I have seen many children swim a great backstroke race only to get disqualified by a stroke and turn official for turning over just a moment before they touch the wall. When they climb out of the pool, their disappointment is obvious.
This is precisely why it is important to make sure that you, as a coach, a parent or a swimmer, are familiar with the rules for swimming backstroke in a meet and focus on these problem areas in practice as much as possible.
The following disqualification rules apply to the backstroke as outlined in the USA Swimming rulebook. USA Swimming is required by it’s Bylaws to follow the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) rules.
This is precisely why it is important to make sure that you, as a coach, a parent or a swimmer, are familiar with the rules for swimming backstroke in a meet and focus on these problem areas in practice as much as possible.
The following disqualification rules apply to the backstroke as outlined in the USA Swimming rulebook. USA Swimming is required by it’s Bylaws to follow the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) rules.
STARTS: The swimmer may NOT:
Stand in or on the gutter
Place the toes above the lip of the gutter
Bend the toes over the lip of the gutter (before or after the start)
STROKE:
The swimmer cannot remain entirely under water after 15 meters (16.4 yards). After the start and after each turn, if the head has not broken the water by that point, the swimmer can be disqualified.
TURNS:
At the turn some part of the body must touch the wall before starting the next length
To maneuver the turn, the swimmer can roll past vertical onto the stomach and perform a partial flip turn as long as the swimmer comes off the wall on their back. Once the torso moves past the vertical to initiate the turn, there can be one continuous arm pull OR a double arm pull (the arms must move simultaneously). More on the backstroke flipturn...
FINISH:
The swimmer must touch the wall with some part of their body on their back (torso must not go past vertical).
Stroke Count is extremely important to the backstroke flipturn (this is the part of the stroke that most often causes a swimmer to get disqualified).
Practice your backstroke starts, turns and finishes as much as possible. The more comfortable you are in the water, the less you will worry about getting disqualified and the more successful your swim will be.
For more information on the swimming techniques, I highly recommend the DVDs
GoSwim Backstroke with Aaron Peirsol
Becoming a Faster Swimmer Volume V: Starts, Turns and Finishes for All Strokes
Comments