The Backstroke Lane

Should the finish of the stroke involve a flick down of the hand in order to initiate body roll? If not, how is body roll initiated as I have a hard time accepting that it is the kick? Also should hand scull on exit or knife out on exit? Body roll is achieved by leaning into the stroke as your arm enters the water. You can use momentum of the recovery arm to help drive and rotate your torso for each roll. A backstroke kick is usually a constant 6 beat (2 left.. 2 straight up... 2 right). Legs straight, toes pointed. The kick pattern is a direct result of the rolling action. Regarding the finish, when one leans into the catch with the entry arm, the roll is going to drive both the opposite hip and underwater hand closer to the surface (as it's getting ready for the recovery). Try to exit thumb first. As you said, knife out. This coach has some good observations in his article on two different styles... russellpayne.org/.../

It depends on the touchpad being used... I loved the Colorado pads at Greensboro a few years ago, maybe they're a bit more course than Omega. But I'm really looking forward to trying a submerged ledge.

Should the finish of the stroke involve a flick down of the hand in order to initiate body roll? If not, how is body roll initiated as I have a hard time accepting that it is the kick? Also should hand scull on exit or knife out on exit? "Flick Down" puts your hand deeper in the water, that extra little push probably isn't worth it. ON exit, finish your stroke then pop your hand out thumb first. You don't need to do an extra little scull.

As of Jan. 1, 2014, a new backstroke starting ledge will be permitted for starts. The ledge is comparable to the wedge or fin device now used on blocks for forward starts and hangs from the starting block by straps. The rule for use of the ledge will still require both feet to be in contact with the wall or pad, and the toes will not be allowed to curl over the top of the gutter or timing pad. Once an athlete starts, the ledge will have to be removed for turns and finishes. It is advised that a coach or teammate remove the device for the athlete after the start and place it on the deck. FINA will be releasing specifications and dimensions for those approved wedges in the coming weeks. I hope someone from Santa Clara can tell us before Nationals whether or not they will have these devices. If so, I hope I can find a way to practice with one! On ordinary walls I usually stagger my feet to reduce the risk of slipping.

Thanks - that video was helpful. I prefer the Japanese swimmer's stroke to Lochte's stroke.

a comment on Omega touch pads ... i think they are terrible ... i just competed in a masters meet at georgia tech and they have these pads ... the surface is far more slippery than other pads i've used ... completely bombed my first race the 100 scm back, after my foot slipped i was dead in the water ... didn't have the option of just holding onto the gutter as they are full height pads ... my 2 other starts were cautious and very slow ... omega should be pushing for this new "starting ledge"

a comment on Omega touch pads ... i think they are terrible ... i just competed in a masters meet at georgia tech and they have these pads ... the surface is far more slippery than other pads i've used ... completely bombed my first race the 100 scm back, after my foot slipped i was dead in the water ... didn't have the option of just holding onto the gutter as they are full height pads ... my 2 other starts were cautious and very slow ... omega should be pushing for this new "starting ledge" It really seems to depend on the model line of the pads! Over my ~18 years of racing, I've pushed off of pretty much every variety of pad on the market. I've had slippery and grippy Omegas, slippery and grippy Colorado pads, and whatever other brands of pads there are. The worst was one meet about a decade ago--prelims and finals of the 200 back I was in different lanes...and one had a grippy pad and the other had a slippery pad. Both looked identical, just felt different. Great prelims, bombed the start in finals.

a word in regards to the new "backstroke ledge" that has been approved by FINA ... with the number of different blocks that are scattered about in our pools this device might be block specific which probably means it will be awhile till it gets to a pool near you ... could this be an instance of reinventing the wheel ? ... most pools i've swam and competed in have open finish gutters and use touch pads that hang on the gutter ... there is a built in backstroke ledge, its called the "lip of the gutter" ... years ago that is what we used and that was with or without touch pads and starts were quicker and i don't remember anyone getting hurt in 7 years of competition ... the only place you couldn't do this are in pools with overhangs on the finish gutters who also have full height finish pads, then a ledge would help ... but this is probably a small percentage of pools in this country ... another problem with full height finish pads is it slows the meet down ... at a meet at georgia tech recently they had the full height pads and 85% plus people could not climb out at the finish end but had to slide over to the side wall at the conclusion of every race to use the ladder ( myself included ) ... thats 10 lanes of swimmers ... no "over the top starting" there

a word in regards to the new "backstroke ledge" that has been approved by FINA ... with the number of different blocks that are scattered about in our pools this device might be block specific which probably means it will be awhile till it gets to a pool near you ... could this be an instance of reinventing the wheel ? ... most pools i've swam and competed in have open finish gutters and use touch pads that hang on the gutter ... there is a built in backstroke ledge, its called the "lip of the gutter" My recollection is that most non-US pools do NOT have gutters like this at the end of the pool, hence standardization on the gutterless so-called "FINA walls" (the full height pads you mention). I believe that's the main reason, back in the day, that you were not allowed to do stand-up starts in SCM/LCM meets or otherwise curl your toes over the gutter. I haven't used one yet but I think the ledges are a great idea.

chris ... thanks for the explanation of scm/lcm pools ... only swam yards in hs and college, as this goes back to 1965 - 72 ... probably aau meets back then were occasionally meter meets but never went to one ... with all the concern on reducing turbulence i never got the flush walls ... and they really sucked on fly turns ... plus if you never did a backstroke start while standing on the gutter and threw a racing back dive you really missed something !!!