Hi,
I just read Doug Strong's awesome story from LC Nationals. He had mentioned a previous DQ in the meet for something he thought was very questionable. That reminds me...
Does anyone else think the latest backstroke rule is a little silly? I'm talking about the one where one glides into the wall "too long" on their stomach for the turn. To me, as I mentioned, it just seems silly. (1) I believe the rule says that you must have continuous forward motion into the turn. If you are gliding in, which by the way is not faster, then you are moving forward. I've yet to see one stop completely! And (2) there is definitely no advantage to gliding in for that "moment too long" that is the decision of the official.
I have a feeling that this rule will go by the way of some other rules and be gone in the next few years.
Just some thoughts, and a question :)
Karen
I think the rule is dumb, too. I don't know why they ever changed the backstroke rule in the first place. The old "stay on your back the entire time" certainly seems more like what backstroke should be to me, and, besides, it's easier to officiate.
Does anyone know why the rule was changed in the first place?
I'm kinda thinking it was around the time Berkoff et al started swimming a good part of the race undewater. Maybe it was sort of a concession to that "ok, you can only stay underwater for 15 meters, but you won't have to touch the wall with your hand anymore. Deal?"
Anyone know?
I agree that it is actually a disadvantage to glide too long - obviously, it's slower for the swimmer, and why should you be disqualified for something that gives you an actual disadvantage?
My biggest problem with the rule is the way it's written. What does "continuous motion" mean? Does it mean that the swimmer can't stop? Does it mean that they have to begin their flip as soon as they complete their arm pull? Within a tenth of a second? Do they have to roll to their stomach and commence the flip within a certain amount of time?
If turns are going to be done as they are, maybe the rule should state that the swimmer gets one arm pull and can not kick once they've rolled off of their back. I would think that should eliminate any confusion.
But the easiest solution may just to do the turns "the old-fashioned way".
Originally posted by Manticora
But the easiest solution may just to do the turns "the old-fashioned way".
As the saying goes, once the poop is out of the goose (or the toothpaste is out of the tube, or the genie is out of the bottle) you can't put it back in.
They'll never go back. For one thing, it would make future records nearly impossible to break from the current times that were created using the new style of turn.
I heard from a USA-Swimming official that there was a rule proposal to modify the backstroke turn rule. I'm not sure of the details, but I understood it was to make it okay to kick/glide once you passed the flags. I think the technical committee is meeting in Indy during Worlds. Does anyone know anything about this?
In regard to why the rule was changed to the roll-over turn, I heard at the time (I do not remember the source) that it was due to shoulder injuries with the old turn. When a swimmer reached back too far before flipping, it placed stress on the shoulder.
It's all hearssy, so take it for what it's worth.
Betsy Durrant
I agree with the one pull idea, but no kick is crazy. How would we ever get our legs over our head? I need at least one kick.
My vote: Let the one arm pull be the rule and the swimmer could kick as long as the turn was initiate between the flags and the approaching wall. This would not give much of an advantage, unless you can kick faster than you swim.
Phil,
Are you describing the one similar to the back to *** IM turn where they flip instead of kind of sit turn?
I do not wish to go back to the old turn either. I don't ever recall hurting my shoulders doing it. I remember cracking my head on the wall several times as an age-grouper though! Or wait, was it in Masters? See, I must have really done some damage :)
I am stuck in the ice age I suppose, the sit and spin turn...
When the "new" turn came out it just slapped of freestyle (in my opinion only) and it reminded me of the freestylers who couldn’t grasp the grace of the backstroke. I remember someone saying once that backstroke was just freestyle flipped over. I was flabbergasted!
As I understand it, swimmers were starting to do a more sophisticated turn (I tried it a few times, also) to roll and reach over their body, touching the wall when their shoulders were nearly vertical. Is this clear? Imagine you are on your back, and your right arm is starting to recover. It reaches over the body/head, the body rotates to the left, the right hand touches the wall and you flip on the short axis from nearly front down to front up.
As you can imagine a good such turn would be difficult to officiate, as it would be difficult to determine if the swimmer rolled over to the front before or after the touch. This is why the rule was changed, to make it more easy to judge.
Guvnah is right, there is no way the rule will go back to what it was. I don't miss it, I love the 'new' turn, it is fast and easy and may let me beat my old college backstroke times (and 'new' shows our age. I swim with a guy who has done a 2:03 200 m LC back, and he never heard of another type of turn, besides what they do now.)
