Ok - I realize that as I hit 65+, I am a little more shakey on the blocks. Fellow swimmers tell me that my starts are fairly good (I suspect they take age into consideration!); but I noticed that the guy in the lane next to me at a recent meet (who was a bit younger) started in the water and was even with me at about 20 yards into a 500.
I was wondering if anyone has a sense of what the advantage really is for "older" swimmers in terms of blocks v. in-water starts. Especially for those of us who prefer 200's and above!
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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.)
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.)
