15m Rule Question

So.... how's the mood today in Chapel Hill? :cry: You're rotten. LOL

I've seen more than a few Masters swimmers hitting the 15m mark on a regular basis. It's both impressive and depressing :-) If you are going to Nationals and you want to REALLY see how it is done, watch Michael Ross swim the 100 back. He may well be the fastest backstroker in USMS (of any age) and will probably become the first 40-year-old to break 50 seconds. For comparison, Clay Britt's national record for 40-44 is 51.3 and it is not at all a soft record.

There are only a handful of masters swimmers that I've seen make it to the 16 yard mark. :bow: And the ones that did were swimming the 50 and 100 backstrokes.

That man is a huge inspiration, aside from having grown gills. :)

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

If you are going to Nationals and you want to REALLY see how it is done, watch Michael Ross swim the 100 back. He may well be the fastest backstroker in USMS (of any age) and will probably become the first 40-year-old to break 50 seconds. For comparison, Clay Britt's national record for 40-44 is 51.3 and it is not at all a soft record. Yeah, but Clay's old fashioned like Smith and does not believe in the SDK much. (Plus, he SAYS he hasn't been training much. That sounds like the Smiths too.) There is a woman on my team who has the best start among women I've seen in the PV or any other masters meets I've been too. She has to be really careful not to go past 15 meters. She gets there with 11-12 kicks; it take me 14 or so (I hate to count). My only solace is that she's 22.

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

So.... how's the mood today in Chapel Hill? :cry: As well as in, "Land of Aaahs"

My teammate Bob Smith(what is it about Smiths) pushes the 15M on his starts and turns in the 50 Back and fly.He'll be 65 for Nats and I'll be surprised if he doesn't break the 50 Bk record.

Backstroke: In the backstroke the swimmer must stay on his or her back, except during the turns. The stroke is an alternating motion of the arms -- much like the crawl stroke -- with a flutter kick. Since April of 1991, a swimmer is no longer required to touch the wall with his or her hand before executing the turn maneuver. The key to proper interpretation of the backstroke rule is the phrase "continuous turning action", i.e., a uniform, unbroken motion with no pauses. In a more technical interpretation, after the shoulder rotates beyond the vertical toward the ***, a continuous simultaneous double arm pull may be used to initiate the turn. There shall be no kick, arm pull, or floatation that is independent of the turn. The position of the head is not relevant. In all U.S. Swimming and FINA competition, each swimmer's head must surface within 15 meters of the start of the race. This is a change from the 1988 FINA rule change which stated that a swimmer must surface within 10 meters of the start of a race. The rule was passed after America's David Berkoff set a world record in Seoul using a 35-meter underwater start, nicknamed the "Berkoff Blastoff" by NBC swimming commentator John Naber. Backstroke race distances are 100 and 200 meters. Butterfly: The most physically demanding stroke, the butterfly features the simultaneous overhead stroke of the arms combined with the dolphin kick. The dolphin kick features both legs moving up and down together. No flutter kicking is allowed. As in the breaststroke, swimmers must touch the wall with both hands before turning. The butterfly was "born" in the early 1950's as a loophole in the breaststroke rules and in 1956 became an Olympic event in Melbourne, Australia. In all U.S. Swimming and FINA competition, each swimmer's head must surface within 15 meters of the start of the race. This rule was passed at the 1998 FINA Congress in Perth, Australia. USA's Misty Hyman, among other swimmers, had utilized an extended underwater start prior to the restriction. Butterfly races are swum in 100 and 200 meter distances.