Many swimmers often lose half a second or more when they turn at the wall. It is not because they’re slow, but because they aren’t touching the wall correctly. In competitions, rules for breaststroke and butterfly require swimmers to touch with both hands at the same time. If even one hand is mistimed, it could cost someone, especially a SwimSafer Gold candidate, their assessment, or a club swimmer the race.
But no worries, this guide will walk you through the techniques for open turns in breaststroke and touch turns in butterfly, to avoid losing valuable seconds at the wall.
First, let’s clarify the difference between open turns and touch turns. Both types require you to touch the wall with both hands at the same time while keeping them separated. This is different from how you perform a flip turn in freestyle or backstroke that only needs one hand.
The rules set by World Aquatics (specifically SW 7.6 for breaststroke and SW 8.4 for butterfly) emphasize that the touch should happen with both hands, either above or below the water’s surface, and the hands can’t be stacked on top of each other.
A well-executed breaststroke turn can save a swimmer anywhere from 0.3 to 0.5 seconds, primarily due to timing. Here’s how to do it:
1. As you approach the wall, keep your eyes down rather than looking up.
2. Touch the wall with both hands flat. At the same time, make sure they’re side by side, not stacked.
3. Immediately after touching the wall, tuck your knees tightly into your chest.
4. Rotate sideways, with one arm sweeping low while the other moves over your head into a streamlined position.
5. Push off from the wall either on your back or side; ensure your shoulders are past the vertical before your feet leave the wall.
6. Once you’re underwater, take one stroke and follow it with a single dolphin kick before starting your first breaststroke kick.
In fact, for a 200m short course breaststroke race, the turning and underwater phases can account for as much as 45% of the total time. This means perfecting these moves is crucial.
The touch turn in butterfly is very similar to the breaststroke turn since both strokes follow the same two-hand rule.
1. Glide into the wall with both arms extended forward.
2. Touch the wall with both hands simultaneously, ensuring they are separated.
3. Start to drop one shoulder to get ready to rotate as you tuck your knees.
4. Shape your body into a tight streamline as you turn to face the new direction.
5. Push off the wall while on your chest, as you can’t turn onto your back in butterfly.
6. Take one underwater kick before surfacing, keeping in mind that the legal underwater distance limit is 15 metres.
Here are some frequent errors swimmers make that can cost them time:
The biggest risk for disqualification happens when one hand touches before the other.
This can lead to disqualification, so ensure your hands touch the wall flat and side by side.
If you look up too soon, you might misjudge how far you are from the wall. Try to spot the wall 2 to 3 strokes before you reach it.
If your knees take too long to tuck in, it can slow down your turn. Snap them up quickly after contact.
Bringing your recovery arm too wide can delay your push-off. Keep it close to your body.
A poor position can slow you down, so lock into a streamlined shape before your feet leave the wall.
For the SwimSafer assessment, the focus is more on completing the strokes rather than mastering competitive turn techniques. However, for Stage 6 (Gold) candidates, it’s essential to swim 100m of breaststroke within 4 minutes and 15m of butterfly, both of which require effective open and touch turns to meet the time requirement. If a swimmer struggles with their turns on each lap, those lost seconds can really add up and jeopardize their assessment.
At Swimwerks, we emphasize practicing open and touch turns outside of regular stroke practice. We noticed that, swimmers often reverts to their last practiced methods when they’re tired, so we conduct dedicated turn drills at the beginning of technique sessions. This way, the simultaneous touch becomes second nature rather than something you have to think about at the last moment. For both SwimSafer Gold candidates and club swimmers, maximizing time at the wall is crucial.
If you want a coach to help fine-tune before an assessment, reach out to Swimwerks for a review focused on technique. Just let us know the stroke and goal, and our qualified instructors will suggest appropriate drills and classes.
Yes, open turns and touch turns both refer to the same technique used in breaststroke and butterfly.
Technically, yes. After touching the wall, you can turn in any way you choose as per the rules, but many swimmers usually stick to the traditional open turn.
Because stacked hands mean only one hand is touching the wall, violating the simultaneous touch rule.
Yes, your head must break the surface at some point before your hands touch the wall and again before the first stroke after your underwater pullout.
Feel free to reach out to us! We’ll evaluate your child’s open and touch turns, align them with standards expected at Stage 6, and recommend classes to help them improve.
San Htar is the SEO Specialist at Swimwerks Singapore, where she manages SEO and content strategy. With several years of experience in digital marketing across Southeast Asia, she has worked across SEO, paid media, and content for businesses in multiple industries. At Swimwerks, she focuses on creating content that helps people in Singapore can actually find the information they need when looking for swimming lessons for their kids and adults. Swimwerks is one of Singapore’s trusted swimming schools, with over 6 years of experience, more than 1,000 students coached, and a presence across 30 locations island-wide, from ActiveSG pools to condominiums across Singapore.
