Tumble turn progression

Setup

1. A lifeguard or qualified teacher on deck. Check the depth first: somersaults need water at least chest-deep on the swimmer, and deep enough that the roll can't reach the floor.
2. Steps 1 to 3 happen in open water in the middle of the pool, well away from the walls.
3. Only move a swimmer on to the wall once they can roll straight and come up calmly every time.
4. One swimmer per lane for the wall steps, or a clear gap so nobody turns into someone pushing off.

How it runs

1. Step 1: standing in chest-deep water, push off the floor into a forward somersault, tuck tight and hum out through the nose all the way round.
2. Step 2: push and glide on the front, then pull both arms back to the hips, tuck the chin and roll over.
3. Step 3: swim three or four strokes of freestyle mid-pool, leave both hands at the hips on the last stroke and roll.
4. Step 4: swim in to the wall and start the roll when the head passes over the T mark on the floor. Feet land on the wall, knees bent, toes up.
5. Step 5: push off on the back in streamline, rotate onto the front during the glide and swim back out. 8 to 10 full turns, resting between each.

Coaching points

• Chin to chest starts the roll; the tighter the tuck, the faster it goes.
• Keep humming or blowing through the nose throughout the roll so water doesn't go up it.
• Hands finish at the hips and help flip the body round, palms pressing towards the head.
• Feet land at about hip depth, roughly hip-width apart, knees bent to about a right angle, not cramped up to the chest.
• Short underwater phase off the wall, then breathe; never hold the breath for long distances.

Common mistakes

• Turning the head to the side, so the roll goes crooked and the feet miss the wall.
• Starting the roll too far out, then stretching to reach the wall with the feet.
• Too close to the wall, so the swimmer is squashed and pushes off weakly.
• Breathing in through the nose during the roll.