Relationships of Scores Achieved on a Crawl Stroke Rating Form and Selected Measures of Stroke Efficiency in Swimming

The continuous surpassing of records is an indication that performances in competitive swimming are steadily improving. Success in competition depends upon a swimmer’s ability to “maintain a high velocity over time.” Factors which determine the ability to maintain high velocity include muscle endurance, efficiency, and total capacity for energy expenditure. Though various training methods, the swim coach has been able to increase physiological change in his athletes, including muscular endurance. A valid measure for determining energy expenditure is through analysis of data obtained by testing for oxygen consumption. There is also a linear relationship between oxygen consumption and heart rate. By observing heart rates, the energy expended could be determined by similar procedures. However, measures of determining stroke efficiency are either time consuming or confined to laboratory equipment. The swim coach should have a measuring tool that could be used to determine efficiency of the swimmer available to poolside without being time consuming or limited to laboratory equipment. Therefore a comparative analysis of selected measures of determining stroke efficiency to crawl stroke form rating scale was deemed necessary by the investigator