stroke or not.
I myself come off on my back from a flip turn also and I dolphin on my side until about halfway to the surface then get completely over by the time I am at the surface.
Now that is just my take on the question. You could write to the head of the officials committee for a ruling.
