By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has announced state high school associations may enact rules allowing the use of backstroke ledges beginning in the 2025-26 school year.
The rule, which goes into the handbook as Rule 2-7-3, was approved by the NFHS Swimming and Diving Rules Committee during its annual meeting following years of debate. The NFHS stated that “research focused on risk minimization and alignment with national and international swimming standards” drove the committee’s final decision.
The change does not force state associations to adopt wedges in competition, just gives them the option to do so. “I think the most important thing to consider about this rule passings is that it is a permissive rule,” said Rod Garman, chair of the Rules Committee and assistant executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association. “State associations will have the choice of whether to allow backstroke starting ledges in their state. We recognize this is a major change in high school swimming, so it may take time for some states to adopt it.”
The new rule states that for backstroke wedges to be used, pools must maintain a six-foot water depth and specifies the legal dimensions for ledges. The rule makes clear that a host team must provide identical ledges to all swimmers during a competition but that even if ledges are available, swimmers are not required to use them.
“I think it’s going to create an opportunity for swimmers to improve in backstroke events,” Garman continued. “Swimmers sometimes slip when placing their feet along the wal or touchpad at the start of a backstroke race. These ledges will help prevent that, allowing for stronger and more consistent starts. I’m excited to see the positive impact this will have on our sport.”
As part of its consideration of risk minimization when implementing this rule, the NFHS announced it will release a teaching protocol for backstroke ledges “in the near future.”
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