The DQ thread got me thinking about swimming rules I'd like to see repealed. Here's my list:
15M rule on freestyle -- You're allowed to do virtually anything you want in a freestyle race provided you touch the walls, don't push off the bottom and don't pull on the lane lines. Why is going beyond 15 meters doing SDK not "freestyle?"
15M rule on backstroke -- Again, the rule seems arbitrary as I could go 15M underwater SDK, pop up and then kick the rest of the way still doing SDK on my back and be perfectly legal. What's so magical about 15M?
Dolphin kick off the wall on a breaststroke pullout -- just have the guts to DQ Kitajima back when he should've been DQd and this whole :worms:wouldn't have been opened.
Rollover backstroke turns -- go back to the bucket turn (touch on your back, turn, push off on your back) and you save a whole bunch of DQ hassles for swimmers & judges. Yeah, times will be way slower, but we banned tech suits, so clearly the swimming purists should be lined up behind this one.
Standup backstroke starts -- what's so magical about starting with your toes / feet in the water when we get to start with our feet out of the water on all other races? Let's stop the discrimination against backstrokers!
For the record, with the exception of #5, I would derive no speed benefit from any of the above rule changes as a competitor (I can't hold my breath in a race for 15M and my doplhin kick on the *** pullout is weak at best). As an S&T judge, though, all of these would make my life easier and, I believe (#5 possibly excepted), be more consistent with the overall rules for the strokes.
My :2cents::
I like the idea of adding a fifth stroke called "front crawl" and making "freestyle" truly rules-free, including unlimited SDK. Maybe limit "freestyle" to shorter distances? On front crawl and backstroke, you could then limit (maybe even more so than now) how far you can go underwater.
Sidestroke is a legitimate stroke but I don't see a lot of reason to add it as a competitive stroke.
I'm no physicist, but I highly doubt that a scissor kick can be as propulsive as a frog kick. My completely non-scientific rationale is that in the frog kick, both legs are operating on the same plane and thus push water against each other. Not true in a scissor kick.
I agree with Allen on the maximum propulsion from a single swimming action, but I would move the dolphin kick to the the beginning of the pulldown.
I see no reason for dive starts in backstroke (it makes sense to start and stay on your back to me rather than start on your front and switch to your back), but standing starts and or starts with feet above the gutter should be fine.
I could see a flip turn for butterfly because your arms already move in a way that is natural to initial the turn. That's not true in breaststroke so it makes less sense. Also, air--too necessary.
Agree with almost everything! :) Especially the in water start for backstroke. Makes sense, you're supposed to be on your back.
Except I prefer the 5th stroke as SDK.
And I can't imagine flip turns on evilstroke either.
My :2cents::
I like the idea of adding a fifth stroke called "front crawl" and making "freestyle" truly rules-free, including unlimited SDK. Maybe limit "freestyle" to shorter distances? On front crawl and backstroke, you could then limit (maybe even more so than now) how far you can go underwater.
Sidestroke is a legitimate stroke but I don't see a lot of reason to add it as a competitive stroke.
I'm no physicist, but I highly doubt that a scissor kick can be as propulsive as a frog kick. My completely non-scientific rationale is that in the frog kick, both legs are operating on the same plane and thus push water against each other. Not true in a scissor kick.
I agree with Allen on the maximum propulsion from a single swimming action, but I would move the dolphin kick to the the beginning of the pulldown.
I see no reason for dive starts in backstroke (it makes sense to start and stay on your back to me rather than start on your front and switch to your back), but standing starts and or starts with feet above the gutter should be fine.
I could see a flip turn for butterfly because your arms already move in a way that is natural to initial the turn. That's not true in breaststroke so it makes less sense. Also, air--too necessary.
Agree with almost everything! :) Especially the in water start for backstroke. Makes sense, you're supposed to be on your back.
Except I prefer the 5th stroke as SDK.
And I can't imagine flip turns on evilstroke either.
