Turns & Streamlining

I think it boils down to the efficiency of your dolphin kick, as Rob has stated, and your stamina/fitness level. The longer the race the less likely it becomes that anybody is going to be doing dolphins off the wall. If you are doing dolphins off of the wall and you can maintain your composure and stroke strength then I guess it would be worthwhile to do so. If dolphin kicking fatigues you to the point that your swimming suffers then a flutter kick is probably better suited for that race.

It all depends on the strength of your dolphin kick. A great underwater dolphin is faster than a great underwater flutter kick. I’m sure you can find advocates of both techniques.

Thanks Matt & Rob. Makes sense to me. The video by the way was by Lindsay Benko.The other point that surprised me was that she suggested turning and pushing off while still on your back and rolling over with a freestyle kick.I was trained to push off on my side but her suggestion is that pushing off on your back is marginally faster .Looking at the rules I guess it's OK so long as you have completely rolled by the time you take a stroke.i.e. You cant do backstroke. (I had been competing in ocean swimming until recently and just ventured back to the pool over the last year) Any tips on fast Butterfly turns...i.e for short course 50's ?

All the world class competitors seem to take one big down beat of dolphin ...and then start fluttering (for the sprint freestyle events). Perhaps the breakout is faster and less clumsy when making the transition from dolphin to flutter kicks. The 50 yard free specialists come off the 1st and only turn with a power flutter. On the other hand...the mens 200 free record was first broken this year by Mr. Dolphin kick himself...Phelps....and then further crushed at this year's NCAA's. Probably had everything to do with dolphins off the walls. To answer your tips question...the undulation on the kick is fast and tight...coming mostly from the hips.

Originally posted by Dobbie The other point that surprised me was that she suggested turning and pushing off while still on your back and rolling over with a freestyle kick.I was trained to push off on my side but her suggestion is that pushing off on your back is marginally faster .Looking at the rules I guess it's OK so long as you have completely rolled by the time you take a stroke.i.e. You cant do backstroke. Why can't you do backstroke? It probably won't be as fast, but there's no reason in the rules why you can't do it (unless it's part of a medley). Bob