Comparison of Four Feedback Methods Used to Help Improve Swimming Relay Exchanges - A Pilot Study

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education Volume 9 | Number 2 Article 8 5-1-2015 Comparison of Four Feedback Methods Used to Help Improve Swimming Relay Exchanges - A Pilot Study David Luedtke St. Catherine University, Bridget Duoos Universitiy of St. Thomas Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare Recommended Citation Luedtke, David and Duoos, Bridget (2015) "Comparison of Four Feedback Methods Used to Help Improve Swimming Relay Exchanges - A Pilot Study," International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education: Vol. 9 : No. 2 , Article 8. DOI: 10.25035/ijare.09.02.08 Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol9/iss2/8 This Research Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@BGSU. Luedtke and Duoos: Comparison of Four Feedback Methods Used to Help Improve Swimming International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, 2015, 9, 175  -183 http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/ijare.2014-0078 © 2015 Human Kinetics, Inc. ORIGINAL RESEARCH Comparison of Four Feedback Methods Used to Help Improve Swimming Relay Exchanges: A Pilot Study David Luedtke St. Catherine University Bridget Duoos University of St. Thomas Relays are a regular part of swimming competitions at all levels and are worth up to twice the points compared with individual events. Relay exchange technique may affect the final time and place of a relay team (Siders, 2010, 2012). The purpose of this pilot study was to compare four methods of feedback provided regarding relay exchanges (time only [TO], time and video [TV], video only [VO], or coach only [CO]) to determine whether any feedback method had a greater effect on improving relay exchange times. Fifteen males (M age = 15.357 years., SD = 2.7; M height = 170.76 cm, SD = 12.30; M weight = 63.40 kg, SD = 7.60), all members of a high school varsity swim team, served as participants in this study. Each swimmer had a minimum of 1 year of competitive swimming experience (M competitive = 3.938 years, SD = 2.12). We randomly assigned each swimmer to one of the four feedback conditions. Participants performed 12 relay exchanges 1 day a week for 9 weeks. Group exchange order was randomized. Exchanges were videotaped and images temporarily stored on a TiVo DVR playback device. The replay delay time of the TiVo system was set so groups getting video feedback could review their exchange immediately upon exiting the water. The Colorado Timing Relay Judging Pad System (Loveland, CO) was used to determine the exchange time for all groups. A factorial ANOVA determined differences between groups and between week 1 and week 9 performances for each of the conditions. Relay exchange data falling within 0.05–0.20 s were used for analysis. No significant differences (p < .05) were found when feedback methods were compared, but the results may have been influenced by small sample size and insufficient statistical power. Keywords: swimming instruction, swimming strokes, relay exchange, feedback David Luedtke is with the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences at St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN. Bridget Duoos is with the Department of Health and Human Performance at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN. Address author correspondence to David Luedtke at . Published by ScholarWorks@BGSU, 2015   175 1 International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, Vol. 9, No. 2 [2015], Art. 8 176  Luedtke and Duoos Most competitive swimmers at some point in their swimming experience participate as a part of a relay. Swimming relays consist of four swimmers. The first swimmer does a standard forward start from the starting platform for the freestyle relay or a backward start from the water in the case of the medley relay. The remaining swimmers may leave the starting platform, in order, as soon as the swimmer in the water completes that leg of the relay. The swimmer who is on the starting platform may begin the movements of the start before the swimmer in the water completes that leg of the relay. The swimmer on the starting platform must have his or her toes in contact with the starting platform until the swimmer in the water touches the touch pad at the finishing end of the pool. If the outgoing swimmer’s feet leave the block before the swimmer in the water touches, the relay is disqualified from scoring in that event. One of the challenges of a successful relay exchange is to be able to correctly time the movements of the incoming swimmer with the movements of the outgoing swimmer. The outgoing swimmer’s start may consist of a weight shift, a weight shift combined with an arm swing, or a weight shift, arm swing, and a step or two to get into the ideal relay exchange position. An ideal relay exchange consists of the incoming swimmer’s fingertips touching the finish pad while the outgoing swimmer is simultaneously fully stretched out over the water with only their toes still in contact with the starting platform (Maglischo, 2003). If the outgoing swimmer begins the start too early, they will end up leaving the starting platform before the incoming swimmer touches the end of the pool. Conversely, if the outgoing swimmer waits too long to begin the start, the exchange will be slow, adding valuable time to the relay. Relays are a regular part of most swimming competitions. Championship swimming competitions can include up to five different relays. College dual meets include at least two relays while a high school meet has three relays which comprise 25% of the total number of events. Whether in dual or championship competition, the relay is worth up to twice the points of individual events making relays strategically important events. Close dual competitions often come down to the final event which is a relay. For this reason, fast relay exchanges can be very important to a team’s overall success. In competitive swimming, event finish times are recorded to 0.01 s. Often, close races are decided by as little as 0.01 s, as was seen in the 2008 Summer Olympics when United States swimmer Michael Phelps won the 100 m butterfly by 0.01 s. In a relay event, the exchange time between the swimmer in the water and the next swimmer can be a determining factor and affect the final relay time and place of the relay team (Siders, 2010, 2012). A faster exchange can lead to a faster finish time. Relay exchange time is measured between the hand touch on the finish pad and the moment the feet have left the starting platform surface. Learning to perform a fast relay exchange may take years of practice on the part of the swimmer. A coach more than likely can play a critical part in the learning of this technique through skill teaching and providing feedback regarding the correctness of the performance. Feedback plays an important role in the learning of all motor ski (...truncated)