The Beach Swim Environment

The Beach Swim Environment

by Emma Carney (AUS) -
Number of replies: 0

Hi Athletes,

Welcome to the V-Log emails!

These emails are all about the skills of racing, and today we look at the beach start and exit ....

The beach provides a swim racing environment which requires some very specific skills.  When improving your beach start and exit skills, it is important to first understand what you are trying to master, and the key learning points to each skill.

Learning these skills are very important, because beach surf skills can provide athletes with some distinct advantages when executed well during a race.

Below are the skills described, and the link to view the V-Log is here.

Beach Start

There are 4 main areas to master for a beach start with waves.  

Pre - Start

  1. Pre start you must take a look at the shore and water depth to decide how many steps can be taken before needing the switch to wading and Porpoising.
  2. When checking water depth also check for holes, rocks and other tripping/injury hazards
  3. Check the direction of the current (noting this may not be the same as the surface wind and chop)
  4. On the start use a split leg stance.  Often it helps to dig the rear foot into the sand for a more powerful start.

1 – Run down the beach fast.  You need momentum to take into the water.

2 – Wade

    • Wading commences once it is too deep to run into the water.
    • To wade, clear the knee from the water swinging your lower leg wide (like an exaggerated stride) keeping your thigh horizontal with the water.  As your leg comes around to the front, throw your foot out and place onto the sand ready for the other leg to repeat the process.
    • Arm swim is wider and higher than running to maintain balance

3 - Dolphin

    • Dolphining starts when water is at approximately waist deep and you can no longer wade effectively
    • Enter the water at approx. 45 degrees driving off your legs towards to ocean bottom
    • Dig your hands into the sand
    • Bring your feet forward to where your hands are and drive forward, pushing off with your legs at 45 degrees 
    • After surfacing, take a breath, bring the hands forward and repeat the process without pausing

4 - Diving Under a Wave

    • Dive under a wave when the depth becomes too great to dolphin effectively (approx. waist depth).  Lead with hands, tuck head chin to chest.  Body will follow head tuck 
    • Dive deep, in front of wave and wave should not hit your feet.
    • Stay close to the bottom and hold the sand/bottom of ocean with both hands until the wave has passed overhead.
    • If you are in deep water, dive/breaststroke down as deep as possible
    • When the wave has passed, push upwards with feet off bottom of the ocean or breaststroke /dolphin kick to surface if too deep
    • Surface hands first

Beach Exit

Just as you can gain valuable time over your competitors entering the water the beach exit also provides opportunities to gain time advantages if you are able to catch waves to shore.

There are 3 main types of waves – Spilling, Plunging and Broken – and catching each type requires a slightly different skill.

With catching all types of waves, it is important to learn to swim to shore and learn the skill of looking under your arm and looking back to check waves approaching you from behind.  This is vital, so you can see what is coming and adjust your swim accordingly.  Remember also, if you do miss a wave, you must kick hard as it moves away from you due to the fact that after a wave has passed there is a pull back out to see of the water remaining.  You want to keep moving forward, so a strong kick and high stroke rate are very important.

Catching a Spilling wave

Swim hard and once you feel the lift of the wave kick hard and continue with your stroke.  Once on the wave you can streamline, keep your body rigid and continue kicking.  If you need to breathe, breathe on one side and stroke on that side to maintain the speed of the wave.

Catching a Dumping (Plunging) wave

Plunging waves can be the most intimidating, as they are quite forceful and from the shore they are often called ‘dumpers’.  When there is sand in the broken water, the wave is breaking close to the shore and you must be aware of protecting your head and neck if coming down the front of the wave.  

Once you feel the force of this type of wave, hold back so you come down the wave with or behind the foam by placing your hands under your body (similar to a close handed push up), keep your head up, feet slightly down to drop your weight back, as you drop down the wave you can use your arms to slow the impact.  Once down the front of the wave swim hard, maintain a strong kick and use the force of the wave as a spilling wave above (breathing when necessary).

Catching a Broken Wave

Catching a broken wave is THE hardest skill for any surf swimmer to master but it can often mean the difference between winning and coming in mid-fi. When attempting to catch a broken wave the swimmer should try and increase their speed by increasing their stroke ratio and by changing to a 6-beat kick. The goal is to match the speed of the wave and also to get the body as high in the water as possible prior to the wave hitting. 

A good technique for helping gain this initial push from the wave is to lift up one foot only moments before the waves hit the swimmer so that the downwards kick of the swimmer is actually against the wave. As the wave hits put one arm out in front applying weight to the hand. 

Training for Beach Conditions

The best way to train for a beach conditions is to practice ‘ins and outs’.

These are simply running into the water past the shore break and returning/catching waves back to the shore.  

What becomes very clear to the athlete that they will have to adapt to the conditions and will have to adjust their start according to the waves rolling in at the time of entering the water.  The swim to shore and exit will also vary.

Every beach is different too, and each day varies.  If you have a beach location for a race, swim the course every day.  Pick your entry and learn the pattern of the waves.  Talking to local lifeguards is also really useful, because they know the beach the best of anyone.  

Above all, practice makes perfect!

Please send any questions through on the forum.

Emma

 

 

 

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