I see some age groupers getting real good results grabbing the gutter and placing feet a bit lower. They come right out and get clean entries just like the bar grabbers. Is this just a developmental thing, or can Masters benefit? I think the added buoyancy by staying low in the water at the start creates a stronger pushoff and slingshot?
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By this logic the shallowest start would always be the fastest start and I think it's pretty clear this isn't the case primarily because you need to get underwater far enough to avoid wave drag at the surface. Just consider people who push off the wall right on the surface. They go nowhere.
I think Muppet means that his gutter start allows him to go deep enough to avoid the waves created at the surface but not so deep that he at a disadvantage, esp. when racing swimmie.
My start with the backstroke bars stinks. No matter how much I practice, I always seem slow on my underwater kicks off the start. I feel very stiff on them. They get better on the turns but the starts are horrible. I may practice some gutter starts to see if there is any difference for me.
By this logic the shallowest start would always be the fastest start and I think it's pretty clear this isn't the case primarily because you need to get underwater far enough to avoid wave drag at the surface. Just consider people who push off the wall right on the surface. They go nowhere.
I think Muppet means that his gutter start allows him to go deep enough to avoid the waves created at the surface but not so deep that he at a disadvantage, esp. when racing swimmie.
My start with the backstroke bars stinks. No matter how much I practice, I always seem slow on my underwater kicks off the start. I feel very stiff on them. They get better on the turns but the starts are horrible. I may practice some gutter starts to see if there is any difference for me.
