Traditional and modified exits following freestyle tumble turns by skilled swimmers

Dolphin kicking and flutter kicking off the wall were compared via videography and force platform following a tumble turn by elite age-group swimmers. Subjects comprised eight males (n=8) of mean height, 178.9±7.03cm; mass, 70.8±6.59kg; and age, 16.88±2.42 years; and five females (n=5) of mean height 169.5+3.30cm; mass, 61.0±5.56kg; and age 15.0±1.22 years. Subjects swam 4 x 50m (2 dolphin turn, 2 flutter turn) freestyle sprints in a 25m pool. A repeated measures ANOVA using selected variables as covariates was conducted with 5m out-time as the dependent variable. No significant differences were observed between the dolphin kick and flutter kick turns for 5m out-time. The time spent kicking during the dolphin trials was significantly greater (63.3%) than the time-to-5m compared with the flutter trials (45.6%). Deceleration was less during the dolphin kick than the flutter kick trials and velocity above that of free swimming was maintained longer when using the dolphin kick technique. No significant advantage was gained from either kick technique following a tumble turn.