Symmetry of support scull and vertical position stability in synchronized swimming

Maintaining the body underwater in the so-called vertical position, where the body is inverted (head down) and balanced, is made possible by performing the support scull movement by the upper limbs. In synchronized swimming, the main criteria for judging this vertical position are maintaining body stability and the maximum height of the lower limbs one is able to extend out of the water. Therefore, it seems important to examine for any correlations between the symmetry of the upper limb’s movement (sculling) and the ability to maintain balance of the body. The aim of this study was to use a dynamical asymmetry index (DAI) to assess the symmetry of the upper limb movements performed in synchronized swimming. The use of the dynamical asymmetry index is considered to be advantageous over the asymmetry coefficient, which is better known in literature on the subject and has been used by numerous authors, as it not only evaluates the magnitude of the asymmetry, but also indicates in which phases of movement asymmetry is the greatest or where it is the least significant.