USA Swimming Breaststroke Rules
Welcome Back! Today, we are going to dissect the Breaststroke Rules and how they affect Breaststroke Breakouts. We already have a blog series dedicated to Breaststroke and the Breaststroke Pullouts themselves, so if you’re looking for a more technical deep dive – be sure to read those series. Otherwise, we are going to discuss the number one rule that is often forgotten about during the Breaststroke Pullout and disqualifies a lot of younger swimmers on their Breaststroke Breakouts.
Let’s get into USA Swimming Breaststroke Pullout Rules!
First off, let’s state and start dissecting rule piece by piece (credit to World Aquatics):
“After the start and after each turn, the swimmer may take one arm stroke completely back to the legs during which the swimmer may be submerged.“
What does this mean? That swimmers are allowed to take one full arm ‘pulldown’ that is completely done underneath the surface of the water. See the sequence of photos below featuring Olympians, Brendan Hansen and Katie Hoff.
The reason this portion of the Breaststroke Pullout Rule is important is the differentiation between this arm pulldown and every Breaststroke Pull taken on the surface. The rule for the Breaststroke Pull states:
“The hands shall be pushed forward together from the breast on, under, or over the water. The elbows shall be under water except for the final stroke before the turn, during the turn and for the final stroke at the finish. The hands shall be brought back on or under the surface of the water. The hands shall not be brought back beyond the hip line, except during the first stroke after the start and each turn.“
This means swimmers have a choice on whether they keep their hands underneath the water the entire time during their pull or do an over-the-water recovery. The rule also very clearly states that the hands cannot go past the hips in any portion of the Breaststroke Pull – besides during the Pullout.
I actually swim with Breaststroker who made the Olympic team and used the part of this rule about the elbows to his advantage to place 2nd at the 2012 Olympic Trials. See how Clark Burckle finished his race with his elbows over-the-water here:
I find all the USA Swimming Breaststroke Rules very interesting, because we see a lot of variation in what swimmers are doing to the gray area in these rules to achieve faster speeds. For example, there is a younger Breaststroker, Piper Enge, who is taking another one of the Breaststroke Rules and using it to her advantage at the end of her races. See video explaining it below:
Piper is using this Breaststroke Rule: “During each complete cycle, some part of the swimmer’s head must break the surface of the water. All movements of the legs shall be simultaneous without alternating movement.” And refusing to breathe the last few strokes of her Breaststroke race. You can see from her race that her head still clearly breaks the surface, but she doesn’t take the breath to increase her stroke tempo at the end of her race. Not saying this will work for everybody, but it does work for some – including her!
What Part of the Breaststroke Pullout Rule Causes the Most Disqualifications?
The final piece of the Breaststroke Pullout Rule states:
“At any time prior to the first Breaststroke kick after the start and after each turn a single butterfly kick is permitted. The head must break the surface of the water before the hands turn inward at the widest part of the second stroke.“
This is the biggest issue I see with teaching the Breaststroke Pullout to Age-Group swimmers as most of these athletes are trying to figure out their depth below the surface. So when they complete the Breaststroke Pullout, they are ready to breakout through the surface and initiate their first stroke. It takes some practice for athletes to learn the depth appropriate for them and through that trial and error – we will see athletes too far below and having to ‘climb’ themselves out. If they do this in a race, they will be disqualified. Your athletes must know that their head has to break the surface of the water, before they start to ‘sweep in’ on their first stroke. See a full Breaststroke Pullout from Olympian, Katie Hoff below:
Other USA Swimming Breaststroke Rules Include:
1.) Swimmers are required to remain on their stomachs throughout their races, except during turns.
2.) The stroke must stay as one pull and one kick with arms/legs moving simultaneously.
3.) Swimmers must keep their feet turned outward during the most propulsive phase of the kick. It’s legal for the heels to break the surface, provided no downward Butterfly kick follows.
4.) During turns, swimmers must keep both hands touch separated either at, above, or below the surface – without stacking the hands vertically on top of each other.
5.) Swimmers’ last stroke into a finish or a turn can include arms only without a kick.
6.) Swimmers can keep their heads down during their Breaststroke finish, as long as it broke the surface of the water during the stroke cycle before.
Conclusion:
I think it’s important we are aware of these rules and our swimmers be educated on them. The beauty is the in the ‘in-between’ and working with your athlete to see what is best for them. As a Biomechanist, I’ve seen an array of different Breaststroke styles and it is often my favorite stroke to teach, because I love how individually crafted it is to each swimmer. If you’re looking to learn more about Breaststroke Technique or follow a training plan to improve your Breaststroke, we’ve got you covered. If there’s another stroke you’d like us to break down next, along with its key rules – drop a comment below and let us know!
Until Next Time,
Abbie Fish