Legal Freestyle Turns??

Originally posted by mark_varney47 Does anybody know if it is illegal for a swimmer to grab the edge of the pool as they turn so as to allow them to push off more effectively from the wall and gain greater distance for their turn.I'm thinking that because the hand would be over the edge of the pool that it would be considered illegal.Of course the best thing would be for me to learn to do tumble turns. It's legal to grab the wall or the gutter, but it does slow you down. My coach likes to say..."Don't be a gutter grabber". If you must do open turns, it's better/faster to push off with your palms against thewall rather than to grab the gutter. On occasion you'll find yourself in a pool with a bulkhead with no gutter, and you'll have noting to grab. Yes, learn the flipturns. Give yourself time to learn them. The main thing is to not get discouraged while learning them. It will be awkward at the beginning, and you might aswallow some water, or get dizzy, but trust me, it gets better.

Originally posted by mark_varney47 Does anybody know if it is illegal for a swimmer to grab the edge of the pool as they turn so as to allow them to push off more effectively from the wall and gain greater distance for their turn.I'm thinking that because the hand would be over the edge of the pool that it would be considered illegal.Of course the best thing would be for me to learn to do tumble turns. It's legal to grab the wall or the gutter, but it does slow you down. My coach likes to say..."Don't be a gutter grabber". If you must do open turns, it's better/faster to push off with your palms against thewall rather than to grab the gutter. On occasion you'll find yourself in a pool with a bulkhead with no gutter, and you'll have noting to grab. Yes, learn the flipturns. Give yourself time to learn them. The main thing is to not get discouraged while learning them. It will be awkward at the beginning, and you might aswallow some water, or get dizzy, but trust me, it gets better.