Water Depth Influences the Head Depth of Competitive Racing Starts

Cornett, Andrew; White, Josh C.; Wright, Brian V.; Willmott, Alexander P.; Stager, Joel M.

doi:10.25035/ijare.05.01.05

Cited by 9 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Statistical analysis revealed that head speed for racing starts from the standard (0.76 m) starting height and the pool deck both were significantly greater than for starts from an intermediate starting height (0.46 m) despite being deeper than those from the intermediate block height. This finding was unexpected as previous research had demonstrated that shallower racing starts are either consistent with greater head speed at maximum head depth (Cornett, White, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2011a;Cornett, White, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2011b;White, Cornett, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2011) or no difference in head speed at maximum head depth (Blitvich, McElroy, Blanksby, Clothier, & Pearson, 2000;Cornett, White, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2011c).…”

Section: Head Speed At Maximum Head Depthmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Several studies had demonstrated that as head depth increased, so too did distance from the wall at maximum head depth (Blitvich et al, 2000;Cornett et al, 2011aCornett et al, , 2011bCornett et al, , 2011cWhite et al, 2011). White et al (2011) suggested that shorter distance from the wall was a "logical outcome of a shallower start because the swimmer reaches maximum head depth faster and thus does not have as much time to move horizontally.…”

Section: Distance From the Wall At Maximum Head Depthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Block Height Influences the Head Depth of Competitive Racing Starts

Cornett¹,

White²,

Wright³

et al. 2011

IJARE

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The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not starting block height has an effect on the head depth and head speed of competitive racing starts. Eleven experienced, collegiate swimmers executed competitive racing starts from three different starting heights: 0.21 m (pool deck), 0.46 m (intermediate block), and 0.76 m (standard block). One-way repeated measures ANOVA indicated that starting height had a significant effect on the maximum depth of the center of the head, head speed at maximum head depth, and distance from starting wall at maximum head depth. Racing starts from the standard block and pool deck were significantly deeper, faster, and farther at maximum head depth than starts from the intermediate block. There were no differences between depth, speed, or distance between the standard block and pool deck. We conclude that there is not a positive linear relationship between starting depth and starting height, which means that starts do not necessarily get deeper as the starting height increases.There is a prevailing belief that competitive swim start depth increases with starting block height despite limited valid data to support such a notion. In fact, this belief is so prevalent that it has been incorporated into the rules of the sport. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), the governing body of high school athletics in the United States, does not allow swimmers to execute competitive racing starts from a starting block when the water depth is less than 1.22 m (4 ft), but they do allow swimmers to complete a racing start from the pool deck when the water depth is between 1.07 and 1.22 m (3.5 and 4.0 ft). In enforcing this rule, it would appear that the NFHS is operating under the assumption that competitive racing starts from the pool deck result in shallower starts than those from a standard starting block. To our knowledge, this hypothesis has not been adequately tested.Competitive racing start depth is an important issue given the potential for serious injury if the swimmer impacts the pool bottom. Mueller and Cantu (2007) reported that all but one of the thirteen catastrophic injuries resulting in "permanent

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Section: Head Speed At Maximum Head Depthmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Distance From the Wall At Maximum Head Depthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Block Height Influences the Head Depth of Competitive Racing Starts

Cornett¹,

White²,

Wright³

et al. 2011

IJARE

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“…We recognize this as a particularly important finding as it demonstrates that experienced adolescent swimmers have the motor and perceptual abilities needed to detect and modify head depth during a competitive start when presented with different starting end water depths. We repeated this experiment using experienced competitive swimmers (age 20.1 ± 1.2 yrs) and three different starting depths (1.53 m, 2.14 m, and 3.66 m; Cornett, White, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2011a) to better understand the relevance of previous research conducted in diving wells. Not surprisingly, in accordance with the findings of Blitvich et al, we found that these older swimmers executed the deepest starts in the deepest water without receiving direction or instruction.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The work of Blitvich et al (2000) and Cornett et al (2011a) demonstrated that experienced swimmers adjust the depth of their start when and where appropriate, but it was unclear whether or not inexperienced swimmers also possessed the capability to do so. We compared the ability of novice high school (14.8 ± 1.1 yrs) and experienced collegiate aged swimmers (20.1 ± 1.2 yrs) to modify head depth upon "request" (White, Cornett, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2011) by having the swimmers execute two starts.…”

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Start Depth Modification by Adolescent Competitive Swimmers

Cornett¹,

White²,

Wright³

et al. 2012

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To expand upon previous studies showing inexperienced high school swimmers can complete significantly shallower racing starts when asked to start "shallow," 42 age group swimmers (6-14 years old) were filmed underwater during completion of competitive starts. Two starts (one normal and one "requested shallow") were executed from a 0.76 m block into 1.83 m of water. Dependent measures were maximum depth of the center of the head, 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 start type and age. The oldest swimmers' starts were deeper and faster than the youngest swimmers' starts. When asked to start shallowly, maximum head depth decreased (0.10 m) and head speed increased (0.32 ms -1 ) regardless of age group. The ability of all age groups to modify start depth implies that spinal cord injuries during competitive swimming starts are not necessarily due to age-related deficits in basic motor skills.The safety risks associated with the execution of a competitive racing start are due to several factors. Some of these are under the swimmer's control and some are not. For example, the trajectory of the body upon leaving the starting block, the velocity at which the body is traveling, and the depth of the head during the trajectory are to a large extent determined by the swimmer or the physical body characteristics such as mass and strength. Block height and water depth, in contrast, are a function of the facility and regulatory requirements. If a swimmer comes into contact with the pool bottom, the severity of the injury that occurs is influenced by the swimmer's momentum, primarily a function of the velocity and mass of the swimmer. The swimmer's velocity is related to the forces generated by the swimmer while on the block, the swimmer's ability to reduce the resistive forces (streamline) once entering the water, and the height of the block above the water surface. The execution of a safe racing start therefore requires the swimmer to exhibit a complex blend of motor abilities, including such skills as static and dynamic balance, multiple axial movements, and ballistic locomotor skills.

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“…The literature on racing start safety has examined the effect of water depth (Blitvich, McElroy, Blanksby, Clothier, & Pearson, 2000;Cornett, White, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2011a, 2011b, block height (Cornett, White, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2011c;Gehlsen & Wingfield, 1998;Welch & Owens, 1986), and start type (Counsilman, Nomura, Endo, & Counsilman, 1988;Gehlsen & Wingfield, 1998;Welch & Owens, 1986) on head depth and speed during the execution of a racing start. Additional work has focused on the ability of competitive swimmers of different ages and ability levels to control the depth of their starts (Blitvich et al, 2000;Cornett, White, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2012;White, Cornett, Wright, Willmott, & Stager, 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%