The Backstroke Lane

OK the words "race" and "backstroke" cannot truly be used together when referring to me...although I just set a PB! I just thought you'd all be happier in the aqua-noodle section with the other folks that don't like to get their faces wet...:wave: Mmmm....no, I just like to look at everyone around me. Being a backstroker, as Chris pointed out, is a lot more enjoyable than any other stroke. We do get to see different things as we swim, compared to having our face buried in the water while only looking at the black line. It takes skill to navigate on one's back.

Ah, the infamous backstroke... :P I was never able to swim backstroke properly (my BR is actually considerably faster than my backstroke...). I believe this is partly due to the fact that I never got much instruction regarding the adequate technique. When I try to go faster I feel like I'm wasting a lot of energy, (I'm putting a lot of effort into the stroke, but not actually getting a decent speed). Could someone give me a few begginer tips? Some good drills would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

I tried a noseclip once, but only lasted a 50. I don't really know what went wrong, but it wasn't a good experience. Do others have a suggestion about adapting to this? It would be nice to experience the breakthrough others have experienced. I've not really felt the need for a nose clip. I think I'm a big mouth breather. Does mouth vs. nose breathing separate us into those likely to benefit from noseclips? Anyone have a Piersol video link that shows his catch/pull? BTW, here's a good 200 back blast from the past: YouTube- Lochte Snaps Peirsol's Streak

Bumping up my favorite lane to the TOP of The Forum this morning! Check out this clip of The Man in the front of our lane! YouTube- Aaron Peirsol Jaeger... you can see brilliant flashes of Aaron's underwater in this clip - but of course, it is never enough! I'm off to train with and coach one of our favorite Forumites on his backstroke today. No names, lets' just see if anyone notices. This would be my best birthday gift. Backstroke love...

Toes or Noes? Settle a bet: My lunchmate said toes must be under the water line at the start. Oh no, sayeth I, on a flat wall, with no gutter, toes may indeed be above the water line. I bring this up because the nats pool at Georgia Tech has flat walls, with no gutters. At least, that's way it was set up when I swam there last December. I prefer my feet a little higher on the wall, so toes out appeals to me. The various rulebooks mention gutters, but nothing about the feet in relation to the water line. Was this ever a rule? My interpretation is in a pool with no gutters, toes out is fine. 2010 USMS Swimming Code Part I (p.1-2) 101.1.2 Backstroke Start B All courses—The swimmers shall line up in the water facing the starting end with both hands placed on the gutter or on the starting grips. Standing in or on the gutter, placing the toes above the lip of the gutter or bending the toes over the lip of the gutter before or after the start is prohibited. USAS 2010 Rules and Regulations (p. 20) 101.4 BACKSTROKE .1 Start — The swimmers shall line up in the water facing the starting end, with both hands placed on the gutter or on the starting grips. Standing in or on the gutter, placing the toes above the lip of the gutter, or bending the toes over the lip of the gutter, before or after the start, is prohibited. Current FINA Rule SW 6.1 Prior to the starting signal, the swimmers shall line up in the water facing the starting end, with both hands holding the starting grips. Standing in or on the gutter or bending the toes over the lip of the gutter is prohibited. In the attached screenshot from about 2:24 in the vid Ahelee posted, the swimmer in the foreground clearly has about half his foot out of the water. So I presume toes out is legal. So, toes out ok?

Toes or Noes? Settle a bet: My lunchmate said toes must be under the water line at the start. Oh no, sayeth I, on a flat wall, with no gutter, toes may indeed be above the water line. I bring this up because the nats pool at Georgia Tech has flat walls, with no gutters. At least, that's way it was set up when I swam there last December. I prefer my feet a little higher on the wall, so toes out appeals to me. You are correct: on a flat wall, toes can be above the waterline. I believe some part of the foot has to be below the water, but I'd have to check the rules (too lazy to do it right now). But are you sure that the flat walls will be installed at GA Tech? Many pools have the option to do this, or not. (Personally, I'm with you: I'd love flat walls for backstroke starts.)

It seems to me that during my "former swimming life" nearly 30 years ago toes curled around the lip of the gutter *was* allowed and I seem to remember the coach even instructing us to do this so our feet would not slip on the start. Then, when I was in high school or so, the rule changed, toes curled over the gutter lip was no longer allowed. Do I remember correctly? If so, does anyone know why the rule was changed? It seems to make the start a lot harder, and curling the toes over the gutter lip certainly does not make the pool shorter.

It seems to me that during my "former swimming life" nearly 30 years ago toes curled around the lip of the gutter *was* allowed and I seem to remember the coach even instructing us to do this so our feet would not slip on the start. Then, when I was in high school or so, the rule changed, toes curled over the gutter lip was no longer allowed. Do I remember correctly? If so, does anyone know why the rule was changed? It seem to make the start a lot harder, and curline the toes over the gutter lip certainly does not make the pool shorter. A long time ago, "toes curled around the gutter" was allowed for SCY but in meters (and in international meets) the foot had to be completely submerged. Heck, in HS and college I used to do stand-up starts...which I surely do miss... I don't know why exactly they were changed, I was out of "serious" swimming by that point. But I suspect it was to keep the rules uniform between the courses. Almost every European pool I ever swam in (there were pretty many but I certainly can't claim it was exhaustive) did NOT have gutters at the end, they had flat walls (there were usually gutters on the sides of the pool). So maybe the rule that the feet had to be under -- with no toe curling -- was originally done so that backstrokers at pools with gutters at the end wouldn't have a huge advantage over the ones at pools without those gutters. But that is pure conjecture.

So I presume toes out is legal. They are allowed out (above the water line). Just not allowed inside the gutters...in case there are any.

But are you sure that the flat walls will be installed at GA Tech? Many pools have the option to do this, or not. No, I'm not sure, hence the disclaimer, "At least, that's way it was set up when I swam there last December." Last December was an SCM meet, so maybe the setup was deliberate? I don't know enough about the pool to know what the options are, or what the intentions of the organizers are. My short-axis friends (and yes I do have some), fuss about turning on flat walls, so if there's a choice I imagine there's some discussion. By the way, whose brilliant idea was it to build pools with stainless steel gutters? There is no good place to put your feet for backstroke starts. In some pools the stainless goes down so far there's no good place to put your feet on a flip. How best to handle stainless steel gutters, particularly on the start?