Jump start
In swimming, a starting jump is the jump (usually upside down ) from a starting block into the competition pool .
For popular sports and learning to swim, the starting jump is particularly important with regard to the acquisition of swimming badges . The starting jump, for example, is one of the conditions for obtaining the swimming badge in gold.
Startup process
The starting jump is performed on the starting block after the start command in competitions in the styles of freestyle (crawl) , butterfly and chest , only when swimming back the athletes are already in the water before the start. In competitions outside of a pool ( open water swimming ) there is usually no starting jump.
At the request of the starter , the athletes enter the starting blocks (starting bridge) together or go to the competition pool. There are two starting variants for jumping from above: if the swimmer starts with a step, one foot is on the edge of the starting block, the other leg is angled at about 90 degrees and stands further back on the block. During a parallel start, both feet are on the leading edge, with your hands between them. When jumping out of the water, the athlete holds onto the block with his face to the wall, his toes are on the edge of the water.
When the signal "On your marks" is given, the athletes on the block tense their bodies and pull themselves backwards on the block in order to have more momentum for the jump. When starting from the back, the swimmer pulls himself up a bit on the block so that the upper and lower legs form an angle of 90 degrees. He bends his arms.
After the start signal, which is either electronic or a whistle, the actual jump takes place. When starting from above, the swimmer pushes his feet forward from the block and at the same time guides his arms into a straight position with his head between his arms. Then the legs are brought side by side and stretched so that you can immerse yourself as straight as possible and without much resistance. When starting from below on the back, the athlete jumps a little upwards, goes into the hollow back, takes his head back and extends his arms next to it. If he has already submerged his head again, he extends his legs and toes. During the starting jump, the athletes try to jump as far as possible, but not dive too deeply, so that too much time and energy is not lost when surfacing.
In relay competitions, the relay swimmers start their course after the relay participant who started before them has hit the starting jump.
regulate
A false start (start before the start signal) is detected either by sensors in the starting blocks or by the starter. If the start time of the false start is very different from that of the other swimmers, the start is repeated. In most competitions, swimmers who started too early will be disqualified immediately. However, especially in the children's and youth sector, there is also the “two-start rule”, which enables a second attempt after a false start. If the start is not too early, the athlete can be disqualified even after his run has ended. An early start of a relay swimmer leads to the disqualification of the entire relay.
According to the official rules of the international swimming federation FINA , a diving phase is permitted after the start, depending on the type of swim. During breaststroke swimming, for example, the swimmer's head must penetrate the surface of the water with the second backward movement of the arms at the latest. A single dolphin stroke of the legs is also allowed. In the crawl, back and butterfly swimming, the head has to break through the water surface after 15 meters. Multiple dolphin legs are permitted in these swimming styles.
Optimizations
Like all elements and movement sequences in sport, the starting jump is also subject to constant optimization attempts, so many athletes have switched to step starting (similar to the start of a short-distance run in athletics) instead of the parallel foot position on the starting block , in order to achieve greater dynamics when jumping and thus to develop more speed. The competition rules allow this.