American backstroke ace and former world champion Margaret Hoelzer has lent her voice to the swimmers' campaign for standardisation of backstroke blocks after two seasons of turmoil.

In the wake of a SwimNews article in which Brit world champion Liam Tancock aired the concerns of backstroke swimmers who have faced a variety of equipment at different events in the past two years, Hoelzer highlights the problems that women backstroke specialists have faced and lends her support to the outcome sought by Tancock and FINA Athletes' Commission member and backstroke ace of the decade past, Aaron Peirsol (USA). 

"The problem is that the blocks are not regulated and often times no one knows what the blocks will be like before the meets in order to tell the athletes so that we can prepare," Hoelzer told SwimNews. "In 2004 at the Olympics and at this past duel in the pool [Manchester 2009], the bar that we grip onto was attached at the back.  Most blocks are attached at the end of the bars in an upwards motion so that there is nothing in the way of your hands when gripping the bar.  These blocks attached at the back thus making you have to have your hands really close together or really wide apart, or have your fingers split so that your hand could grip the bar."

Size and strength matter, Hoelzer noted. "The height of the blocks/bar is not regulated.  I completely agree that a 5'6'' female and a 6'9'' male need different heights.  Strength is also an issue here.  Being a taller female I like taller bars and I have to pull myself higher out of the water to help myself clear the water on the push off.  Guys have the liberty of being a bit stronger and can thus not pull themselves up as high and still clear the water.  

"When the bar is too low it puts me in an awkward position and I'm forced to decide the worse of two evils.  Option one being that I'm not strong enough to pull myself up really high (puts you in a very awkward position) while holding on to a low positioned bar; option two - if I place my feet lower on the pad in the water I have a hard time clearing the water on the take off.  And those are my just my problems.  I've see really tiny girls that have a hard time pulling themselves up when the bar is too high. "

Hoelzer, moved to make her views known after being heartened by the campaign led by Peirsol and Tancock, has often complained to her coaches and US national team staff. She now hopes that USA Swimming, the federation, will take on board what several of the world's best backstroke specialists are now campaigning for: fairness, standardisation and smart design that takes into account the athlete who must use the equipment.

"I really like the idea mentioned [by Tancock] about a moveable bar. That seems to be the best idea.  However, even if only one block was chosen, at least we could then train with that block and learn how to adjust ourselves to it so at meets we would be ready.  That would also be a fair option."

 It is to be hoped that FINA is listening, for it is FINA that sets the rules and FINA that can amend the words that dictate what a block must look like and what its dimensions should be. In 2008 and 2009, the new Omega block was used without the track-start wedge for the very reason that not enough athletes had had a chance to practice with the equipment. Backstroke swimmers arrived in Beijing for the Olympic Games and Rome in 2009 for the world championships without knowing the configuration of the bars that they had to launch from. Unacceptable.