Swim Like A. Fish: 3 Cues to Produce Great Crossover Turns
During their competitive days at the University of Georgia, Abbie Fish was an NCAA qualifier and Southeastern Conference (SEC) finalist on multiple occasions. These days, Fish operates Swim Like A. Fish, where their coaching tips, videos and analysis can help swimmers improve and move to the next level.
Swimming World is thrilled to present its viewers with the following video from Fish, one that emphasizes crossover turns and excelling in this phase of the sport. Fish offers several recommendations to execute successful crossover turns, with video accompanying the advice.
Three cues for successful crossover turns:
- Keep the crossover arm behind the ear
- Touch deep on the wall
- Stay long and straight into the turn
Click on the video below to view Abbie Fish’s tips for enhancing crossover turns.
Abbie founded Swim Like A. Fish in 2019 after a distinguished 25-year career in competitive swimming and over 15 years of elite swim coaching. Throughout their swimming journey, Abbie achieved remarkable milestones, including being a six-time Olympic Trials qualifier, SEC finalist, NCAA qualifier, and a two-time USA Junior National Champion. Abbie began coaching while pursuing a master’s degree and still actively competing. They are a proud “Double Dawg” from the University of Georgia, where they earned both M.S. and B.S. degrees in Exercise Science. Transitioning from swimmer to coach felt like a natural progression for Abbie.
2024 USA Rulebook rule 101.6.3B(2) “Backstroke to Breaststroke” says “The swimmer must touch the wall while on the back”. Stepping through the video frame by frame shows three of the swimmers in this video are past vertical toward the breast prior to touching the wall and are therefore in violation of this rule.
Some of them stay on their backs through the entire turn. Given the uncertainty and inconsistent enforcement of this rule, all swimmers should stick to a conventional old-fashioned backstroke turn where you don’t turn over on your belly at all.
This violation is difficult to detect. It requires the turn judge to view the swimmer’s shoulders (to determine position) simultaneously with viewing the swimmer’s hand (to determine touch). The “crossover” turn requires perfect timing by the swimmer – if the swimmer starts the crossover just a few inches too soon, he/she will roll onto the stomach before the touch. For these reasons, I believe that the Rules Committee should modify the rule to comply with the backstroke turn rule – with the single requirement that the swimmer must leave the wall past vertical towards the breast.