How to do a Backstroke Flip Turn

How to do a Backstroke Flip Turn

Swimming on your back might feel a bit unnatural, especially if you have to do a flip turn!

Flip turns can make your practice of swimming faster and more efficient. Once you learn how to do flip turns, you will not have to stop at every wall, and then you won’t be tempted to stop your workout as much. Once you are able to master the freestyle flip turn and do that with ease, the backstroke flip turn is as simple as flipping over!

We will go over some simple tips and tricks you can use to make your backstroke flip turn as smooth as your freestyle flip turn.

Before reading this blog and trying your backstroke flip turn, you will want to make sure you are proficient at the freestyle flip turn. This includes swimming into the wall, curling into a ball to flip over, and pushing off from the wall in the opposite direction. These are all parts of both the freestyle and backstroke flip turn, and you will want to make sure you can do them before adding on to your skills.

Soon, you’ll be a pro at both!

Backstroke Flip Turn Tips for Beginners:

• Try to swim in a straight line.
• I know this sounds silly, but it can help so much! If you are swimming laps of backstroke and have a ceiling to look at, try to find a line along the ceiling to follow to stay in a straight line. This will help to prevent you from flipping into the lane line when you turn over to do your flip turn.
• If you are outside and are looking at the beautiful blue sky, it can be very difficult to stay straight! Try to keep your head as still as you can, don’t flop your head from one side to the other! The body follows where the head goes, so if you keep your head straight, your body will follow.

How to Flip Turn in Backstroke

• Count your strokes from the flags.
• Once you swim past the flags, make sure you start counting your strokes. I always tell the kids I teach that their stroke count is their magic number. The magic number is their stroke count, minus one stroke. So, when swimming backstroke and you reach the flags, count your strokes until you reach your magic number. Typically for kids, this number can be as high as nine or ten. For adults, it is usually between three and five. Once you reach your magic number, flip over onto your belly and do a normal flip turn as you would in freestyle.
• The stroke count and magic number are one of the most important parts of the backstroke flip turn. If you do not count your strokes you might hit your hand, arm, or even your head on the wall and that might hurt!
• Use your legs!
• After you push off of the wall, stay on your back! Similar to your freestyle flip turn, you will want to take three powerful dolphin kicks right after your turn. When I swam, I always made it my goal to try to kick as hard as I could to make it past the flags before I reached the surface.
• Once you take your three dolphin kicks, transition into flutter kicks. From there, you should be nearing the surface, and you can start moving your arms once your head is about to break the surface of the water.

Backstroke Turn Note:

One thing to remember in backstroke is to stay on your back after you push off the wall from your flip turn. If you are in a swimming race and accidentally flip on to your belly and the stroke judge sees you, you might get disqualified. In backstroke, you need to constantly be on your back, other than that single stroke before your flip turn. If you are on your belly at any other time during the race, you will get disqualified.

If you are looking to learn more about the backstroke technique, head over to one of our other blogs to learn more.

Whether you are an adult looking to swim for health and exercise, a parent looking to teach their children how to swim, or an adult student looking to improve their skills, Sunsational Swim School is the right place for you! Now is a great time to book your lessons with a Sunsational Swim School private swim instructor, and bring the swim school to your pool!

Olivia Darr’s bio:

Swim Instructor in Columbia, SC

Olivia is a part time competitive swim coach and teaches swimming lessons on the side in Columbia, South Carolina. She loves teaching kids how to love and feel safe in the water. Olivia has experience teaching students of all ages, from 10 months to adult. She is excited to help you discover your love of swimming!