ABSTRACT
A device for quantitative measurement of the phases of the starting time was developed using a group of photocells plus one touch-pad attached to a bulkhead. A computer connected by parallel port was used to start and time each phase of the swimmer start (maximun distance: 10-m). Nine male high school swimmers participated in the study. Four different methods were used for covering the 10-m distance: 1) gliding, 2) freestyle kicking, 3) butterfly kicking, and 4) freestyle. The results showed a significant and positive correlation between water phase of the start and total start time. The phases block time 1, block time 2 and flight time showed no correlation. Significant differences between the total time of the four starts used and water time were found. The phases block time 1, block time 2 and flight time didn’t show these differences between the four starts. The equipment developed seems useful for training the swimming block-start giving accurate terminal feed-back time. The training of the swimming start has to be primarily oriented to decrease the drag during the water phase.
