In the strokes that require that you surface within 15m of the start, does the head itself have to break the surface by the 15m mark or does the head have to surface before the feet reach the 15m mark? I had thought it was the former but just read that it was the latter and am not sure if I should believe it or not. For many swimmers there's an almost 2m difference.
Thanks in advance!
I have the impression a body part needs to break the surface before the 15 meter mark but
what if the head doesn't break the surface
but some other body part does after the head crosses 15 meters
ande
The rule is very clear in butterfly, backstroke, and freestyle:
By , the head must have broken the surface.
It need not be your entire head. It could be your ear, your forehead, your chin, your nose, or some other part of your head (not to imply that you can't jerk your head all the way out of the water either!)--any part of your head breaking the surface means that the head too has broken the surface.
Unfortunately, some other part of the body doesn't cut it, and if the head has not broken the surface by the 15m mark, a DQ is in order, so long as the judge is certain.
Patrick King
I have the impression a body part needs to break the surface before the 15 meter mark but
what if the head doesn't break the surface
but some other body part does after the head crosses 15 meters
ande
The rule is very clear in butterfly, backstroke, and freestyle:
By , the head must have broken the surface.
It need not be your entire head. It could be your ear, your forehead, your chin, your nose, or some other part of your head (not to imply that you can't jerk your head all the way out of the water either!)--any part of your head breaking the surface means that the head too has broken the surface.
Unfortunately, some other part of the body doesn't cut it, and if the head has not broken the surface by the 15m mark, a DQ is in order, so long as the judge is certain.
Patrick King
