A tumble turn, or "flip turn" is a technique used by swimmers to reverse the direction in which they are swimming. It is usually done when the swimmer reaches the end of the swimming pool but still has one or more lengths to swim.
The technique's development is credited, by the International Swimming Hall of Fame, to legendary University of Texas swim coach Tex Robertson while he was training Adolph Kiefer for the 1936 Olympics. [1]
Contents |
Technique
Before executing the turn, the swimmer must be in the water face-down and about an arm's length from the edge of the pool. The turn begins with a forward somersault rapidly followed by the exertion of the feet against the side of the pool the swimmer was initially approaching. If the length after the turn is backstroke the swimmer will push off on the back and glide underwater and transition into the stroke. If the length after the turn is front crawl the swimmer will turn his or her body to 90 degrees and push off and glide on their side, rotating another 90 degrees onto their front during the underwater glide. Completing the rotation during the glide saves time by reducing body roll during the rotation. Note that in order to execute the turn if initially doing backstroke, the swimmer must first roll over such that he/she is in the water face-down. flip turns are only permitted during front crawl and backstroke races. In Butterfly and breaststroke races, regulations require swimmers to touch the end of the pool with both hands simultaneously before turning back for another length. This is logical, due to the fact that the stroke requires simultaneous motion of the arms during the pull.
Advantages
The flip turn is preferred in competitive swimming because it allows the momentum into the wall to be transferred into speed as the next length is begun. It is not required, but it is highly recommended as it is much, much faster, giving the competitive swimmer who uses it an advantage over swimmers who turn by touching the wall with the hands.
Teaching flip turns
Tumble turns may be taught as follows:
1. Somersault - this is the first step in learning to flip turn. Novice swimmers should practice this until they can fluently somersault, and arrive at the starting position at completion of the turn.
2. Practice somersault at a wall - swimmers can swim to the wall and then flip turn at arms-length away from the wall.
3. Practice somersault and push-off on back (face-up). This is the backstroke flip turn.
4. Practice a longitudinal roll onto the front to complete the rotation and resume swimming on the front ready to transition into front crawl.
Note: it is very important to have swimmers fluently doing Step 3 before moving onto Step 4. Otherwise the final turns may become combined and result in an incorrect tumble turn technique.
References
- ^ "Former Men's Swimming and Diving coach "Tex" Robertson passes away at 98". Texassports.com. 2007-08-27. http://www.texassports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=20&url_article_id=7131&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
- Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), Swimming Teaching and Coaching, Level 1, Hogarth L. (1998).
- Optimising Swim Turn Performance, Coaches' Information Service
- Leisure Press, Swimming into the 21st Century - Colwin C. Mayfield, Swim Even Faster, Maglischo E W, (Edit.1993).
- Pelham Books, Coaching the Young Swimmer, Wilke K, Madsen O, (1992/3).
- Wolfe Medical Publications, Athletic Ability and the Anatomy of Motion, Wirhed R, (1984).
External links
- About.com, Tumble Turn Basics
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
