White, Josh C. and Cornett, Andrew C. and Wright, Brian V. and Willmott, Alexander P. and Stager, Joel M. (2011) Competitive swimmers modify racing start depth upon request. International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, 5 (2). pp. 187-198. ISSN 1932-9997

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Abstract

To expand upon recent findings showing that competitive swimmers complete significantly shallower racing starts in shallower pools, 12 more experienced and 13 less experienced swimmers were filmed underwater during completion of competitive starts. Two starts (1 routine and 1 “requested shallow”) were executed from a 0.76 m block height into water 3.66 m deep. Dependent measures were maximum head depth, head speed at maximum head depth, and distance from the starting wall at maximum head depth. Statistical analyses yielded significant main effects (p < 0.05) for both start type and swimmer experience. Starts executed by the more experienced swimmers were deeper and faster than those executed by the less experienced swimmers. When asked to dive shallowly, maximum head depth decreased (0.19 m) and head speed increased (0.33 ms-1) regardless of experience. The ability of all swimmers to modify start depth implies that spinal cord injuries during competitive swimming starts are not necessarily due to an inherent inability to control the depth of the start.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	To expand upon recent findings showing that competitive swimmers complete significantly shallower racing starts in shallower pools, 12 more experienced and 13 less experienced swimmers were filmed underwater during completion of competitive starts. Two starts (1 routine and 1 “requested shallow”) were executed from a 0.76 m block height into water 3.66 m deep. Dependent measures were maximum head depth, head speed at maximum head depth, and distance from the starting wall at maximum head depth. Statistical analyses yielded significant main effects (p < 0.05) for both start type and swimmer experience. Starts executed by the more experienced swimmers were deeper and faster than those executed by the less experienced swimmers. When asked to dive shallowly, maximum head depth decreased (0.19 m) and head speed increased (0.33 ms-1) regardless of experience. The ability of all swimmers to modify start depth implies that spinal cord injuries during competitive swimming starts are not necessarily due to an inherent inability to control the depth of the start.
Keywords:	Swimming, Biomechanics, Safety, Swim start, refsubscription, ref26
Subjects:	C Biological Sciences > C600 Sports Science B Subjects allied to Medicine > B830 Biomechanics, Biomaterials and Prosthetics (non-clinical)
Divisions:	College of Social Sciences > Faculty of Health & Social Sciences > School of Sport & Exercise Science
Depositing User:	Sandy Willmott
Date Deposited:	10 Apr 2011 22:17
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2013 16:39
URI:	http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/id/eprint/4378

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