Front Quadrant Timing
One hand stays in front until the other passes the head, so the stroke stays long and the body stays balanced on the extended arm.
- Stages
- Swimming – Stage 9
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Front Crawl Arms, Stroke Timing, Stroke Efficiency
- Equipment
- None, Float
- Age
- 8–99 years
- Group size
- 1–16 swimmers
- Time
- About 6 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Keep one direction per lane or widths only to avoid head-on contact.
What it develops
- Front crawl: rotation, early catch and bilateral breathing
How to run it
- Swim front crawl slowly, keeping the lead hand extended until the recovering hand passes the swimmer's head.
- On a teacher call of 'catch-up', swimmers let the hands meet in front for three strokes.
- On 'overlap', the lead hand starts its catch just as the other hand passes the head.
- Finish with a length of normal front crawl and ask swimmers to describe where their hands meet.
Teaching cues
- One hand always in front.
- Start the pull as the other arm passes your head.
- Long and smooth, not rushed.
Make it easier
- Use a short float as a baton passed from hand to hand in front of the head.
Make it harder
- Keep the overlap timing while breathing every three strokes.
- Count strokes for a length and try to take one fewer with the same effort.
Common faults
- Both arms pulling at the same time (windmill).
- Waiting so long that the swimmer stalls.
- Lead hand drops while waiting.
Corrections
- 'Your front hand is the brake – keep it up there until the other one arrives.'
- 'Don't stop – start the catch as the other hand passes your goggles.'
- 'Reach forward, fingertips slightly down.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Hold a short float at the far end and hand it to the next swimmer as a baton for the easier version, as directed by the teacher.