Starts - Blocks v In Water

My first 200 was a NT so I seeded with a wide range of swimmers. One was 87, he started in the water, another was in his sixties and dove but from the side. Although starting from the block is the fastest, I have to hold back a little from fear of dislocating a shoulder that needs fixing. I'm still considering dive starts from the side.

Diving from the blocks is about 1 sec faster than from the pool deck and about 2 sec faster than in the water starts.Do what ever feels safe for you.

I'd say the only way to know for sure is to swim an all out 25 once from the block and once from a push and compare times. Anything else is just a guess.

Some time in a 50, but longer - it's up to you & the sore body parts. A man on our team still dove from the blocks at 81. I wish to be so lucky to be doing that at that age.

The advantage of a block start depends a lot on the quality of the dive and streamline. My rule of thumb is also 2 seconds, but this will shrink as the dive becomes less powerful and the streamline less tight. My guess is that most of those who feel shaky enough on the blocks to be considering an in-water start are giving up considerably less than 2 seconds. This is only a generalization, though: balance, strength, and flexibility are very different things. (The OP can ignore this comment, as he said he had good starts.)

I'm glad someone posted about this topic. I was wondering the same thing in regards to how much time is lost when starting in the water vs from the blocks. At my last meet, I started from the blocks and wound up hitting the bottom of the pool with me knees (yep, it was a bad start). Also, trying to get a good jump absolutely tore my knees up and my arthritis flared up horribly. When starting from the wall, how does one go about letting the referee/timekeepers, etc. know that you are starting down there? Do you have to tell them ahead of time, or when they announce your heat just jump in and wave and say "hey, I'm starting from the wall"??

Are there any timer configurations incompatible with any starts other than block, like reaction time setups? Also, is there a possibilty of triggering a "finish" on the pad with the feet upon initial push? That would be a 50 in a fraction of a second - lol.

It is my understanding that you should jump in at the long whistle,when the others are to be climbing onto the block.When the "gun"(beep) goes off the pad goes dead for a set time to prevent the accidental stopping of the timer.

I agree with Allen on the approximate advantages of a block start. For a longer swim, if you are worried about your start, a block start may be a disadvantage. You have the stress (block) vs confidence (push) factor as well as an energy factor. A block start takes a lot more energy than a push, and that energy might be better saved for the back half of the race. If you aren't worried about adding 2 seconds to your time, and would enjoy the race more from a push, start from a push. When starting from the wall, how does one go about letting the referee/timekeepers, etc. know that you are starting down there? Do you have to tell them ahead of time, or when they announce your heat just jump in and wave and say "hey, I'm starting from the wall"?? Best bet, ask the starter before the meet starts. You can probably hop in after the person in your lane finishes. At a fast run meet during heats of 50s, expect this to be a bit of a cluster. Dive overs are common, where the next person starts while the last person waits in the water until the race has started to climb out, which means there would be two people on the wall. Of course, heats of 50s are always a bit of a cluster.

So, for wall starts, do you have one hand and both feet on the wall or are you just kinda hanging there with your hand on the top of the wall/gutter? Or is that something I need to ask the timekeeper/ref?