A tumble turn or flip turn is one of the

turns in swimming In swimming, a turn is a reversal of direction of travel by a swimmer. A turn is typically performed when a swimmer reaches the end of a swimming pool but still has one or more remaining pool lengths to swim. Types *Open turn: is where the swimm ...

, used to reverse the direction in which the person is

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

. It is done when the swimmer reaches the end of the

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

but still has one or more lengths to swim. The technique's development is credited, by the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

, to

Al Vande Weghe Albert Joseph Vande Weghe (July 28, 1916 – August 13, 2002) was an American competition swimmer and Olympic silver medalist. As a 20-year-old high school senior at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, he won the silver medal in the me ...

at the AAU Nationals in 1934. Previously this entry erroneously credited the invention of the flip turn to

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

swim coach

Tex Robertson Julian "Tex" Robertson (April 23, 1909 – August 27, 2007) was an American swimmer and water polo player and a swimming coach for the University of Texas. He invented a flying disk game similar to the Frisbee. Swimming career Julian Robertson ...

while he was training

Adolph Kiefer Adolph Gustav Kiefer (June 27, 1918 – May 5, 2017) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic competitor, the last surviving gold medalist of the 1936 Summer Olympics and former world record-holder. He was the first man in the world to swi ...

for the 1936 Olympics. Flip turns are usually only used during freestyle and

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

races. In

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

and

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

races, regulations require swimmers to touch the end of the pool with both hands simultaneously before turning back for another length. While they legally can flip turn during butterfly and breaststroke races, it is more common to turn left or right to begin the next lap. This style of turning is called an open turn. If the event is

medley swimming Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles—backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle—into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as a medley relay. Individual ...

turns vary based on the combination order of what stroke the swimmer is changing from and to. According to the USA Swimming Stroke and Turn Regulations, in order of the strokes the turns are to be: #

Butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

is a two-hand touch open turn. Once a legal touch has been made, the swimmer may turn in any manner, but the shoulders must be at or past vertical towards the back when the swimmer leaves the wall. #

Backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

the swimmer must first touch on their back. Once a legal touch has been made, the swimmer may turn in any manner. #

Breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

to freestyle is two hand touch open turn. Once a legal touch has been made, the swimmer may turn in any manner.

References

External links

Amateur Swimming Association
(ASA), Swimming Teaching and Coaching, Level 1, Hogarth L.'' (1998).

*Leisure Press, Swimming into the 21st Century - Colwin C. Mayfield, Swim Even Faster, Maglischo E W, (Edit.1993). *Pelham Books, Coaching the Young Swimmer, Wilke K, Madsen O, (1992/3). *Wolfe Medical Publications, Athletic Ability and the Anatomy of Motion, Wirhed R, (1984).

"Joe Gardner Executes Perfect Breaststroke Flip Turn at Big Tens." (2021) Swimming {{Swimming-stub