Tips to improve your freestyle turn

There are two basic kinds of turn, the flip turns and the open turns. No matter the kind, it is helpful to think of the turn as having three parts: the approach, the turn on the wall, and the send-away. When the turn is done correctly, it speeds up the swimmer while allowing a brief break from swimming.

Freestyle approach

Unless swimmers take a lot of momentum into the wall, they will not take much off of it. The approach is crucial to maintaining speed. The turn should be seamless and fast.

• Use attack mode. Swimmers need to attack the wall; this is an attitude as much as technique.
• Keep your eyes on the cross. It is easier for swimmers to time their turns more precisely by focusing on the wall. The slight loss in streamlining is made up for by the improved timing.
• Gauge for a full stroke. Swimmers should gauge their strokes into the wall from several strokes out so that they can finish with a strong, full stroke with hands at their sides. Any necessary adjustments in stroke length are spread out over several strokes rather than concentrated on the last one.

Freestyle turn on the wall

For a flip turn, the turn on the wall consists of somersaulting and planting the feet on it for the push-off. Quickness is crucial.

• Do the quad. Duck the chin, dolphin-kick powerfullly, tuck at the middle, and back-scull with both hands towards the face.
• Plant and go. On the wall, it's one touch and go. Swimmers get off the wall as fast as they can and worry about twisting after the push-off.

Freestyle send-away

This part of the turn takes the speed and power from the two previous parts and adds the power of the underwater kicking. 

• Explode. The push-off the wall is powerful, with a straight back and taut body.
• Streamline. The head is tucked tight against the upper arms, the elbows are squeezed tight, and the hands are placed one on the other.
• Use hyperspeed. Small, powerful, quick dolphins, working both beats of each kick, are more powerful and stramlined than big, slow dolphins. 
• Break out. After a freestyle turn, swimmers should always pull with the bottom arm first, and they should make the breakout strokes long, strong, and powerful, causing the bidy to surge forward and setting a good rhythm for the length. Never breathe the first two strokes since effort and momentum are wasted by climbing upward to breathe.

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