Fundamentally, the game of waterpolo is played above the surface of the water, therefore dictating that a player keep his head above water and have both arms available for playing the ball whenever possible. Consequently, a large demand is placed on the legs for stability and locomotion (Beatty, 1973). Experienced poloists are able to propel themselves upward so that their entire torsos, from the waist up, are out of the water (Hines, 1967). Balance and body control are essential to correct throwing, and it is necessary that beginners learn how to. tread water to ensure this balance and control (Barr, 1964). For the most part t.his is accomplished by employing the egg beater kick and to a certain extent a modified breaststroke kick. The former is basically a frog kick as used in the breaststroke with the exception that the legs move alternately instead of moving symmetrically together. The latter differs from the normal kick because the legs must not come together during the propulsive phase. The egg beater kick as shown in Figure 1 has been described in different textbooks on water polo (e.g., Barr, 1964; Hines, 1967; Lambert-Gaughran, 1969) and has been biomechanically analyzed by Beatty {1973). This study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of the egg beater kick in comparison with the breaststroke kick using a device that employed pressure transducers.
© Copyright 1975 Swimming II: Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Biomechanics in Swimming, Brussels, Belgium. Published by University Park Press. All rights reserved.