Maximizing choreography and performance in artistic swimming team free routines: the role of hybrid figures

Hybrid figures serve as an important component of artistic swimming, however, no prior research has investigated objective indicators for predicting total scores in competition. This study aimed to identify significance of hybrid figure (HF) elements in predicting total scores in artistic swimming competitions and compare these variables between the Beijing team trials and international official competitions. Eight HF variables were measured in the videos from the international artistic swimming competitions, with calibration and measurement of the variables leg height index and leg angle deviation being performed by means of Kinovea. Multiple linear regression was conducted to predict the total scores based on these variables investigated for the international teams, which showed 5 significant predictors including movement frequency, leg height index, leg angle deviation, mean pattern duration, and rotation frequency. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to determine the differences in the variables between the Beijing team and the international teams (top 5), which showed significant difference on movement frequency, leg angle deviation, leg height index and total score. When designing hybrid figures choreography of team free routine in artistic swimming, coaches should prioritize appropriate movement frequency, pattern changes and rotations over excessively long durations. Overly complex HF choreography may lead to a decline on performance in artistic swimming competition.