Rob, they're looking for a back to *** turn. It seems to me that yo demonstrated a backstroke turn.
This is best I can do to explain the turn:
At the flags, count the number of strokes you would take to touch the wall. If you'll touch with your right hand, turn your head back and to the left (slight homage to "JFK"). Your right arm will recover and go behind your head and reach for the wall while your body is rotating to the left. If you put your right arm in front of your head, chances are good that you'll over-rotate and be disqualified.
Once your hand hits the wall, continue rotating your body towards the left side while flipping over as you would for a freestyle or backstroke turn. That means you will flip and your feet will point slightly upwards. The hand that touched the wall should recover close to the surface or over it, while the other arm sneaks forward underneath your body.
This is quite difficult to explain verbally. I learned by watching my teammates in college and IM competitors. And I taught some of my age groupers by getting in the water and showing them. They learned quicker that way than me showing them on deck.
I must warn you: Doing the turn takes A LOT of energy. You will need to have a good amount of lung capacity because you'll be underwater for at least five seconds from the time you look back to the wall to the time you surface from the pullout. It's true that the turn is faster than the open turn. But if you can't stay underwater through the pullout, then you've lost the advantage.
My recommendation is to not do the turn in the 400 IM. And to practice the turn EVERY TIME YOU DO A BACK TO *** TURN. Practice makes perfect. It took me six months to have the confidence to do in in a meet. Not just for the breath control, but to assure I wouldn't get disqualified.
Which brings up another point. There have been officials who have never seen the rollover turn before I did it in a meet, and they were confused and initially DQ'd me because it was different. I wondered if they had ever watched an elite swimmer race the IM before? Three of the top four finishers in the 200 IM did the turn in Athens. So at local meets you might want to be a little conservative on the rollover. Don't worry about it at nationals, though, because those officials have seen it before and know how far is too far before you're on your stomach.
Good luck!!!!
Rob, they're looking for a back to *** turn. It seems to me that yo demonstrated a backstroke turn.
This is best I can do to explain the turn:
At the flags, count the number of strokes you would take to touch the wall. If you'll touch with your right hand, turn your head back and to the left (slight homage to "JFK"). Your right arm will recover and go behind your head and reach for the wall while your body is rotating to the left. If you put your right arm in front of your head, chances are good that you'll over-rotate and be disqualified.
Once your hand hits the wall, continue rotating your body towards the left side while flipping over as you would for a freestyle or backstroke turn. That means you will flip and your feet will point slightly upwards. The hand that touched the wall should recover close to the surface or over it, while the other arm sneaks forward underneath your body.
This is quite difficult to explain verbally. I learned by watching my teammates in college and IM competitors. And I taught some of my age groupers by getting in the water and showing them. They learned quicker that way than me showing them on deck.
I must warn you: Doing the turn takes A LOT of energy. You will need to have a good amount of lung capacity because you'll be underwater for at least five seconds from the time you look back to the wall to the time you surface from the pullout. It's true that the turn is faster than the open turn. But if you can't stay underwater through the pullout, then you've lost the advantage.
My recommendation is to not do the turn in the 400 IM. And to practice the turn EVERY TIME YOU DO A BACK TO *** TURN. Practice makes perfect. It took me six months to have the confidence to do in in a meet. Not just for the breath control, but to assure I wouldn't get disqualified.
Which brings up another point. There have been officials who have never seen the rollover turn before I did it in a meet, and they were confused and initially DQ'd me because it was different. I wondered if they had ever watched an elite swimmer race the IM before? Three of the top four finishers in the 200 IM did the turn in Athens. So at local meets you might want to be a little conservative on the rollover. Don't worry about it at nationals, though, because those officials have seen it before and know how far is too far before you're on your stomach.
Good luck!!!!
