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!
To clarify some advise on in-water starts and administrative procedure. IT will specifically vary from meet to meet and official to official, but a general guideline is this:
* You should notify the Meet Referee or the Starter that you will need an in-water start. You should do this after they have their heat sheet for your event. In some meets (like our New England LMSC champs), we seed each event 60 minutes before it swims. So you should wait until the heat sheets are posted, and then tell the referee, so that they can mark it on their program.
* In most meets, you're probably safe to do this maybe about 5-10 minutes before you swim. So if it's a 1650, tell them while the heat before you is swimming. If it's a 50 free, tell them about 10 heats ahead of time.
* Do the Referee a favor, and tell them about _each_ swim you will be doing, on the same schedule. Depending on how the meet is configured, they may or may not remember your situation for your next swim unless you go back and tell them.
* In many or most meets these days, "fly over starts" are used, where the next heat starts while the last heat is in the water. In some meets, this will mean that the long whistle ("step up") will be blown before the previous heat finishes. If this is the case, DO NOT JUMP IN THE WATER until the person in your lane has finished, and give them a few seconds so they see you jumping in on them. The Starter will give you time to get settled before initiating the start.
* Overall - don't panic. Over the years, I've seen a fair number of people doing in-water starts panic just a bit because they think the starter is going to start without them. Don't worry... we'll get you in. If something's wrong and you can't get in... wave your hand out over the water so that the Starter/Referee can see you, and they'll stop and make sure things are in order.
-Rick
To clarify some advise on in-water starts and administrative procedure. IT will specifically vary from meet to meet and official to official, but a general guideline is this:
* You should notify the Meet Referee or the Starter that you will need an in-water start. You should do this after they have their heat sheet for your event. In some meets (like our New England LMSC champs), we seed each event 60 minutes before it swims. So you should wait until the heat sheets are posted, and then tell the referee, so that they can mark it on their program.
* In most meets, you're probably safe to do this maybe about 5-10 minutes before you swim. So if it's a 1650, tell them while the heat before you is swimming. If it's a 50 free, tell them about 10 heats ahead of time.
* Do the Referee a favor, and tell them about _each_ swim you will be doing, on the same schedule. Depending on how the meet is configured, they may or may not remember your situation for your next swim unless you go back and tell them.
* In many or most meets these days, "fly over starts" are used, where the next heat starts while the last heat is in the water. In some meets, this will mean that the long whistle ("step up") will be blown before the previous heat finishes. If this is the case, DO NOT JUMP IN THE WATER until the person in your lane has finished, and give them a few seconds so they see you jumping in on them. The Starter will give you time to get settled before initiating the start.
* Overall - don't panic. Over the years, I've seen a fair number of people doing in-water starts panic just a bit because they think the starter is going to start without them. Don't worry... we'll get you in. If something's wrong and you can't get in... wave your hand out over the water so that the Starter/Referee can see you, and they'll stop and make sure things are in order.
-Rick
