backstroke turns

It's four strokes from the flags to touch the wall with my hand, so for me the pattern to turn is pull left, pull right, pull left as I roll to my left to spin onto my front (while right arm recovers), pull right (while left hand stays at hip), flip, push off on back, dolphin kick. Just as with the spin turns, I prefer one side over the other but I do it both directions because I don't always use the same number of strokes per length. The only tricky part is timing the roll. If you get too close to the wall before you roll you will hit your heels on the flip (or worse yet, your head before you flip). On the other hand, if you roll too far away from the wall you can get disqualified for not having a "continuous" turning motion. Also, although you can take one pull on your front to initiate your flip (the final right arm pull in my example) you can't take more than one. This is the rule, from the USMS rule book: 101.4.3—Turns Upon completion of each length, some part of the swimmer must touch the wall. During the turn the shoulders may be turned past the vertical toward the ***, after which a continuous single arm pull or a continuous simultaneous double arm pull may be used to execute the turn. Once the body has left the position on the back, any kick or arm pull must be part of the continuous turning action. The swimmer must have returned to a position on the back upon leaving the wall. Note: The swimmer who turns past vertical and, in a continuous motion, grabs the wall before pushing off with the feet while on the back is considered to have executed a “continuous turning action.”

It's four strokes from the flags to touch the wall with my hand, so for me the pattern to turn is pull left, pull right, pull left as I roll to my left to spin onto my front (while right arm recovers), pull right (while left hand stays at hip), flip, push off on back, dolphin kick. Just as with the spin turns, I prefer one side over the other but I do it both directions because I don't always use the same number of strokes per length. The only tricky part is timing the roll. If you get too close to the wall before you roll you will hit your heels on the flip (or worse yet, your head before you flip). On the other hand, if you roll too far away from the wall you can get disqualified for not having a "continuous" turning motion. Also, although you can take one pull on your front to initiate your flip (the final right arm pull in my example) you can't take more than one. This is the rule, from the USMS rule book: 101.4.3—Turns Upon completion of each length, some part of the swimmer must touch the wall. During the turn the shoulders may be turned past the vertical toward the ***, after which a continuous single arm pull or a continuous simultaneous double arm pull may be used to execute the turn. Once the body has left the position on the back, any kick or arm pull must be part of the continuous turning action. The swimmer must have returned to a position on the back upon leaving the wall. Note: The swimmer who turns past vertical and, in a continuous motion, grabs the wall before pushing off with the feet while on the back is considered to have executed a “continuous turning action.”