Competitive Strokes

In the freestyle, the competitor may swim any stroke but the stroke usually performed is the Australian Crawl. This stroke consists of an alternating overhand motion of the arms and a flutter kick that can either be a six-beat or a two-beat (kicks) per two arm stroke. 

The shorter races, the 5O and 100, are the "sprint" events. These events are usually all out races from the start to finish. 

• A fast start (getting off the starting blocks quickly) and fast turns are very important in 50 and 100 distance races. 

Swimmers usually do flip turns each time they reach the end of the pool, since this is the fastest turn possible and streamlines the swimmers to gain speed off the wall.  However, a hand touch and turn is also permitted in competition.

The freestyle swimmer finishes the race when any part of their body touches the finish wall.

Generally, the freestyle is offered in the following races:

• 50 yards/meters
• 100 yards/meters
• 200 yards/meters (for 9 and over)
• 500 yards/400 meters (for 11 and above)
• 1000 yards/800 meters (for 13 and above)
• 1650 yards/1500 meters (for 13 and above)

The swimmer starts in the water faring the starting end with his or her feet under the surface of the water.*

The stroke is an alternating motion of the arms (a reverse wind milling) with a flutter kick. The backstroke flags that appear five yards from each end of a short course pool (five meters from each end of a long course pool) are very important to backstrokers. The flags alert them that they are approaching the wall.

The swimmer must stay on his/her back except during the turns. The rules now allow the swimmer to turn over onto the stomach during the turn as part of "a continuous turning action." However, the swimmer must be on the back when they leave the wall after a turn and at the finish of the race.

Swimmers spend a great deal of time practicing their turns until they know how many strokes it takes them to reach the wall after passing the flags. This helps them make the turn without looking for the wall.

• Some swimmers do an extended dolphin style (feet together with a flipper motion) kick as they come off the wall. Though that is not the style of kick used throughout the race, it is legal and helps the swimmer get back to speed and into rhythm.
• Some swimmers also dive backwards to touch the wall. This technique is a little faster way to finish the backstroke race.

* Start – The swimmers shall line up in the water facing the starting end, with both hands placed on the gutter or on the starting grip.  Standing in or on the gutter, placing the toes above the lip of the gutter, or bending the toes over the lip of the gutter, before the start is prohibited

Generally, the backstroke is offered in the following races:

• 50 yards/meters (for 12 years and under)
• 100 yards/meters (for 9 and above)
• 200 yards/meters (for 13 and above)

The breaststroke requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane, making it a more difficult stroke for many swimmers.

• The hands are pushed forward from the breast, on, under or over the surface of the water. This part of the stroke is called the recovery.
• The hands are then pulled out, back, and together during the propulsive phase of the stroke.

The timing of the kick and the arm pulls is critical. The kick looks kind of like a "frog" kick, with both legs coming down and around in a simultaneous circular motion.

After the start and after each turn, the swimmer may take one arm stroke completely back to the legs, and one leg kick while wholly submerged. The head must break the surface of the water before the hands turn inward at the widest part of the second stroke.

In the breaststroke events, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands at the same time at the turns and at the finish of the race. Failure to make the two-hand simultaneous touch in results in a DQ (disqualification) and commonly occurs when the swimmers are first learning the stroke.

Generally, the breaststroke is offered in the following races:

• 50 yards/meters (for 12 years and under)
• 100 yards/meters (for 9 and above)
• 200 yards/meters (for 13 and above)

The Butterfly is the most recently accepted of the four competitive strokes and was first swum in its modern form in the 1956 Olympics. Before that, the butterfly was swum using the breaststroke kick.

The butterfly requires the simultaneous overhead stroke of the arms combined with the dolphin kick. The dolphin kick features both legs moving up and down at the same time. The swimmer performing a flutter or breaststroke kick during the butterfly will result in disqualification.

As in the breaststroke, the swimmer must touch the wall at the turns and at the finish with both hands simultaneously.

After the start and after each turn, the swimmer is permitted any number of underwater kicks but only one underwater arm pull. That pull must bring the swimmer to the surface.

Generally, the butterfly is offered in the following races:

• 50 yards/meters (for 12 years and under)
• 100 yards/meters (for 9 and above)
• 200 yards/meters (for 13 and above)