Speedo Sprint Series

28 December 2005 Peter-Johnston Latest News
The heats of the 2006 NSW Speedo Sprint Series will be held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on Sunday, 19th February, 2006.

For more than 25 years the Speedo Sprint Series (formerly Shell Age Series) has been an important entry-level meet and has been many swimmers first swimming meet outside their club races.
Swimmers also get the chance to compete in the same pool that was used for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Due to it's timing, the meet, along with the Merrylands SwimFest, also provides good practice for School Swimming Carnivals.

Our club has also had good results at the meet over the years with David Wang in particular, qualifying for the finals the last 4 years.

This heats session is only for the swimmers in our District (Cumberland) and the top 10 competitors from the State Championships are ineligible to compete. The top 2 swimmers from each event move through to the Finals on Sunday, 12th March.

Entries for the Speedo Sprint Series close on Saturday, 28th January, 2006.

See the posters on the notice board in the club room or the front of the pool (beside the club card box) for details or visit the Swim Meets section of our website.

If you have not attended a meet before and would like some more information or help on entering, just ask one of the Club Committee Members.

See Also
  • 2006 NSW Speedo Sprint Series - Cumberland District Heats - Program of Events

  • 2006 NSW Speedo Sprint Series Finals - Program of Events

  • Meet Entry Procedures

  • How to complete a NSW Multi Entry Card

  • State, Metropolitan and Country Championship Procedures

  • Competitor Information

  • Sydney Aquatic Centre Parking Arrangements

    • January School Holiday Training Times

    18 December 2005 Peter-Johnston Squad Training News
    Our last training session for 2005 is on Thursday, 22nd December. Training then recommences on Tuesday, 3rd January.

    Most training sessions during the School Holidays will be held in the mornings to avoid the heat in the afternoons. If you are going away during the holidays please let us know when you will be away.

    Session times are listed on the Training Schedule page here.

    The normal training times will resume on Monday, 30th January, 2006.

    See Also
  • Training Schedule

    • Nepean Carnival Results

    12 December 2005 Peter-Johnston Latest News
    Anthony Ventra and Brittany Johnson both won medals at the Nepean Annual Summer Carnival at the Blacktown Aquatic Centre yesterday.

    While David Wang and Peter Johnston narrowly missed out on medals, both finishing only 1/100th of a second behind 3rd place, Anthony took home the bronze medal in the 50m Breaststroke and Brittany won the silver in the 50m Freestyle and gold in the 100m Freestyle.

    All our swimmers swam well, with 6 out of 7 swimmers breaking at least one personal best time at the meet.

    The full results are now available here.

    Congratulations to all our swimmers on their performances.

    See Also
  • 2005 Nepean Annual Summer Carnival

    • Pool Closed

    03 December 2005 Peter-Johnston Latest News
    This morning's Club Races and Learn to Swim classes have been cancelled as Merrylands Swimming Centre is closed due to a power failure.

    The weekly program will now be pushed back 1 week for the rest of December. Therefore, the program that was meant to run today will now run next week. All cards for this week will be carried over to next week.

    The Whales Challenge will still be held on December 17 but will now be held in conjunction with the 400m Freestyle Championship. The longest distance that you can now swim on this date (other than the 400m Championship) will be 100m.

    Therefore the revised program for the rest of December is:

    December 10 100m Butterfly Championship (Age & Open)
    25, 33, 50, 100, 200, 400, 4x50 Relay - C/Ship, Brst, Back, 200, Free, 400, Fly, Relay, H/Cap
    December 17 400m Freestyle Championship (Age) & Whales Challenge
    25, 33, 50, 100 - C/Ship, Fly, Brst, Back, Free, Team Relays, H/Cap

    More information on the Whales Challenge will be available in the weekly Whales Tales Newsletter.

    See Also
  • Whales Tales Newsletter

    • Change to Breaststroke Rule SW 7.4

    03 December 2005 Peter-Johnston Features
    Changes made by FINA to Breaststroke Rules during September are expected to immediately improve breaststroke times and present a new challenge for those swimmers for which Breaststroke is their stroke of choice.

    The rule that has been changed by FINA is rule SW 7.4 which is reproduced below. Basically, competitors are now allowed to perform a single downward dolphin kick after the start and each turn.

    SW 7.4 During each complete cycle, some part of the swimmer's head shall break the surface of the water. After the start and after each turn, the swimmer may take one arm stroke completely back to the legs. The head must break the surface of the water before the hands turn inward at the widest part of the second stroke. A single downward dolphin kick followed by a breaststroke kick is permitted while wholly submerged. Following which, all movements of the legs shall be simultaneous and in the same horizontal plane without alternating movement.
    (our emphasis)

    Below is the official interpretation of the rule:

    “That during, or at the end of the arm pull-down of the first stroke after the start and after each turn, a single downward butterfly kick is allowed, but not required, followed by a breaststroke kick. During the pull-down, if a downward butterfly kick is taken, it must be followed by a breaststroke kick. It is not permissible to take only a downward butterfly kick without then taking a normal breaststroke kick. The downward butterfly kick is not permissible prior to the arm pull-down.”

    That's all very well and good if you are a Referee, but as a swimmer it doesn't help much. Where does the downward dolphin kick actually fit into the start or turn?

    Below is a breakdown of each of the actions taken after a start or turn showing where and when you can perform the single downward dolphin kick.
    Step 1
    The first step is to streamline off the wall from the start or turn as usual.
    Step 2
    A powerful underwater pull is taken. It is during this pull where the downward dolphin kick can be taken.
    Alternatively the downward dolphin kick can be taken at the completion of the pull at the end of Step 3 below.
    Step 3
    The underwater pull is completed with the hands by the side of the thighs.
    If the downward dolphin kick was not taken during the pull in the previous step it can be taken here.
    Note: Only one downward dolphin kick is allowed.
    Step 4
    The hands and arms recover under the water, staying close to the body to minimise resistance.
    Step 5
    A breaststroke kick is taken as the arms extend forward past the head.
    Step 6
    The head then breaks the surface as the hands sweep out at the start of the next stroke.


    Leisel Jones performed a single downward dolphin kick after the start of the 100m Breaststroke Final at the 2005 Telstra FINA World Cup at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on November 22nd. You can watch a video of the start at the end of this article.

    So now you know how and when to perform the dolphin kick, it's time to hit the water and practice it.


      Leisel Jones - Breaststroke Start     To play:
          1. Click on the link below.
          2. Windows Media Player will open and start playing the video
            Breaststroke Pullout
        Windows Media Audio/Video File
        Length: 18 sec


    References
    FINA
    Swimming Australia
    ASCTA Swimming in Australia - September/October 2005

    See Also
  • Swimming Rule Changes

  • FINA Swimming Rules 2005 - 2009 - SW 7 Breaststroke

  • eSwimmer - Breaststroke Records Under Threat

    • State Age Distance Results

    27 November 2005 Peter-Johnston Latest News
    Brittany Johnson swam well at today's NSW State Age Distance Championships, breaking two personal best times in one event.

    Swimming in her first ever State Championships, Brittany took over 10 seconds off the 400m Individual Medley PB that she swam in early October, finishing in 5:57.14. The first 100m of Brittany's swim was so good that she also broke her 100m Butterfly time, with a split of 1:16.91.

    Congratulations to Brittany on her results at the Championships.

    The full results are now available here.

    See Also
  • NSW State Age Distance Championships - Results

    • State Age Distance Championships

    24 November 2005 Peter-Johnston Latest News
    Brittany Johnson will represent Merrylands at the NSW State Age Distance Championships at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre this Sunday.

    This is the first year that Brittany will compete at the championships, swimming in the 400m Individual Medley.

    Congratulations to Brittany on qualifying and we wish her the best of luck for the meet.

    See Also
  • NSW State Age Distance Championships - Program of Events and Qualifying Times

  • State, Metropolitan and Country Championship Procedures

  • Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre Parking Arrangements

    • Car Rally

    23 November 2005 Peter-Johnston Latest News
    The 2005 Merrylands A.S.C. Car Rally will be held this Sunday, 27th November.

    The rally begins at Merrylands Swimming Centre at 9:30am on Sunday morning. The final destination is a beach somewhere (if you don't get lost), so bring your beach gear along with a picnic lunch.

    For more details, see the weekly Whales Tales Newsletter.

    See Also
  • Whales Tales Newsletter

    • World Cup & Skins

    14 November 2005 Peter-Johnston Latest News
    This week is a big week of swimming in Sydney with both the Swimming Australia Skins and the Telstra FINA World Cup being held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

    The action begins with the new look Skins on Thursday, 17th November as up to 160 of the worlds best swimmers compete for a share of the $110,000 prize money. Attention then turns to the FINA World Cup on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th November.

    Fox Sports will be showing live coverage of all three nights with Nine's Wide World of Sports showing delayed highlights.

    Broadcast Times
    Swimming
    Australia Skins    		 Telstra FINA
    World Cup
    Thursday
    17/11/2005    		 Saturday
    19/11/2005    		 Sunday
    20/11/2005
    Fox Sports 7:30pm 7:30pm 8:15pm
    Nine (Delayed) 12:00am 10:50pm 12:30am


    See Also
  • Swimming Australia

  • FINA

    • Swimming Rule Changes

    16 October 2005 Peter-Johnston Latest News
    Swimming’s governing body, FINA, voted on a set of rule changes for 2005-2009 just before the start of the World Championships in Montreal in late July. The new rules came into effect on September 21.

    The major rule changes affect backstroke starts and breaststroke starts and turns.

    The changes to backstroke starts mean that swimmers are now allowed to start with their feet out of the water. It is no longer mandatory that “The feet, including the toes, shall be under the surface of the water”. However, the toes are still not allowed to be above the lip of the gutter or curled over the lip of the gutter.
    The backstroke finish rule has also been clarified. Now it is legal for a swimmer to be completely submerged not only during the turn but also during the last stroke.

    During the breaststroke start and turns, while the swimmer is wholly submerged, a single downward dolphin kick followed by a breaststroke kick is now permitted. The new rule ends decades of controversies (the first one occurred in Berlin, in 1978, at the World Championships, the latest last year in Athens, at the Olympics).
    During, or at the end of the arm pull-down of the first stroke after the start and after each turn, a single downward butterfly kick is allowed, but not required, followed by a breaststroke kick.
    During the pull-down, if a downward butterfly kick is taken, it must be followed by a breaststroke kick.
    It is not permissible to take only a downward butterfly kick without then taking a normal breaststroke kick.
    The downward butterfly kick is not permissible prior to the arm pull-down.
    In addition, there is now a requirement for all movements of the legs to be in the same horizontal plane and without alternating movement.

    A full list of the rules that have changed follows. These rules along with the complete list of swimming rules can be found on the FINA website.

    Backstroke SW 6
    SW 6.1
    SW 6.3

    Breaststroke SW 7
    SW 7.1
    SW 7.4
    SW 7.5

    Butterfly SW 8
    SW8.3

    The Race SW 10
    SW 10.10

    World Records SW 12
    Renumber SW 12.5 as SW 12.5 1
    New SW 12.5.2

    References
    FINA
    Swimming Queensland
    Swimming Australia

    See Also
  • FINA Swimming Rules 2005-2009

  • FINA Technical Congress

  • eSwimmer - Breaststroke Records Under Threat

  • Swimming Queensland - Swimming Rule Changes