A serious question (I know, how unlikely is that?): I've been on the shelf most of the year since Nov., and I'm really curious as to how the new allowance of the single dolphin kick is being called. Not the official interpretation, but the actual experience of fellow breastrokers in meets, whether Open or Masters, local, zone or nats. At the time we originally discussed the new rule, there was the sentiment that some would push the envelope towards the second half-kick- is this happening, or are some calling it super-tight to avoid that?
Parents
Former Member
Hey man,
Yet another reason not to swim *** stroke. The snail darter of the competitive swimming world. It's the slowest stroke. It has less in common with all the other strokes. And, it exists only with massive, artificial protection at the behest of "purists" who live in constant fear that it will somehow morph into some stroke "less aesthetic" than the good ole days of their fondly remembered high school swimming careers.
The best thing I can say about *** stroke is that the aforementioned massive protection resulted in the invention of the true stroke of the Gods, and acid test of who is a real swimmer instead of a rec swim pretender, the butterfly. Please note the contrast. Since its invention, I am unaware of any raging controversy (and the concomitant whining and hand wringing) about the legality of certain techniques in a butterfly race. Simple, recover your arms simultaneously and over the water, kick with your legs together, and touch the wall simultaneously and at the same level. No haggling over BS. No tiresome controversies about which phenominal swimmer and present or former world record holder is "cheating." The only challenge in fly is learning how to swim the darn thing easily and being in good enough shape to finish the darn race. Imagine that, swimming ability, and not the capacity to whine louder than anyone else, determining the outcome.
No, all this caterwauling over minutiae is not at all comparable to dolphining off of the turns in free and back. First, freestyle. Please note that by definition it is any form of locomotion that does not involving pushing off of the bottom of the pool or tugging on the lane line. Hence the delicious freedom from stroke judging controversy. But more to the point, body dolphining is completely in keeping with both the letter and the spirit of the stroke. Backstroke also has a simple concept; stay on your flippin' back. If you can body dolphin the entire length of the pool with your nose pointed more towards the surface of the water than the pool floor, hey, you're on your back. It is worth noting that backstroke does indeed come in third behind free and fly in that it has been permitted certain liberties to enable efficient turns, and similarly a reasonable limit has been placed on body dolphining to prevent backstroke from turning completely into a submarine race (as it might in a 25 yard pool, which is itself a fadish abomination that does not travel well outside of the borders of the U.S.) These artificial interventions have in fact generated more controversy than one sees in fly or free races. However, it is nothing compared to the stroke beloved by trial lawyers, devils' advocates, and general pains in the neck everywhere.
Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you the *** stroke, or whatever the heck it has morphed into this week.
Matt
Hey man,
Yet another reason not to swim *** stroke. The snail darter of the competitive swimming world. It's the slowest stroke. It has less in common with all the other strokes. And, it exists only with massive, artificial protection at the behest of "purists" who live in constant fear that it will somehow morph into some stroke "less aesthetic" than the good ole days of their fondly remembered high school swimming careers.
The best thing I can say about *** stroke is that the aforementioned massive protection resulted in the invention of the true stroke of the Gods, and acid test of who is a real swimmer instead of a rec swim pretender, the butterfly. Please note the contrast. Since its invention, I am unaware of any raging controversy (and the concomitant whining and hand wringing) about the legality of certain techniques in a butterfly race. Simple, recover your arms simultaneously and over the water, kick with your legs together, and touch the wall simultaneously and at the same level. No haggling over BS. No tiresome controversies about which phenominal swimmer and present or former world record holder is "cheating." The only challenge in fly is learning how to swim the darn thing easily and being in good enough shape to finish the darn race. Imagine that, swimming ability, and not the capacity to whine louder than anyone else, determining the outcome.
No, all this caterwauling over minutiae is not at all comparable to dolphining off of the turns in free and back. First, freestyle. Please note that by definition it is any form of locomotion that does not involving pushing off of the bottom of the pool or tugging on the lane line. Hence the delicious freedom from stroke judging controversy. But more to the point, body dolphining is completely in keeping with both the letter and the spirit of the stroke. Backstroke also has a simple concept; stay on your flippin' back. If you can body dolphin the entire length of the pool with your nose pointed more towards the surface of the water than the pool floor, hey, you're on your back. It is worth noting that backstroke does indeed come in third behind free and fly in that it has been permitted certain liberties to enable efficient turns, and similarly a reasonable limit has been placed on body dolphining to prevent backstroke from turning completely into a submarine race (as it might in a 25 yard pool, which is itself a fadish abomination that does not travel well outside of the borders of the U.S.) These artificial interventions have in fact generated more controversy than one sees in fly or free races. However, it is nothing compared to the stroke beloved by trial lawyers, devils' advocates, and general pains in the neck everywhere.
Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you the *** stroke, or whatever the heck it has morphed into this week.
Matt
