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Head Depth And Head Speed During Competitive Backstroke Ledge Starts, Wesley J. Manz, Joel T. Greenshields, Brian V. Wright, Curtis S. Goss, Benjamin C. Skutnik, Joel M. Stager

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Recently, a commercially available starting ‘ledge’ designed to reduce foot slippage during the execution of the backstroke start was introduced in competitive swimming. For the purpose of identifying potential safety consequences, the present study investigated the effect of ledge use on head depths, speeds, and distances in backstroke starts of athletes with no prior or only novice familiarity of the ledge. Competitive backstroke starts were performed with and without ledges by high school-aged (14.5 to 19.2 yr, N = 61) swimmers in 1.52 m of water during a closed testing session. A SIMI Reality Motion System in a calibrated space …