After seeing some accomplished swimmers get disqualified in Austin, our masters group has been trying to interpret the rules on both the butterfly and breaststroke turns.
The first question is related to the "simultaneous touch":
The 2008 USA Swimming Rules and Regulations book states for both strokes: "The touch shall be made simultaneously at, above, or below the water surface."
Does this mean that one hand can be above the water and one below the water as long as they touch at the same time? We all seem to remember as kids that the touch had to be simultaneous on the same horizontal plane.
For breaststroke, the book also states that throughout the stroke "the arms shall be simultaneous and in the same horizontal plane...", so if that is the case, then the swimmer would have to touch the wall at the same level.
There is no such added description for arms in the butterfly stroke.
The second question is regarding the body position upon leaving the wall:
For breaststroke, the book states: "...after each turn when the swimmer leaves the wall, the body shall be kept on the ***." Must the swimmer be 100% flat as soon as their feet leave the wall?
For butterfly, it states: "Once the turn has been made, the shoulders must be at or past the vertical toward the *** when the swimmer leaves the wall."
To further complicate things, for the backstroke to breaststroke turn in the IM, the rule book states: "Once the legal touch has been made, the swimmer may turn in any manner but the shoulders must be at or past the vertical toward the *** when the swimmer leaves the wall and the prescribed breasstroke form must be attained prior to the first arm stroke."
Does anyone have any insight into these rules?
Thanks!
Which also begs the question--and it's been asked here before but I don't know the exact interpretation of the rules--can you come into the wall in breatstroke with only a pull and not a kick? If your timing is off at all this can happen routinely and I've never been sure if this is illegal or not. The rules definitely state that a pull must be followed by a kick, but does this also apply going into the turn?
I was DQd for this during a 400 SCM IM a few years ago, having not bothered to look at that particular rule for, oh, thirty years or so. First time I was ever DQd for Beautiful Stroke, my fav. I thought that it was funny that the world-class swimmers seemed to be gliding into their turns without that short stroke we used to take, but found out the hard way!
Which also begs the question--and it's been asked here before but I don't know the exact interpretation of the rules--can you come into the wall in breatstroke with only a pull and not a kick? If your timing is off at all this can happen routinely and I've never been sure if this is illegal or not. The rules definitely state that a pull must be followed by a kick, but does this also apply going into the turn?
I was DQd for this during a 400 SCM IM a few years ago, having not bothered to look at that particular rule for, oh, thirty years or so. First time I was ever DQd for Beautiful Stroke, my fav. I thought that it was funny that the world-class swimmers seemed to be gliding into their turns without that short stroke we used to take, but found out the hard way!
