BASIC SWIMMING

Lesson 1 - Introduction to Swimming

Swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or a liquid substance, usually for
recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement
of the limbs and the body. Humans can hold their breath underwater and undertake
rudimentary locomotive swimming within weeks of birth, as a survival response.
Swimming is consistently among the top public recreational activities, and in some countries,
swimming lessons are a compulsory part of the educational curriculum. As a formalized sport,
swimming features in range of local, national, and international competitions, including every
modern Summer Olympics.

Science
Swimming relies on the nearly neutral buoyancy of the human body. On average, the body has
a relative density of 0.98 compared to water, which causes the body to float. However,
buoyancy varies on the basis of body composition, lung inflation, muscle and fat content, center
of gravity and the salinity of the water. Higher levels of body fat and saltier water both lower
the relative density of the body and increase its buoyancy. Human males tend to have a lower
center of gravity and higher muscle content, therefore find it more difficult to float or be
buoyant. See also: Hydrostatic weighing.
Since the human body is very slightly less dense than water, water supports the weight of the
body during swimming. As a result, swimming is "low-impact" compared to land activities such
as running. The density and viscosity of water also create resistance for objects moving through
the water. Swimming strokes use this resistance to create propulsion, but this same resistance
also generates drag on the body.
Hydrodynamics is important to stroke technique for swimming faster, and swimmers who want
to swim faster or exhaust less try to reduce the drag of the body's motion through the water.
To be more hydrodynamic, swimmers can either increase the power of their strokes or reduce
water resistance, though power must increase by a factor of three to achieve the same effect as
reducing resistance. Efficient swimming by reducing water resistance involves a horizontal
water position, rolling the body to reduce the breadth of the body in the water, and extending
the arms as far as possible to reduce wave resistance.
Just before plunging into the pool, swimmers may perform exercises such as squatting.
Squatting helps in enhancing a swimmer's start by warming up the thigh muscles.
Infant swimming
Human babies demonstrate an innate swimming or diving reflex from newborn until the age of
approximately 6 months. Other mammals also demonstrate this phenomenon (see mammalian
diving reflex). The diving response involves apnea, reflex bradycardia, and peripheral
vasoconstriction; in other words, babies immersed in water spontaneously hold their breath,
slow their heart rate, and reduce blood circulation to the extremities (fingers and toes) Because
infants are innately able to swim, classes for babies of about 6 months old are offered in many
locations. This helps build muscle memory and makes strong swimmers from a young age.

Technique Swimming can be undertaken using a wide range of styles, known as 'strokes,' and
these strokes are used for different purposes, or to distinguish between classes in competitive
swimming. It is not necessary to use a defined stroke for propulsion through the water, and
untrained swimmers may use a 'doggy paddle' of arm and leg movements, similar to the way
four-legged animal’s swim.
There are four main strokes used in competition and recreation swimming: the front crawl, also
known as freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. Competitive swimming in Europe
started around 1800, mostly using the breaststroke. In 1873, John Arthur Trudgen introduced
the trudgen to Western swimming competitions. Butterfly was developed in the 1930s, and was
considered a variant of the breaststroke until accepted as a separate style in 1953. Butterfly is
considered the hardest stroke by many people, but it is the most effective for all-around toning
and the building of muscles. It also burns the most calories and can be the second fastest stroke
if practiced regularly.
In non-competitive swimming, there are some swimming strokes including sidestroke. The
sidestroke toward the end of the 19th century, this pattern was changed by raising one arm
above the water first, then the other, and then each in turn. It is still used in lifesaving and
recreational swimming.
Other strokes exist for particular reasons such as training, school lessons, and rescue, and it is
often possible to change strokes to avoid using parts of the body, either to separate specific
body parts, such as swimming with only arms or legs to exercise them harder, or for amputees
or those affected by paralysis.
Purpose
There are many reasons why people swim, from swimming as a recreational pursuit to
swimming as a necessary part of a job or other activity. Swimming may also be used to
rehabilitate injuries, especially various cardiovascular and muscle injuries. People may also
pursue swimming as a career or field of interest. Some may be gifted and choose to compete
professionally and go onto claim fame.

Recreation
Many swimmers swim for recreation, with swimming consistently ranking as one of the physical
activities people are most likely to take part in. Recreational swimming can also be used for
exercise, relaxation or rehabilitation. The support of the water, and the reduction in impact,
make swimming accessible for people who are unable to undertake activities such as running.
Swimming is one of the most relaxing activities, water is known to calm us and can help reduce
stress.
Health
Swimming is primarily a cardiovascular/aerobic exercise due to the long exercise time, requiring
a constant oxygen supply to the muscles, except for short sprints where the muscles work
anaerobically. Furthermore, swimming can help tone and strengthen muscles. Swimming allows
sufferers of arthritis to exercise affected joints without worsening their symptoms. However,
swimmers with arthritis may wish to avoid swimming breaststroke, as improper technique can
exacerbate arthritic knee pain. As with most aerobic exercise, swimming reduces the harmful
effects of stress. Swimming is also effective in improving health for people with cardiovascular
problems and chronic illnesses. It is proven to positively impact the mental health of pregnant
women and mothers. Swimming can even improve mood. Although many forms of physical
activity have been shown to improve bone density and health, this is where swimming has its
downfalls. Due to the low-impact nature of the sport, studies have demonstrated that bone
mass acquisition will be negatively impacted, which could be an issue for adolescent athletes in
particular
Disabled swimmer
As of 2020, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that swimming pools in the United
States be accessible to disabled swimmers.
Elderly swimmers
"Water-based exercise can benefit older adults by improving quality of life and decreasing
disability. It also improves or maintains the bone health of post-menopausal women."
Swimming is an ideal workout for the elderly, mainly because it presents little risk of injury and
is also low impact. Exercise in the water works out all muscle groups, helping with conditions
such as muscular dystrophy which is common in seniors.
Sport
Swimming as a sport predominantly involves participants competing to be the fastest over a
given distance in a certain period of time. Competitor’s swim different distances in different
levels of competition. For example, swimming has been an Olympic sport since 1896, and the
current program includes events from 50 m to 1500 m in length, across all four main strokes
and medley. During the season competitive swimmers typically train several times a week, this
is in order to preserve fitness as well as promoting overload in training. Furthermore, when the
cycle of work is completed, swimmers go through a stage called taper where intensity is
reduced in preparation for racing, during taper power and feel in the water are concentrated.
The sport is governed internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), and
competition pools for FINA events are 25 or 50 meters in length. In the United States, a pool 25
yards in length is commonly used for competition.
Other swimming and water-related sporting disciplines include open water swimming, diving,
synchronized swimming, water polo, triathlon, and the modern pentathlon.
Safety
As a popular leisure activity done all over the world, one of the primary risks of swimming is
drowning. Drowning may occur from a variety of factors, from swimming fatigue to simply
inexperience in the water. From 2005 to 2014, an average of 3,536 fatal unintentional
drownings occurred in the United States, approximating 10 deaths a day,
To minimize the risk and prevent potential drownings from occurring, lifeguards are often
employed to supervise swimming locations such as pools and beaches. Different lifeguards
receive different training depending on the sites that they are employed at; i.e., a waterfront
lifeguard receives more rigorous training than a poolside lifeguard. Well-known aquatic training
services include the National Lifesaving Society and the Canadian Red Cross, which specialize in
training lifeguards in North America.
Occupation
Some occupations require workers to swim, such as abalone and pearl diving, and spearfishing.
Swimming is used to rescue people in the water who are in distress, including exhausted
swimmers, non-swimmers who have accidentally entered the water, and others who have
come to harm on the water. Lifeguards or volunteer lifesavers are deployed at many pools and
beaches worldwide to fulfil this purpose, and they, as well as rescue swimmers, may use
specific swimming styles for rescue purposes.
Swimming is also used in marine biology to observe plants and animals in their natural habitat.
Other sciences use swimming; for example, Konrad Lorenz swam with geese as part of his
studies of animal behavior.
Swimming also has military purposes. Military swimming is usually done by special operation
forces, such as Navy SEALs and US Army Special Forces. Swimming is used to approach a
location, gather intelligence, engage in sabotage or combat, and subsequently depart. This may
also include airborne insertion into water or exiting a submarine while it is submerged. Due to
regular exposure to large bodies of water, all recruits in the United States Navy, Marine Corps,
and Coast Guard are required to complete basic swimming or water survival training.
Swimming is also a professional sport. Companies sponsor swimmers who have the skills to
compete at the international level. Many swimmers compete competitively to represent their
home countries in the Olympics. Professional swimmers may also earn a living as entertainers,
performing in water ballets.

Locomotion
Locomotion by swimming over brief distances is frequent when alternatives are precluded.
There have been cases of political refugees swimming in the Baltic Sea and of people jumping in
the water and swimming ashore from vessels not intended to reach land where they planned to
go.
Risks
There are many risks associated with voluntary or involuntary human presence in water, which
may result in death directly or through drowning asphyxiation. Swimming is both the goal of
much voluntary presence and the prime means of regaining land in accidental situations.

Most recorded water deaths fall into these categories:

● Panic occurs when an inexperienced swimmer or a non-swimmer becomes mentally
overwhelmed by the circumstances of their immersion, leading to sinking and drowning.
Occasionally, panic kills through hyperventilation, even in shallow water.
Exhaustion can make a person unable to sustain efforts to swim or tread water, often
leading to death through drowning. An adult with fully developed and extended lungs
 has generally positive or at least neutral buoyancy, and can float with modest effort
when calm and in still water. A small child has negative buoyancy and must make a
sustained effort to avoid sinking rapidly.
● Hypothermia, in which a person loses critical core temperature, can lead to
unconsciousness or heart failure.
● Dehydration from prolonged exposure to hypertonic salt water-or, less frequently, salt
water aspiration syndrome where inhaled salt water creates foam in the lungs that
restricts breathing can cause loss of physical control or kill directly without actual
drowning. Hypothermia and dehydration also kill directly, without causing drowning,
even when the person wears a life vest.
● Blunt trauma in a fast-moving flood or river water can kill a swimmer outright, or lead to
their drowning.

Adverse effects of swimming can include:

● Exostosis, an abnormal bony overgrowth narrowing the ear canal due to frequent, long-
term splashing or filling of cold water into the ear canal, also known as surfer's ear
● Infection from water-borne bacteria, viruses, or parasites
● Chlorine inhalation (in swimming pools)
● Heart attacks while swimming (the primary cause of sudden death among triathlon
participants, occurring at the rate of 1 to 2 per 100,000 participations.
● Adverse encounters with aquatic life:
o Stings from sea lice, jellyfish, fish, seashells, and some species of coral
o Puncture wounds caused by crabs, lobsters, sea urchins, zebra mussels, stingrays,
flying fish, sea birds, and debris
o Hemorrhaging bites from fish, marine mammals, and marine reptiles, occasionally
resulting from predation
 o Venomous bites from sea snakes and certain species of octopus
o Electrocution or mild shock from electric eels and electric rays
Around any pool area, safety equipment is often important, and is a zoning requirement for
most residential pools in the United States Supervision by personnel trained in rescue
techniques is required at most competitive swimming meets and public pools.
Lessons Traditionally, children were considered not able to swim independently until 4 years of
age, although now infant swimming lessons are recommended to prevent drowning
In Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia and Finland, the curriculum for the fifth grade (fourth
grade in Estonia) states that all children should learn how to swim as well as how to handle
emergencies near water. Most commonly, children are expected to be able to swim 200 metres
(660 ft) of which at least 50 meters (160 ft) on their back- after first falling into deep water and
getting their head under water. Even though about 95 percent of Swedish school children know
how to swim, drowning remains the third most common cause of death among children.
In both the Netherlands and Belgium swimming lessons under school time (schoolzwemmen,
school swimming) are supported by the government. Most schools provide swimming lessons.
There is a long tradition of swimming lessons in the Netherlands and Belgium, the Dutch
translation for the breaststroke swimming style is even schools lag (school stroke). In France,
swimming is a compulsory part of the curriculum for primary schools. Children usually spend
one semester per year learning swimming during CP/CE1/CE2/CM1 (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th
grade).

In many places, swimming lessons are provided by local swimming pools, both those run by the
local authority and by private leisure companies. Many schools also include swimming lessons
into their physical Education curricula, provided either in the schools' own pool or in the
nearest public pool.
In the UK, the "Top-up’s scheme" calls for school children who cannot swim by the age of 11 to
receive intensive daily lessons. Children who have not reached Great Britain's National
Curriculum standard of swimming 25 meters by the time they leave primary school receive a
half-hour lesson every day for two weeks during term-time.
In Canada and Mexico there has been a call to include swimming in public school curriculum
In the United States there is the Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) initiative that provides lessons
for infant children, to cope with an emergency where they have fallen into the water. They are
taught how to roll-back-to float (hold their breath underwater, to roll onto their back, to float
unassisted, rest and breathe until help arrives).
In Switzerland, swimming lessons for babies are popular, to help them getting used to be in
another element. At the competition level, unlike in other countries such as the
Commonwealth countries, swimming teams are not related to educational institutions (high-
schools and universities), but rather to cities or regions.
Clothing and equipment
Swimsuits
Standard everyday clothing is usually impractical for swimming and is unsafe under some
circumstances. Most cultures today expect swimmers to wear swimsuits.
Men's swimsuits commonly resemble shorts, or briefs. Men's casual swimsuits (for example,
boardshorts) are rarely skintight, unlike competitive swimwear, like jammers or diveskins. In
most cases, boys and men swim with their upper body exposed, except in countries where
custom or law prohibits it in a public setting, or for practical reasons such as sun protection.
Modern women's swimsuits are generally skintight, covering the pubic region and the breasts
(See bikini). Women's swimwear may also cover the midriff as well. Women's swimwear is often
a fashion statement, and whether it is modest or not is a subject of debate by many groups,
religious and secular.
Competitive swimwear is built so that the wearer can swim faster and more efficiently. Modern
competitive swimwear is skintight and lightweight. There are many kinds of competitive
swimwear for each gender. It is used in aquatic competitions, such as water polo, swim racing,
diving, and rowing.
Wetsuits provide both thermal insulation and flotation. Many swimmers lack buoyancy in the
leg. The wetsuit reduces density and therefore improves buoyancy while swimming. It provides
insulation by absorbing some of the surrounding water, which then heats up when in direct
contact with skin. The wetsuit is the usual choice for those who swim in cold water for long
periods of time, as it reduces susceptibility to hypothermia.

Some people also choose to wear no clothing while swimming; this is known as skinny dipping.
In some European countries public pools have naturist sessions to allow clothes-free swimming
and many countries have naturist beaches where one can swim naked. It is legal to swim naked
in the sea at all UK beaches. It was common for males to swim naked in a public setting up to
the early 20th century. Today, skinny dipping can be a rebellious activity or merely a casual one.
Accessories
• Ear plugs can prevent water from getting in the ears.
• Nose clips can prevent water from getting in the nose. However, this is generally only used for
synchronized swimming. Using nose clips in competitive swimming can cause a disadvantage,
so many competitive swimmers choose not to use one. It is for this reason that nose clips are
primarily used for synchronized swimming and recreational swimming
• Goggles protect the eyes from chlorinated water, and improve underwater visibility. Tinted
goggles protect the eyes from sunlight that reflects from the bottom of the pool.
• Swim caps keep the body streamlined and protect the hair from chlorinated water, though
they are not entirely watertight.
• Kickboards are used to keep the upper body afloat while exercising the lower body.
• Pull buoys are used to keep the lower body afloat while exercising the upper body.
• Swim fins are used to elongate the kick and improve technique and speed. Fins also build
upper calf muscles.
• Hand paddles are used to increase resistance during arm movements, with the goal of
improving technique and power.
• Finger paddles have a similar effect to handle paddles however due to their smaller size
create
less resistance. They also help with improving a swimmers 'catch' in the water.
• Snorkels are used to help improve and maintain a good head position in the water. They may
also be used by some during physical therapy.
• Pool noodles are used to keep the user afloat during the time in the water.
Safety fencing and equipment is mandatory at public pools and a zoning requirement at most
residential pools in the United States.
. Swimming Parachutes are used in competitive training, adding an element of resistance in the
water helping athletes to increase power in the stroke’s central movements.
Inflatable armbands are swimming aids designed to provide buoyancy for the swimmer which
helps the wearer to float.

BASIC SWIMMING
Lesson 2 - History of Swimming
Competitive swimming in Britain started around 1830, mostly using breaststroke. Swimming
was part of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens. In 1908, the world swimming
association, Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed.
10,000-year-old rock paintings of people swimming were found in the Cave of Swimmers near
Wadi Sura in southwestern Egypt. These pictures seem to show breaststroke or doggy paddle,
although it is also possible that the movements have a ritual meaning unrelated to swimming.
An Egyptian clay seal dated between 9000 BC and 4000 BC shows four people who are believed
to be swimming a variant of the front crawl.
More references to swimming are found in the Babylonian and Assyrian wall drawings,
depicting a variant of the breaststroke. The most famous drawings were found in the Kebir
desert and are estimated to be from around 4000 BC. The Nagoda bas-relief also shows
swimmers inside of men dating back from 3000 BC. The Indian palace Mohenjo Daro from 2800
BC contains a swimming pool sized 12 m by 7 m. The Minoan palace of Knossos in Crete also
featured baths. An Egyptian tomb from 2000 BC shows a variant of front crawl. Depictions of
swimmers have also been found from the Hittites, Minoans and other Middle Eastern
civilizations, in the Tepantitla compound at Teotihuacan, and in mosaics in Pompeii
Written references date back to ancient times, with the earliest as early as 2000 BC. Such
references occur in works like Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Bible (Ezekiel 47:5, Acts
27:42, Isaiah 25:11), Beowulf, and other sagas, although the style is never described. There are
also many mentions of swimmers in the Vatican, Borgian and Bourbon codices. A series of
reliefs from 850 BC in the Nimrud Gallery of the British Museum shows swimmers, mostly in
military context, often using swimming aids.
Since swimming was done in a state of undress, it became less popular as society became more
conservative in the early Modern period. Leonardo da Vinci made early sketches of lifebelts. In
1538, Nikolaus Wynmann, a Swiss-German professor of languages, wrote the earliest known
complete book about swimming, Colymbetes, sive de arte natandi dialogus et festivus et
iucundus lectu (The Swimmer, or A Dialogue on the Art of Swimming and Joyful and Pleasant to
Read). His purpose was to reduce the dangers of drowning. The book contained a good
methodical approach to learning breaststroke, and mentioned swimming aids such as air-filled
cow bladders, reed bundles, and cork belts.
In 1587, Everard Digby also wrote a swimming book, claiming that humans could swim better
than fish. Digby was a Senior Fellow at St. John's College, Cambridge and was interested in the
scientific method. His short treatise, De arte natandi, was written in Latin and contained over 40
woodcut illustrations depicting various methods of swimming, including the breaststroke,
backstroke and crawl. Digby regarded the breaststroke as the most useful form of swimming. In
1603, Emperor Go-Yozei WORLD of Japan declared that schoolchildren should swim.
In 1595, Christopher Middleton wrote "A short introduction for to learne to swimme", that was
the first published guide recording drawings and examples of different swimming styles.
In 1696, the French author Melchisédech Thévenot wrote The Art of Swimming, describing a
breaststroke very similar to the modern breaststroke. This book was translated into English and
became the standard reference of swimming for many years to come. In 1793, GutsMuths from
Schnepfenthal, Germany, wrote Gymnastik für die Jugend (Exercise for youth), including a
significant portion about swimming. In 1794, Kanonikus Oronzio de Bernardi of Italy wrote a
two volume book about swimming, including floating practice as a prerequisite for swimming
studies.
In 1798, GutsMuths wrote another book Kleines Lehrbuch der Schwimmkunst zum
Selbstunterricht (Small study book of the art of swimming for self-study), recommending the
use of a "fishing rod" device to aid in the learning of swimming. His books describe a three-step
approach to learning to swim that is still used today. First, get the student used to the water;
second, practice the swimming movements out of the water; and third, practice the swimming
movements in the water. He believed that swimming is an essential part of every education.
The Haloren, a group of salt makers in Halle, Germany, greatly advanced swimming through
setting a good example to others by teaching their children to swim at a very early age.
Swimming emerged as a competitive sport in the early 1800s in England. In 1828, the first
indoor swimming pool, St George's Baths, was opened to the public. By 1837, the National
Swimming Society was holding regular swimming competitions in six artificial swimming pools,
built around London. The sport grew in popularity and by 1880, when the first national
governing body, the Amateur Swimming Association, was formed, there were already over 300
regional clubs in operation across the country.
In 1844 a swimming competition was held in London with the participation of two Native
Americans. The British competitor used the traditional breaststroke, while the Native
Americans swam a variant of the front crawl, which had been used by people in the Americas
for generations, but was not known to the British. The winning medal went to 'Flying Gull' who
swam the 130-foot length in 30 seconds-the Native American swimming method proved to be a
much faster style than the British breaststroke. The Times of London reported disapprovingly
that the Native American stroke was an unrefined motion with the arms "like a windmill" and
the chaotic and unregulated kicking of the legs. The considerable splashing that the stroke
caused was deemed to be barbaric and "un-European" to the British gentlemen, who preferred
to keep their heads over the water. Subsequently, the British continued to swim only
breaststroke until 1873. The British did, however, adapt the breaststroke into the speedier
sidestroke, where the swimmer lies to one side; this became the more popular choice by the
late 1840s. In 1895, J. H. Thayers of England swam 100 yards (91 m) in a record-breaking
1:02.50 using a sidestroke.
Sir John Arthur Trudgen picked up the hand-over stroke from South American natives he
observed swimming on a trip to Buenos Aires. On his return to England in 1868, he successfully
debuted the new stroke in 1873 and won a local competition in 1875. Although the new stroke
was really the reintroduction of a more intuitive method for swimming, one that had been in
evidence in ancient cultures such as Ancient Assyria, his method revolutionized the state of
competitive swimming - his stroke is still regarded as the most powerful to use today. In his
stroke, the arms were brought forward, alternating, while the body rolled from side to side. The
kick was a scissors kick such as that familiarly used in breaststroke, with one kick for two arm
strokes, although it is believed that the Native Americans had indeed used a flutter kick. Front
crawl variants used different ratios of scissor kicks to arm strokes, or alternated with a flutter
(up-and-down) kick. The speed of the new stroke was demonstrated by F.V.C. Lane in 1901,
swimming 100 yards (91 m) in 1:00.0, an improvement of about ten seconds compared to the
breaststroke record. Due to its speed the Trudgen became very quickly popular around the
world, despite all the ungentle man-like splashing.
The routes taken by Webb and Bill Burgess across the English Channel, in 1875 and 1911,
respectively.
Captain Matthew Webb was the first man to swim the English Channel (between England and
France), in 1875. He used swimming 21.26 miles (34.21 km) in 21 hours and 45 minutes. His
feat was not replicated or surpassed for the next 36 years, until Bill Burgess made the crossing
in 1911. Other European countries also established swimming federations; Germany in 1882,
France in 1890 and Hungary in 1896. The first European amateur swimming competitions were
in 1889 in Vienna. The world's first women's swimming championship was held in Scotland in
1892.
Nancy Edberg popularized women's swimming in Stockholm from 1847. She made swimming
lessons accessible for both genders and later introduced swimming lessons for women in
Denmark and Norway. Her public swimming exhibitions from 1856 with her students were likely
among the first public exhibitions of women swimming in Europe
In 1897, Capt. Henry Sheffield designed a rescue can or rescue cylinder, now well known as the
lifesaving device. The pointed ends made it slide faster through the water, although it can cause
injuries.
Olympic era
Alfréd Hajós, swimmer who won the first Olympic Gold medal.
The Olympic Games were held in 1896 in Athens, a male only competition. Six events were
planned for the swimming competition, but only four events were actually contested: 100 m,
500 m, and 1200 m freestyle and 100 m for sailors. The first gold medal was won by Alfréd
Hajós of Hungary in the 100 m freestyle. Hajós was also victorious in the 1200 m event, and was
unable to compete in the 500 m, which was won by Austrian Paul Neumann.
The second Olympic games in Paris in 1900 featured 200 m, 1000 m, and 4000 m freestyle, 200
m backstroke, and a 200 m team race (see also Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics).
There were two additional unusual swimming events (although common at the time): at the
time): an obstacle swimming course in the Seine River (swimming with the current), and an
underwater swimming race. The 4000 m freestyle was won by John Arthur Jarvis in under one
hour, the longest Olympic swimming race until the 10k marathon swim was introduced in 2008.
The backstroke was also introduced to the Olympic Games in Paris, as was water polo. The
Osborne Swimming Club from Manchester beat club teams from Belgium, France and Germany
quite easily.
The Trudgen stroke was improved by Australian-born Richmond Cavill. Cavill, whose father
Frederick Cavill narrowly failed to swim the English Channel, is credited with developing the
stroke after observing a young boy from the Solomon Islands. Cavill and his brothers spread the
Australian crawl to England, New Zealand and America. Richmond used this stroke in 1902 at
an International Championships in England to set a new world record by out swimming all
Trudgen swimmers over the 100 yards (91 m) in 0:58.4

The Olympics in 1904 in St. Louis included races over 50 yards (46 m), 100 yards, 220 yards (200
m), 440 yards, 880 yards (800 m) and one mile (1.6 km) freestyle, 100 yards (91 m) backstroke
and 440 yards (400 m) breaststroke, and the 4x50 yards freestyle relay (see also Swimming at
the 1904 Summer Olympics). These games differentiated between breaststroke and freestyle,
so that there were now two defined styles (breaststroke and backstroke) and freestyle, where
most people swam Trudgen. These games also featured a competition to plunge for distance,
where the distance without swimming, after jumping in a pool, was measured.
The Salt Lake Tribune featuring Duke Kahanamoku in 1913
In 1908, the world swimming association Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA)
was formed.
Women were first allowed to swim in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, competing in
freestyle races. In the 1912 games, Harry Hebner of the United States won the 100 m
backstroke. At these games Duke Kahanamoku from Hawaii won the 100 m freestyle, having
learned the six kicks per cycle front crawl from older natives of his island. This style is now
considered the classical front crawl style. The men's competitions were 100 m, 400 m, and
1500 m freestyle, 100 m backstroke, 200 m and 400 m breaststroke, and four by 200 m
freestyle relay. The women's competitions were 100 m freestyle and four by 100 m freestyle
relay.
The Deutsche Lebens- Rettungs- Gesellschaft (DLRG) (German lifesaving organization) was
established on October 19, 1913 in Leipzig after 17 people drowned while trying to board the
cruise steamer Kronprinz Wilhelm. In the same year the first elastic swimsuit was made by the
sweater company Jantzen.
In 1922, Johnny Weissmuller became the first person to swim the 100 m in less than a minute,
using a six kicks per cycle Australian crawl. Johnny Weissmuller started the golden age of
swimming, winning five Olympic medals and 36 national championships and never losing a race
in his ten-year career, until he retired from swimming and started his second career starring as
Tarzan in film. His record of 51 seconds in 100-yard (91 m) freestyle stood for over 17 years. In
the same year, Sybil Bauer was the first woman to break a men's world record over the 440 m
backstroke in 6:24.8.
At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, lane dividers made of cork were used for the first time,
and lines on the pool bottom aided with orientation.

Swimming innovation
The scientific study of swimming began in 1928 with David Armbruster, a coach at the
University of lowa, who filmed swimmers underwater. The Japanese also used underwater
photography to research the stroke mechanics, and subsequently dominated the 1932 Summer
Olympics. Armbruster also researched a problem of breaststroke where the swimmer was
slowed down significantly while bringing the arms forward underwater. In 1934 Armbruster
refined a method to bring the arms forward over water in breaststroke. While this "butterfly"
technique was difficult, it brought a great improvement in speed. One year later, in 1935, Jack
Sieg, a swimmer also from the University of lowa developed a technique involving swimming on
his side and beating his legs in unison similar to a fish tail, and modified the technique
afterward to swim it face down. Armbruster and Sieg combined these techniques into a variant
of the breaststroke called butterfly with the two kicks per cycle being called dolphin fishtail kick.
Using this technique Sieg swam 100 yards (91 m) in 1:00.2. However, even though this
technique was much faster than regular breaststroke, the dolphin fishtail kick violated the rules
and was not allowed. Therefore, the butterfly arms with a breaststroke kick were used by a few
swimmers in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin for the breaststroke competitions. In 1938,
almost every breaststroke swimmer was using this butterfly style, yet this stroke was
considered a variant of the breaststroke until 1952, when it was accepted as a separate style
with a set of rules.
Around that time another modification to the backstroke became popular. Previously, the arms
were held straight during the underwater push phase, for example by the top backstroke
swimmer from 1935 to 1945, Adolph Kiefer. However, Australian swimmers developed a
technique where the arms are bent under water, increasing the horizontal push and the
resulting speed and reducing the wasted force upward and sideways. This style is now generally
used worldwide.
In 1935 topless swimsuits for men were worn for the first time during an official competition. In
1943, the US ordered the reduction of fabric in swimsuits by 10% due to wartime shortages,
resulting in the first two piece swimsuits. Shortly afterwards the bikini was invented in Paris by
Louis Reard (officially) or Jacques Heim (earlier, but slightly larger).
Another modification was developed for breaststroke. In breaststroke, breaking the water
surface increases the friction, reducing the speed of the swimmer. Therefore, swimming
underwater increases the speed. This led to a controversy at the 1956 Summer Olympics in
Melbourne, and six swimmers were disqualified as they repeatedly swam long distances
underwater between surfacing to breathe. The rule was changed to require breaststroke to be
swum at the surface starting with the first surfacing after the start and after each turn.
However, one Japanese swimmer, Masaru Furukawa, circumvented the rule by not surfacing at
all after the start, but swimming as much of the lane under water as possible before breaking
the surface. He swam all but 5 m under water for the first three 50 m laps, and also swam half
under water for the last lap, winning the gold medal. The adoption of this technique led to
many swimmers suffering from oxygen starvation or even some swimmers passing out during
the race due to a lack of air, and a new breaststroke rule was introduced by FINA, additionally
limiting the distance that can be swum under water after the start and every turn, and requiring
the head to break the surface every cycle. The 1956 Games in Melbourne also saw the
introduction of the flip turn, a sort of tumble turn to faster change directions at the end of the
lane.

In 1972, another famous swimmer, Mark Spitz, was at the height of his career. During the 1972
Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, he won seven gold medals. Shortly thereafter in 1973,
the first swimming world championship was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia by the FINA.
Breaking the water surface reduces the speed in swimming. The swimmers Daichi Suzuki
(Japan) and David Berkoff (America) used this for the 100 m backstroke at the 1988 Summer
Olympics in Seoul. Berkoff swam 33 m of the first lane completely underwater using only a
dolphin kick, far ahead of his competition. A sports commentator called this a Berkoff Blastoff.
Suzuki, having practiced the underwater technique for 10 years, surfaced only a little bit earlier,
winning the race in 55.05. At that time, this was not restricted by FINA backstroke rules. The
backstroke rules were quickly changed in the same year by the FINA to ensure the health and
safety of the swimmers, limiting the underwater phase after the start to ten meters, which was
expanded to 15 m in 1991. In Seoul, Kristin Otto from East Germany won six gold medals, the
most ever won by a woman.
Another innovation is the use of flip turns for backstroke. According to the rules, a backstroke
swimmer had to touch the wall while lying less than 90 degrees out of the horizontal. Some
swimmers discovered that they could turn faster if they rolled almost 90 degrees sideways,
touched the wall, and made a forward tumble turn, pushing off the wall on their backs. The
FINA has changed the rules to allow the swimmers to turn over completely before touching the
wall to simplify this turn and to improve the speed of the races.
Similarly, the dolphin-kick underwater swimming technique is now also used for butterfly.
Consequently, in 1998 FINA introduced a rule limiting swimmers to 15 meters underwater per
lap before they must surface. After underwater swimming for freestyle and backstroke, the
underwater swimming technique is now also used for butterfly, for example by Denis Pankratov
(Russia) or Angela Kennedy (Australia), swimming large distances underwater with a dolphin
kick. FINA is again considering a rule change for safety reasons. It is faster to do butterfly kick
underwater for the first few meters off the wall than swimming at the surface. In 2005, FINA
declared that you may take 1 underwater dolphin kick in the motion of a breaststroke pull-out.

Basic Swimming Lesson 3- Terminologies

POOL SWIMMING
Block The starting platform the area from which a swimmer dive into the poolto begina race.
Cap Latex or lycra head covering used during a race or workout to protect a swimmer's hair
from the effects of chlorine; also serves to eliminate drag from a swimmer's hair.
Catch phrase The beginningpart of the stroke where the arms and hands start to propel the
body.
Command On the long whistle from the referee, swimmers’ step onto the starting platformer,
in the case of the backstroke and medley relay races, enter the water. On the starter's
command - "take your mark"-swimmers immediately take a starting position, with at least one
foot at the front of the starting platform. When all swimmers are stationary, the starter gives
the starting signal.
Dolphin kick Used in the butterfly, and during underwater portions of freestyle and backstroke
races, where the thrust of the kick comes from the hips, and the feet and legs are held together
Drafting A maneuvering which one swimmer is just behind another in an adjacent lane and uses
the fast-moving water generated by their opponent to overtake the competitor A memorable
example of drafting is Jason Lezak'sanchorleg in the men's 4x100mfreestylerelay from the 2008
Beijing Games.
Drag suit A second, loose-fitting suit worn in workouts and warm-up to add weight and
resistance. The concept is similar to a baseball player swinging wo or three bats in the on-deck
circle
Exchange Occurs during relays when one swimmer touches the wall and the next swimmer
dives in. Relay exchanges are often where false starts occur, as swimmers on the blocks are
looking for an edge and accidentally dive in before the previous swimmer touches the wall. A
swimmer can leave the blocks up to 03 of a second before the previous swimmer touches the
wall, but the team is disqualified if a swimmer leaves any time earlier that.
False start Occurs when a swimmer either leaves the starting block or is moving on the block
before the starter officially starts the race. Since 1998, there has been no warning false start.
Any swimmer starting before the starting signal will be disqualified. If the starting signal sounds
before the disqualifications declared, the race will continue, and he swimmer(s)will be
disqualified upon completion of the race.
FINA The Federation Internationale de Natation is the world governing body for aquatic sports
including swimming, diving, water polo, and artistic swimming FINA sets qualifying standards
and the rules for aquatic sports at the Games.
Final The last race of an event and the one in which medalists are determined. Typically final
comprises the eight fastests wimmers from two preceding semifinal races.
Flags Hanging flag placed above the pool five meters from each wall. They enable backstrokes
execute turn more efficiently by providing a mark by which to count their strokes.
Flat start Refers to the start of a race, where the swimmer stands still on the blocks and waits
for the starter's signal, as opposed to a relay start via an exchange. A flat start is considerably
slower than a relay start.
Flip turn Used in freestyle and backstroke races, where swimmers some rsault before reaching
the wall and push off with their feet, never touching the wall with their hands.
Goggles Eyewear worn in the pool to protect swimmers' eyes from the effects of chlorine. In
the past, swimmers used saliva or wiped a cigarette on the inside of their goggles to prevent
them from fogging up mid-race. Today's goggles are fogless, fit better and even come with
polarized lenses to cut down on outdoor glare. This innovation is particularly helpful to
backstrokes who used to go sun blind" swimming outdoors.
Gravity wave action caused by the bodies moving through the water. Gravity waves move
down and forward from the swimmer, bounce off the bottom of the pool and return to the
surface in the form of turbulence.
Gutter The area at the edges of the pool into which water overflows during a race; the water is
then re circulated into the pool. Deep gutters catch surface waves and don't allow them to
wash back into the pool and affect the race.
Heat A grouping of swimmers assembled compete in a race. Most often used to refer to the
individual races of the preliminary round of competition, though the term can apply to
semifinals and finals as well.
IM Abbreviated term for individual medley, an event in which the swimmer uses all four
competitive strokes in the following order: butterfly, backstroke breaststroke freestyle.
Lane lines the dividers used to create lanes. These are made of individual finned discs that are
strung on a cable and rotate when hit by a wave. The rotating discs dissipate surface-tension
waves in a competitive pool.
Lap One length of the pool. A100m race (down and back) is two laps.
Long course Ta erm used to describe pool in which one length measures 50 meters. The
Olympic Games are conducted at long-course venues.
Negative split A race strategy in which a competitor swims the second half faster than the first.
Official A judge on the deck of the pool. Various judges watch the swimmers' strokes, turns and
finishes. Some officials are timers.
Prelims Short for preliminaries, which describes the round of races in which competitors try to
qualify for the semifinals (or final, in events without semifinals). Also called heats.
Pullout or pulldown the beginning of a breaststroke start turn, where a swimmer is allowed
one long pull down to their waist, during which a single butterfly kick is permitted, followed by
a breaststroke kick.
Reaction time the time it takes for a swimmer to leave the blocks after the starter gives the
signal. Modern timing systems are equipped with sensors that mark the time elapsed, which is
generally less than one second. In relays, reaction time for the second, third and fourth legs are
measured from when the swimmer in the water touches the wall to when the next swimmer
leaves the blocks.

Recovery phase the conclusion of the stroke where the hand and arms finish pulling and set up
to start the next stroke cycle.
Ready room the staging area within the venue where swimmers in upcoming heats wait to
swim. Some swimmers use this setting to socialize with competitors, while others try to use
"mind games" to interrupt their opponents focus.
Swimming Lesson 3- Terminologies
Relay start Refers to the second, third and fourth swimmers in a relay, where they dive in when
the previous swimmer touches the wall. Relay starts are faster than flat starts, because
swimmers can anticipate when they can dive in, and they are allowed to leave the blocks up
to .03 of a second before the previous swimmer touches.
Roll To move on the starting blocks prior to the starting signal. A roll is usually caught by the
starter and called a false start, but swimmers will often try to guess the starter's cadence and
get a good start. Similar to a false start infraction in football.
Scratch To withdraw from an event in a competition.
Shaving To cut down on resistance and provide feeling of slipperiness in water, a swimmer’s
haves his/her entire body before big meets. The physical effects are minor, but the mental
factor often is enormous
Short course term used to describe a pool in which one length measures 25 meters (or 25
yards). Most college pools are short-course yards, and most events during the winter are held
at short-course venues. The Olympics are held in long course50m) pools.
Split The time registered by a swimmer when he or she finishes each length of the pool. Splits
can be used to show which segment of a race a swimmer covered in noteworthy time, to
indicate rank order after each 50m increment, and to convey whether a swimmer is matching a
notable record ‘space. Also, split can refer to the time a relay swimmer takes to complete
his/her leg of the race.
Sprint Refers to short intense swims of usually not more than 100 meters.
Taper The gradual process of resting in preparation for competition. During the middle of the
swimming season, a swimmer might work out 10,000 to 15,000 meters (8 to 10 miles) each day.
As a major competition draws near, the swimmer will "taper" off the distances each day. A
perfectly designed taper will enable the swimmer to compete at the peak of his/her ability.
Touch The finish of the race.
Touchpad The area at the end of each lane in the pool where a swimmer's time is registered
and electronically sent to the timing system, which sends the time to the scoreboard.
Track start Position on the starting blocks where the swimmer places one foot at the front of
the block and one foot farther back.

Turnover The number of times a swimmer's arms turn over (cycle) in a given distance or time
during race.
Warm-down Additional swimming or activity used by a swimmer to rid the body of excess lactic
acid generated during race. Also called "cool-down."
Warm-up Additional swimming activity used by a swimmer in preparation shortly before race.
Inhale and Exhale
Water is dangerous for humans to inhale because we breathe air, as we all know.
Our need to breathe happens automatically, so when we exhale our body simply does what
comes next: inhale new air.
This can't happen in the water, can it? There is no air for us to breathe in the water and our
lungs wouldn't be able to "process" oxygen out of the water if it was in there.
When a person is underwater and struggles for air- and doesn't know what to do their body
may do what comes naturally and try to inhale because there is no time to surface and inhale. If
this struggling person swallows and aspirates (which means to take water into the respiratory
system) they're in danger of drowning.
New or non-swimmers must hold their breath because that is all they know how to do to keep
water out of their lungs. But holding the breath can tense the body up (which is not good for a
novice is this situation).
That is why it is critically important for swimmers to learn to control their breath in the best
way - early
on.
The technique of bubbling helps swimmers to breathe properly. When you swim, you inhale
through your mouth when your face is above water and exhale through your mouth or nose
when your face is underwater. Beginners often panic during the underwater phase and hold
their breath. By exhaling a steady stream of bubbles as you swim, you can avoid this type of
tension and focus on performance. Breathing improperly isn't just a beginner 'thing.' Many
intermediate and advanced swimmers don't have the proper breathing technique, often
holding their breath underwater and causing themselves unnecessary tension.
This is important because exhaling and inhaling properly makes your swimming relaxed and
therefore better.
Building Tension and Excess Carbon Dioxide
Tension is a swimmer's enemy and if you hold your breath, your body naturally begins to tense
up. This deficiency of oxygen is matched by an increase in carbon dioxide in your lungs and
bloodstream. This combination of circumstances triggers desperation to take a breath.
If you exhale a steady stream of bubbles while swimming, the carbon dioxide doesn't build up
in your system and you won't feel the anxiety to take a breath. Trying to inhale and exhale
while your head is above water just squeezes too many actions into one short window.
Get Comfortable with Bubbles
There is an exercise to help you grow more comfortable breathing bubbles underwater.
Bobbing with
It If you bob (where you sink underwater and slowly exhale a stream of bubbles through your
nose and mouth) it gives your body a way to grow familiar with breath control. Upon returning
to the surface, you inhale and sink back into the water and exhale again. According to Olympic
swimmer Janet Evans' book "Janet Evans' Total Swimming," Evans used an exercise where she
hung on to the pool's edge, inhaled deeply and then submerged her head and body
underwater. She then would blow the air out of her nose, emptying her lungs via bubbling
before she surfaced. This is a simple yet effective way to learn bubbling.

Sinking to the Bottom

The next stage after bobbing is to learn how to sink and stay at the bottom of the pool while
you're exhaling bubbles, of course. By growing comfortable with underwater, you can help
yourself overcome the natural instinct to tense up.
Begin this exercise by treading water at the deep end of the pool and exhaling the air out of
your lungs. Relax the muscles in your body, imagining that you're settling into a cushioned sofa.
Allow yourself to sink straight down in a slow and controlled manner while you continue to
exhale. When you reach the bottom of the pool, exhale until you need to take a breath. Rise to
the surface - still holding your breath- and inhale after your head breaks the surface and your
nose and mouth are clear of the water.
Practice sinking several times.
- Sitting Bubbles, you
want to advance your bubbling exercise even Try sitting or lying on your back on the bottom of
the pool while blowing out bubbles. Do more?
Blowing Bubbles Teaches Exhaling
Blowing bubbles out of your mouth is the precursor to exhaling underwater. Basically,
whenever your face is in the water, you want to exhale constantly and smoothly. Exhaling
releases any tension that your body has built up and helps your body to keep from tensing up
anymore. You can exhale through your mouth or through your nose or both. Try to make a
smooth constant stream of bubbles.
The Importance of Learning to Float
Learning to float can be a hard skill for many children to master; however, once developed
floating is an important step in self-rescue. Here are the benefits that being able to float offers
swimmers!

Why is Being Able to Float Important?

Many pool accidents are caused when children unintentionally fall into the water and begin to
panic in this different environment. Floating equips kids with the ability to roll to their back and
stay at the water's surface, which places them in an ideal position to breathe. Floating also
helps the swimmer to conserve energy, which reduces the chances of drowning from physical
fatigue. Being able to float also promotes proper breathing techniques, which works to keep
kids calm in the water and reduces fatigue. Being able to swim also promotes proper breathing
techniques, which works to keep kids calm in the water.
Good Starting Point for Other Swimming Techniques
Not only does floating provide kids with a simple, low-energy way of being able to breathe in
the water, it also transitions into other swimming techniques. Mastering how to float on your
back opens the door for swimmers to learn other techniques, such as rolling to their stomach
and learning to kick.
Learning how to swim on their stomach, while kicking, helps kids to develop a comfort with
swimming while their face is in the water. In this stage, kids will learn the importance of
maintaining a body position parallel to the water and learn the proper kicking technique to
propel their body forward through the water. Kids also have the opportunity to practice
reaching and holding techniques, so they will be able to successfully hold on to the side of the
pool.
Floating In Swimming - Recovering from That Float
Recovering From That Float
To learn Back Float Swimming is critical to people who are learning but you will only have
confidence in doing so when you able to stand properly.
Floating In Swimming Should Not Be by Trial and Error
Although that it is something that most new swimmers learn by trial and error, some swim
students give up altogether at this stage because they cannot get the hang of standing in the
water from a float position and thus, they lose all the confidence they have gained.
Fortunately, it’s really simple to stand from your float, however, it just takes practice like
everything else.
So here it is "Recovering a Standing Position from in swimming": to
Do the following all at the same time
• lift your head
• bend your knees towards the chest
• press down on the water with your hands

Once you are in the squat position

• push your hands towards your legs
• rotate your body until your feet touch the bottom
Streamline (swimming)
Streamline form is a swimming technique that is used underwater in every stroke. At the start
of a race or on a turn, streamline form is used, usually along with a dolphin kick or flutter kick,
to create the least amount of resistance to help the swimmer propel as far as they can. Many
factors contribute to the perfect streamline form and mastering this method increases a
swimmer's speed. Streamline is one of the key fundamentals to mastering any stroke,
Technique The streamline position consists of a person placing hand over hand, fingers over
fingers and raising their arms above their head so the biceps are tucked close to the ears. The
belly is sucked back to decrease curvature of the spine in the lower back and the swimmer's
head is brought back to ensure that neck is in line with the spine Pinching the shoulder blades
together is helpful in aligning the spine to straighten out the back. Legs are straight and feet are
pointed. In theory, a perfect, straight line will be made down the backside of a swimmer from
their head to their feet. The body should be on a horizontal plane under the water, with the
legs kicking straight from the thighs and hips, not the knees. A great deal of flexibility is usually
needed to reach the goal of a perfect streamline, particularly flexibility of the shoulders. Kicking
in the streamline position underwater can be substantially faster than swimming any of the
other aquatic strokes, competitive or otherwise. For this reason, competitive swimmers often
try to kick in a streamline position off a wall or the starting block for as long as they can be
underwater before coming up for their first stroke. This is why many swimmers spend a lot of
time perfecting the form and technique of streamline.
Hydrodynamics and Speed
There are three main resistances caused by drag on a swimmer which are caused from friction,
form, and wave making forces. The most detrimental force to streamline would be the
resistance caused by form.[2] Bad form will cause more drag on a body in water (resistance)
resulting in more work needing to be done to cover the same amount of distance. The amount
of resistance on an object can be determined by the formula,
D is the constant for the viscosity of the fluid, p is the density of the water, A is the surface area
of the body traveling through the water, and v is the velocity of the body.
Because the velocity is squared, the resistance will be exponentially affected by the value of
velocity, which is why it is important to minimize the surface area as much as possible.
Minimizing surface area is directly proportional to technique.[3] Timing in
the transition from the glide to the kick is crucial for a swimmer to keep up their momentum.
Switching to the kick too early will cause an increase in resistance. A transition that is
performed too late will result in loss of speed due to the decrease in momentum, resulting in a
waste of energy while returning to race speed. With all aspects of streamline brought together,
it makes it the most hydrodynamic position one can assume in the water.
Competition and Rules
Streamline position is mostly used at the start of the race once a swimmer dives into the water
off of the blocks. It is most common for the swimmer to dive into the water head first with their
arms above their head and assume the streamline form at entry. The other common
occurrence of streamline in a competitive race is after a swimmer completes a flip turn and
pushes off of the wall. Once they have completely turned over to the opposing direction, the
swimmer will then get into streamline position and push off of the wall to maximize the
distance and speed out of the turn. Streamline position is the basis of the spinal axis strokes,
backstroke and freestyle, as well. A swimmer will try to maintain a straight back and legs to
minimize drag during the stroke.
The Fédération Internationale de Natation (F.I.N.A.), otherwise known as the International
Swimming Federation, has strict rules on how and when streamline may be performed in
competition. According to FINA, no swimmer may travel more than 15 meters (16.4 yards) off
of a start or turn in the backstroke, butterfly and freestyle underwater. Breaststroke is only
allowed one complete arm stroke followed by a butterfly kick and breaststroke kick. After
fifteen meters, the swimmer must break the surface of the water. Streamline is to only be used
in the first 15 meters due to the swimmer’s inability to remain underwater without
disqualification. This rule applies to all races done in compliance with FINA rules whether it is
short course or long course. Swimmers in a race will usually maintain the streamline form and
perform a butterfly kick for the full fifteen meters due to the fact that there is less resistance
than there is on top of the water due to the lack of drag created by waves. There is no specified
limit in this stroke, but, since the number of underwater strokes and kicks are regulated, this
becomes a moot point to competitive swimming. It is not hydrodynamic to maintain this
position past a certain distance, which is invariably less than the length of a short-course pool.

MIDTERM

Lesson 1 - Freestyle/Front Crawl

Front crawl

The front crawl or forward crawl, also known as the Australian crawl or American crawl, is a swimming
stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is
almost universally used during a freestyle swimming competition, and hence freestyle is used
metonymically for the front crawl. It is one of two long axis strokes, the other one being the backstroke.
Unlike the backstroke, the butterfly stroke, and the breaststroke, the front crawl is not regulated by the
FINA. This style is sometimes referred to as the Australian crawl although this can sometimes refer to a
more specific variant of front crawl.
Ergonomics

The face-down swimming position allows for a good range of motion of the arm in the water, as
compared to the backstroke, where the hands cannot be moved easily along the back of the spine. The
above-water recovery of the stroke reduces drag, compared to the underwater recovery of
breaststroke. The alternating arms also allow some rolling movement of the body for an easier recovery
compared to, for example, butterfly. Finally, the alternating arm stroke makes for a relatively constant
speed throughout the cycle.

History

The "front crawl" style has been in use since ancient times. There is an Egyptian bas relief piece dating to
2000 BCE showing it in use.

The stroke which would later be refined into the modern front crawl was first seen in the modern
Western world at an 1844 swimming race in London, where it was swum by Ojibwe swimmers Flying
Gull and Tobacco. They had been invited by the British Swimming Society to give an exhibition at the
swimming baths in High Holborn and race against each other for a silver medal to be presented by the
society; Flying Gull won both races. English swimmer Harold Kenworthy, who was fresh, then used the
backstroke to take on the two tired Ojibwe in a third race and won easily. This result was used to justify
the English sense of superiority and English swimmers continued to swim the breaststroke for another
50 years.

Sometime around 1873, British swimmer John Arthur Trudgen learned the front crawl, depending on
account, either from indigenous people in South Africa or in South America. However, Trudgen applied
the more common sidestroke (scissor) kick instead of the flutter kick used by the Native Americans. This
hybrid stroke was called the Trudgen stroke. Because of its speed, this stroke quickly became popular.

This style was further improved by the Australian champion swimmer Richmond "Dick" Cavill (the son of
swimming instructor Professor Richard "Frederick" Cavill), who developed the stroke with his brother
"Tums". They were later inspired by Alick Wickham, a young Solomon Islander living in Sydney who
swam a version of the crawl stroke that was popular in his home island at Roviana lagoon. The Cavills
then modified their swimming stroke using this as inspiration, and this modified Trudgen stroke became
known as the "Australian crawl".

The American swimmer Charles Daniels then made modifications to a six-beat kick, thereby creating the
"American crawl".

Technique

The starting position for front crawl is known as the "streamline" position. The swimmer starts on the
stomach with both arms stretched out to the front and both legs extended to the back.

Leg movement

There are several kicks that can be used with the upper body action of the front crawl. Because the front
crawl is most commonly used in freestyle competitions, all of these kicks are legal.

The most usual leg movement with the front crawl is called the flutter kick. The legs move alternately,
with one leg kicking downward while the other leg moves upward. While the legs provide only a small
part of the overall speed, they are important to stabilize the body position. This lack of balance is
apparent when using a pull buoy to neutralize the leg action.

The leg in the initial position bends very slightly at the knees, and then kicks the lower leg and the foot
downwards similar to the "straight-ahead" kick formerly used in American football (before the advent of
the "soccer-style" kick). The legs may be bent inward (or occasionally outward) slightly. After the kick,
the straight leg moves back up. A frequent mistake of beginners is to bend the legs too much or to kick
too much out of the water.

Ideally, there are 6 kicks per cycle (the stroke so performed is called the American crawl), although it is
also possible to use 8, 4, or even 2 kicks; Franziska van Almsick, for example, swam very successfully
with 4 kicks per cycle. When one arm is pushed down, the opposite leg needs to do a downward kick
also, to fix the body orientation, because this happens shortly after the body rotation.

Flutter kick

The flutter kicks in a front crawl.

In swimming strokes such as the front crawl or backstroke, the primary purpose of the flutter kick is not
propulsion but keeping the legs up and in the shadow for the upper body and assisting body rotation for
arm strokes. The legs are extended straight backwards in line with the body. They are moved up and
down, one leg kicking downwards (relative to the front of the swimmer's body) as the other leg moves
up. The knees are slightly bent to facilitate the kicking action, but not too much in order to minimize
drag created by the thighs as they move out of the shadow of the swimmer's body. Similarly, toes are
pointed minimize drag

Dryland Flutter Kick

The downward moving leg provides the thrust. An integral part of the kick is the flexing of the ankles; it
is the flexing of the ankle that allows the foot to provide thrust. The knees are not kept rigid when
kicking but are allowed to flex slightly to allow the required "snapping" action through the end of the
toes.

Arm movement

The arm movements of the front crawl provide most of the forward motion. The arms alternate from
side to side, so while one arm is pulling and pushing under the water, the other arm is recovering above
the water. The move can be separated into four parts: the down sweep, the in sweep, the upsweep, and
the recovery. Each complete arm movement is referred to as a stroke; one stroke with each arm forms a
stroke cycle.

From the initial position, the arm sinks slightly lower and the palm of the hand turns 45 degrees with the
thumb side of the palm towards the bottom, to catch the water and prepare for the pull. The pull
movement follows a semicircle, with the elbow higher than the hand, and the hand pointing towards the
body center and downward. The semicircle ends in front of the chest at the beginning of the ribcage.
The pull can be perfected using an early vertical form (EVF) and thus maximizing the pull force.

The push pushes the palm backward through the water underneath the body at the beginning and at
the side of the body at the end of the push.
This pull and push is also known as the S-curve.

Sometime after the beginning of the pull, the other arm begins its recovery. The recovery moves the
elbow in a semicircle in a vertical plane in the swimming direction. The lower arm and the hand are
completely relaxed and hang down from the elbow close to the water surface and close to the
swimmer's body. The beginning of the recovery looks similar to pulling the hand out of the back pocket
of a pair of pants, with the small finger upwards. Further into the recovery phase, the hand movement
has been compared to pulling up a center zip on a wetsuit. The recovering hand moves forward, with
the fingers trailing downward, just above the surface of the water. In the middle of the recovery one
shoulder is rotated forward into the air while the other is pointing backwards to avoid drag due to the
large frontal area which at this specific time is not covered by the arm. To rotate the shoulder, some
twist their torso while others also rotate everything down to their feet.

Beginners often make the mistake of not relaxing the arm during the recovery and of moving the hand
too high and too far away from the body, in some cases even higher than the elbow. In these cases, drag
and incidental muscle effort is increased at the expense of speed. Beginners often forget to use their
shoulders to let the hand enter as far forward as possible. Some say the hand should enter the water
thumb first, reducing drag through possible turbulence, others say the middle finger is first with the
hand precisely bent down, giving thrust right from the start. At the beginning of the pull, the hand acts
like a wing and is moved slower than the swimmer while at the end it acts like an oar and is moved
faster than the swimmer.

The arm stroke provides 90% of the propulsion in front crawl.

The arm stroke accounts for as much as 90% of the propulsion in the front crawl, while the flutter kick
only accounts for 10%.

Therefore, it is important to use the correct technique for the arm movements.

The following video shows a slow-motion recording of Michael Phelps. It is a nice demonstration of the
correct arm movements:

Slow-motion recording of Michael Phelps swimming front crawl.

You can see that the arms in the front crawl perform alternating movements. While one arm pulls
backward in the water, the other arm recovers forward above the water.

Swim Stroke Phases

The different phases of the arm stroke that one can observe in good front crawl swimmers follow:

1. Down sweep

2. Catch

3. In sweep

4. Upsweep

5. Release

6. Recovery
7. Entry and Extension Forward

Down sweep

To begin our discussion, we should imagine that one of the arms is extended forward underwater at the
end of its recovery. The other arm has started its propulsive phase. The body is rotated downward on
the side of the extended forward arm.

The wrist is slightly bent to start the down sweep. The elbow bends but is kept high in the water. As a
result, the forearm moves down and backward until the underside of the forearm and the palm face
backward.

The upper arm moves a little bit outward, which makes it easier to keep the elbow high in the water.
The down sweep should be performed quickly. However, you should not exert any force with your arm
during this phase, as this only pushes water downwards, wasting energy and creating resistance.

Catch

At the end of the down sweep, the shoulder, elbow, and hand are positioned on the same vertical plane.

The shoulder is at the top while the hand is at the bottom, between 20-28 inches (50-70 cm) deep.

The elbow is bent about 90° and maintains this angle during the subsequent propulsive phases of the
arm stroke.

The underside of the forearm and the palm are now facing backward and slightly outward.

This is the so-called elbow catch

In sweep

The insweep is the first propulsive phase of the arm stroke.

Once the arm is positioned at the catch, the upper arm is moved in toward the rib cage while the elbow
maintains its angle, and no rotation takes place in the forearm.

The arm is moved as a single unit like a large paddle.

This swimmer uses a high elbow position for his arm stroke to improve propulsion.

As a result, the forearm and palm move inward, upward, and backward due to the adduction of the
upper arm.

The body rotates upward to the side of the arm sweeping in.

The in sweep ends once the upper arm is close to the rib cage, and the hand is below the chest and close
the midline of the body.
Upsweep

This is the second and most propulsive phase of the arm stroke, during which the direction of the arm
movement changes.

At the beginning of the upsweep, the forearm rotates so that the underside of the forearm and the palm
now face backward, upward, and outward.

The hand then moves from below the chest backward, upward, and outward toward the hip.

The elbow remains slightly flexed so that the palm and forearm remain facing backward as long as
possible.

Release

No force should be applied at the end of the upsweep, as the forearm and hand move primarily upward.
Otherwise, water would be pushed up, which increases drag and pushes the hips down.

The shoulder, upper arm, and elbow exit the water in this order, followed by the forearm and hand with
the palm turned inward to minimize drag.

Recovery

The arm is brought forward over water, with the elbow leading and the forearm relaxed and dangling.

The recovery should be compact, meaning that the hand hovers above the water and slides close past
the rib cage.

During arm recovery, the arm should be kept relatively relaxed. However, the momentum built up
during the upsweep should be used to bring the arm forward quickly.

Entry and Extension Forward

Once the hand has passed the head, it enters the water with the fingertips first.

The rest of the arm moves through the hole opened by the hand in the water and continues to move
forward underwater until it is fully extended.

The arm stroke cycle can then begin anew.

Ideally, the forearm is held in a neutral position, neither turned outwards nor inwards during the entry
into the water.

This causes less tension in the shoulder and means that all fingers except the thumb enter the water at
about the same time.

Timing of the Arms

The timing between the movements of both arms is very precise: While one arm dives into the water in
front of the head and then extends forward underwater, the other arm completes its propulsive in
sweep phase.

Timing of the Arms and Legs

The timing between the arm and leg movements is also very precise. Whether you use a two-beat kick
or a six-beat kick, the down sweep of the propulsive arm and the downbeat of the leg on the same side
always start at the same time.

How to Breathe in Freestyle Swimming

Swimming is the only sport I can think of during which there are moments you are unable to breathe
even if you want to," open-water swimming champ Alex Kostich once said, referring to the fact that you
can really only inhale when your face isn't submerged. Naturally, this makes achieving proper breathing
technique a top priority. But that's no small task. Many swimmers get their motion and body position in
the water just right, but adding breathing to it can disrupt their rhythm.

The freestyle stroke, or front crawl, in which you keep your head down in the water and alternately
reach forward with your arms while propelling your body forward with small flutter kicks, is the most
common stroke in swimming -- the one you're typically taught after learning to dog paddle and float. But
failing to master the proper breathing can affect your stamina, speed and ability to see where you're
going. It can also result in tense, cramped muscles and even injury, so it's vital you learn good technique.

We'll get into the specifics of proper breathing in the following section, but to get started, let's take a
look at the basics of the freestyle stroke:

1. Start with your body parallel to the bottom of the pool, and try to stay as high in the water as possible
throughout your stroke.

2. With toes pointed, kick your feet up and down, keeping your legs straight but loose.

3. Alternate rotating your arms in a windmill motion, so that when one arm is extended forward, the
other is back by your side.

4. As you pull your extended arm back in the water, curve your hand toward your stomach, and then
aim it out by your hip as it exits the water.

5. On every third stroke, take a breath by turning - not lifting your head to the same side as the arm
that's coming up out of the water.

Basic Breathing in Freestyle Swimming

If anyone can help school you on the proper freestyle breathing technique, it's Melvin "Pat" Patterson, a
former collegiate swim coach at Texas A&M, Rice University, University of Arkansas and the University
of Texas at Austin. When asked how most people get it wrong, he didn't hesitate to answer. "They hold
their breath and try to blow it all out when their head has surfaced," he said. "You never, ever want to
hold your breath." Simply put, he said the goal is to start your breath as a slow exhale and then increase
it to the point of getting rid of all of the air before your head comes up for a new breath

Here are some other common problems facing beginning swimmers -- and even a few advanced ones --
and tips on how to fix them.

Problem: Not getting enough air

Solution: In addition to not holding your breath, you have to be sure you exhale fully before rotating up
to take the next breath. You also want to be sure you breathe as early as possible so you can get air.

Problem: Losing momentum

Solution: If you decelerate slightly every time you take a breath, concentrate on breathing with your
mouth parallel to the water rather than above it.

Problem: Taking in water

Solution: If you suck in water instead of air, try bilateral breathing (see the next section for details). You
can also practice improving your balance in the water with the one-arm drill, in which you swim using
just one arm at a time and breathe on the opposite side of the stroking arm. Problem: Jerking your head
around

Solution: You want to keep your head

stationary when you're not breathing, so try looking at a fixed point along the bottom on the pool, only
rolling your head slightly to breathe every third stroke. When you swim, you create a bow wave with
your head and body, similar to the way a boat does, and experienced swimmers breathe through the
wave, barely turning their heads at all to inhale. You may also need to practice good body rotation,
because if you're rotating it properly, you only need to tilt your head ever so slightly to be able to
breathe

Bilateral Breathing

Not only is it vital to learn proper breathing during the freestyle, but experts say you also need to
breathe properly on alternate sides. This bilateral breathing inhaling and exhaling, in turn, on both your
right and left sides is most swimmers' preferred breathing method.

The main reason: symmetry.

Breathing on just one side can make your stroke lopsided, so that you don't swim in a straight line. The
repetitiveness can also mess with your body rotation in the water and cause shoulder pain and injury.
But breathing bilaterally doesn't necessarily mean switching sides every time you come up for air. It can
mean swimming an entire lap while breathing strictly on one side, then breathing on the other on the
next lap. The key is that balance.

Kevin Koskella, the author of "The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming, switched to bilateral
breathing after a massage therapist noticed how much more defined the lateral (back) muscles on his
left side were than the ones on the right. "Putting two and two together," he wrote in an article for
Active.com, "I realized that years of right side only breathing in the pool had caused me to use the
muscles on my left side far more than my right." When, as Koskella points out, you roll to your breathing
side as much as a thousand times during an hour-long swim, you develop muscle strength on just that
side. To develop and maintain strong lateral muscles on both sides, you need a breathing technique that
works the right and left sides equally.

Proper breathing technique is fundamental to the freestyle stroke. Following are some rules and
exercises for perfecting your bilateral breathing.

Rule: As with one-sided breathing, it's important to exhale fully whenever your face is in the water.
Holding your breath even a little makes you tense up and causes the sensation that you can't get enough
oxygen. But it's really a buildup of carbon dioxide in your lungs that you're struggling with. A popular
saying in swimming: Blow them bubbles, and it'll end your troubles.

Drill: Sinking exercises are good for this. An example? Go to the deep end and tread water. Then take a
deep breath and let yourself sink down. As soon as your head is underwater, begin exhaling forcefully
but smoothly. The goal is to be able to sink all the way to the bottom of the pool and stay there, exhaling
the entire time, until you need to push off the bottom and come back up.

Rule: Coordinate your strokes with your breathing.

Drill: While standing in the shallow end with your head in the water, take a few practices stationary
strokes, using your arms and repeating bubble, bubble, breathe on right side; bubble, bubble, breathe
on left side.

Rule: Rotating your body properly helps you breathe more efficiently and effortlessly.

Drill: As you're swimming, imagine that you're breathing through your navel, so that with each breath,
you roll your entire body -- not just your head up toward the sky. As you do this, concentrate on keeping
everything from the top of your head to the tip of your toes in perfect alignment.

Body movement

The body rotates about its long axis with every arm stroke so that the shoulder of the recovering arm is
higher than the shoulder of the pushing/pulling arm. This makes the recovery much easier and reduces
the need to turn the head to breathe. As one shoulder is out of the water, it reduces drag, and as it falls
it aids the arm catching the water; as the other shoulder rises it aids the arm at end of the push to leave
the water.

Side-to-side movement is kept to a minimum: one of the main functions of the leg kick is to maintain the
line of the body.
The front crawl swimmer uses a tumble turn (also known as a flip turn) to reverse directions in minimal
time. The swimmer swims close to the wall as quickly as possible. In the swimming position with one
arm forward and one arm to the back, the swimmer does not recover one arm, but rather uses the
pull/push of the other arm to initialize a somersault with the knees straight to the body. At the end of
the somersault the feet are at the wall, and the swimmer is on his or her back with the hands over the
head. The swimmer then pushes off the wall while turning sideways to lie on the breast. After a brief
gliding phase, the swimmer starts with either a flutter kick or a butterfly kick before surfacing no more
than 15 m from the wall. This may include 6 kicks to make it ideal.

A variant of the tumble turn is to make a somersault earlier with straight legs, throwing the legs toward
the wall and gliding to the wall. This has a small risk of injury because the legs could hit another
swimmer or the wall.

For the finish, the swimmer has to touch the wall with one or two hands depending on the stroke they
swim. Most swimmers sprint the finish as quickly as possible, which usually includes reducing their
breathing rate. On the finish, this is when all swimmers start to accelerate so you need to have a good
reaction time to start sprinting when it is necessary.

Swimming Rules FREESTYLE

SW 5.1 Freestyle means that in an event so designated the swimmer may swim any style, except that in
individual medley or medley relay events, freestyle means any style other than backstroke, breaststroke
or butterfly.

SW 5.2 Some part of the swimmer must touch the wall upon completion of each length and at the finish.

SW 5.3 Some part of the swimmer must break the surface of the water throughout the race, except it
shall be permissible for the swimmer to be completely submerged during the turn and for a distance of
not more than 15 meters after the start and each turn. By that point, the head must have broken the
surface.

LESSON 2 – BACKSTROKE

Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by
FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy
breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It also has a
different start from the other three competition swimming styles. The swimming style is similar to an
upside-down front crawl or freestyle. Both backstroke and front crawl long-axis strokes. In individual
medley backstroke is the second style swum; in the medley relay it is the first style swum.

History

Backstroke is an ancient style of swimming, popularized by Harry Hebner. It was the second stroke to be
swum in competitions after the front crawl. The first Olympic backstroke competition was the 1900 Paris
Olympics men's 200 meter

Technique
In the initial position, the swimmer performing backstroke lies flat on the back; arms stretched with
extended fingertips, and legs extended backwards. Arm movement

In backstroke, the arms contribute most of the forward movement. The arm stroke consists of two main
parts: the power phase (consisting of three separate parts) and the recovery. The arms alternate so that
always one arm is underwater while the other arm is recovering. One complete arm turn is considered
one cycle. From the initial position, one arm sinks slightly under water and turns the palm outward to
start the catch phase (first part of the power phase). The hand enters downward (pinkie finger first) then
pulling out at a 45-degree angle, catching the water.

During the power phase the hand follows a semi-circular path from the catch to the side of the hip. The
palm is always facing away from the swimming direction, while remaining straight as an extension of the
arm, and the elbow always points downward towards the bottom of the pool. This is done so that both
the arms and the elbow can push the maximum amount of water back in order to push the body
forward. At the height of the shoulders, the upper and lower arms should have their maximum angle of
about 90 degrees. This is called the Mid-Pull of the power phase

The Mid-Pull phase consists of pushing the palm of the hand as far down as possible with the fingers
pointing upward. Again, the goal is to push the body forward against the water. At the very end of the
Mid-Pull, the palm flaps down for a last push forward down to a depth of 45cm, creating the finish of the
power phase. Besides pushing the body forward, this also helps with the rolling back to the other side as
part of the body movement. During the power phase, the fingers of the hand can be slightly apart, as
this will increase the resistance of the hand in the water due to turbulence

To prepare for the recovery phase, the hand is rotated so that the palms point towards the legs and the
thumb side points upwards. At the beginning of the recovery phase of the one arm, the other arm
begins its power phase. The recovering arm is moved in a semicircle straight over the shoulders to the
front. During this recovery, the palm rotates so that the small finger enters the water first, allowing for
the least amount of resistance, and the palms point outward. After a short gliding phase, the cycle
repeats with the preparation for the next power phase.

Leg movement

The leg movement in backstroke is similar to the flutter kick in front crawl. The kick makes a large
contribution to the forward speed, while significantly stabilizing the body.

The leg stroke alternates, with one leg sinking down straight to about 30 degrees. From this position, the
leg makes a fast kick upward, slightly bending the knee at the beginning and then stretching it again in
the horizontal. However, there are also frequent variants with four or only two kicks per cycle. Usually,
sprinters tend to use 6 kicks per cycle, whereas long distance swimmer may use fewer.

Breathing

Breathing in backstroke is easier than in other strokes, as the mouth and nose are usually above water.
Competitive swimmers breathe in through the mouth during the recovery of one arm, and breathe out
through the mouth and nose during the pull and push phase of the same arm. This is done to clear the
nose of water.
Body movement

Due to the asynchronous movement of the arms, the body tends to roll around its long axis. By taking
advantage of this rolling motion, swimmers can increase their effectiveness while swimming backstroke.
The overall position of the body is straight in the horizontal to reduce drag. Beginners frequently let
their posterior and thighs sink too low, which increases drag. To avoid this, the upper legs have to be
moved to the extreme down position at each kick even with a little help by the back and the foot tips
have to be fixed in the extreme lower position and the head is held out of the water to act as a counter-
weight.

Start

Backstroke start, waiting for the signal

The backstroke start is the only start from the water. The swimmer faces the wall and grabs part of the
start block or the wall with their hands. Ideally, there are grips on the block for this purpose. The legs
are placed shoulder width apart on the wall with both heels slightly off the wall. Just before the starting
signal, the swimmer pulls their head closer to the start block, while keeping the knees bent at a 90-
degree angle. Some swimmers prefer to keep one foot slightly lower than the other during the start.

For the takeoff, the swimmer pushes their hands away from the block and swings their arms around
sideways to the front. At the same time, the swimmer throws their head to the back. The swimmer then
pushes away from the wall with their feet. Ideally, the swimmer's back is arched during the airborne
phase so that only the feet and the hands touch the water while the rest of the body is above the water
line. This reduces drag and permits a faster start. On September 21, 2005, FINA modified the backstroke
start rule regarding toes below the water line. The feet can now be above the water, but not above or
curled over the lip of the pool gutter

After the start, the swimmer is completely underwater. Due to increased resistance at the surface,
experienced swimmers usually swim faster underwater than at the surface. Therefore, most
experienced swimmers in backstroke competitions stay under water up to the limit set by FINA (15
meters after the start and after every turn). Most swimmers use a butterfly kick underwater, as this
provides more forward movement than the flutter kick. The underwater phase includes the risk of water
entering the nose, so most swimmers breathe out through the nose to stop water from entering

The swimmer's head must break the surface before 15m under FINA rules. The swimmer starts
swimming with one arm, followed by the other arm with half a cycle delay. The swimmer continues in
regular swimming style, staying on the back for the entire time except the turns

Turn and finish

A swimmer focuses on the ceiling while doing the backstroke.

Approaching the wall presents swimmers with the problem of not seeing where they are going. Most
competitive swimmers know how many strokes they need for a lane, or at least how many strokes after
the signal flags or the change in color of the separating lines. Turning the head is also possible, but slows
the swimmer down.

SW 6 BACKSTROKE
SW 6.1 Prior to the starting signal, the swimmers shall line up in the water facing the starting end, with
both hands holding the starting grips. Standing in or on the gutter or bending the toes over the lip of the
gutter is prohibited. When using a backstroke ledge at the start, the toes of both feet must be in contact
with the end wall or face of the touchpad. Bending the toes over the top of the touchpad is prohibited.

SW 6.2 At the signal for starting and after turning the swimmer shall push off and swim upon his back
throughout the race except when executing a turn as set forth in SW 6.4. The normal position on the
back can include a roll movement of the body up to, but not including 90 degrees from horizontal. The
position of the head is not relevant.

SW 6.3 Some part of the swimmer must break the surface of the water throughout the race. It is
permissible for the swimmer to be completely sub-merged during the turn, and for a distance of not
more than 15 metres after the start and each turn. By that point the head must have broken the surface.

SW 6.4 When executing the turn there must be a touch of the wall with some part of the swimmer's
body in his/her respective lane. During the turn the shoulders may be turned over the vertical to the
breast after which an immediate continuous single arm pull or immediate continuous simultaneous
double arm pull may be used to initiate the turn. The swimmer must have returned to the position on
the back upon leaving the wall.

SW 6.5 Upon the finish of the race the swimmer must touch the wall while on the back in his/her
respective lane.

FINALS
Lesson 1 breaststroke

Breaststroke

Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not
rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water
a large portion of the time, and that it can be swum comfortably at slow speeds. In most
swimming classes, beginners learn either the breaststroke or the freestyle (front crawl) first.
However, at the competitive level, swimming breaststroke at speed requires comparable
endurance and strength to other strokes. Some people refer to breaststroke as the "frog" stroke,
as the arms and legs move somewhat like a frog swimming in the water. The stroke itself is the
slowest of any competitive strokes and is thought to be the oldest of all swimming strokes.

Speed and ergonomics

Breaststroke is the slowest of the four official styles in competitive swimming. The fastest
breaststrokers can swim about 1.70 meters (~5.6 feet) per second. It is sometimes the hardest
to teach to rising swimmers after butterfly due to the importance of timing and the coordination
required to move the legs properly.
In the breaststroke, the swimmer leans on the chest, arms breaking the surface of the water
slightly, legs always underwater and the head underwater for the second half of the stroke. The
kick is sometimes referred to as a "frog kick" because of the resemblance to the movement of
a frog's hind legs; however, when done correctly it is more of a "whip kick" due to the whip-like
motion that moves starting at the core down through the legs.

The body is often at a steep angle to the forward movement, which slows down the swimmer
more than any other style. Professional breaststrokers use abdominal muscles and hips to add
extra power to the kick, although most do not perfect this technique until the collegiate level.
This much faster form of breaststroke is referred to as "wave-action" breaststroke and fully
incorporates the whip-kick.

A special feature of competitive breaststroke is the underwater pullout. From the streamline
position, one uses the arms to pull all the way down past the hips. As the arms are pulling down,
one downward dolphin kick is allowed (as of the 2005 season), though still optional; more than
one dolphin kick will result in disqualification. This is followed by the recovery of the arms to the
streamline position once more with a breaststroke kick. The pullout is also called the "pull
down". The pullout at the start and after the turns contributes significantly to the swimming
times. Open turns can be easily performed at the walls, but both hands must make contact with
the wall. Therefore, one way to improve swimming times is to focus on the start and the turns.

History

The history of breaststroke goes back to the Stone Age, as for example pictures in the Cave of
Swimmers near Wadi Sora in the southwestern part of Egypt near Libya. The leg action of the
breaststroke may have originated by imitating the swimming action of frogs. Depictions of a
variant of breaststroke are found in Babylonian bas-relief and Assyrian wall drawings.

In 1538, Nicolas Wynman, a German professor of languages and poetry, wrote the first
swimming book, Colymbetes. His goal was not to promote exercise, but rather to reduce the
dangers of drowning. Nevertheless, the book contained a good, methodical approach to
learning breaststroke.

In 1696, the French author and poet Melchisedech Thévenot wrote The Art of Swimming,
describing a breaststroke very similar to the modern breaststroke. The book (Benjamin
Franklin became one of its readers) popularized this technique.

In 1774, following a series of drownings, English physician John Zehr of the Society for the
Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned began giving public speeches and demonstrations
to teach proper swimming technique. He is said to have helped to popularize breaststroke,
noting the ease with which it could be learned and swum.
In the pre-Olympic era, competitive swimming in Europe started around 1800, mostly using
breaststroke. A watershed event was a swimming competition in 1844 in London, notable for the
participation of some Native Americans. While the British raced using breaststroke, the Native
Americans swam a variant of the front crawl. The British continued to swim only breaststroke
until 1873.

Captain Matthew Webb was the first man to swim the English channel (between England and
France), in 1875. He used breaststroke, swimming 21.26 miles (34.21 km) in 21 hours and 45
minutes.

The 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, were the first Olympics to feature a
separate breaststroke competition, over a distance of 440 yards (402 m). These games
differentiated breaststroke, backstroke, and freestyle.

1928 was the start of the scientific study of swimming by David Armbruster, coach at the
University of iowa, who filmed swimmers from underwater. One breaststroke problem
Armbruster researched was that the swimmer was slowed down significantly while bringing the
arms forward underwater. In 1934 Armbruster refined a method to bring the arms forward over
water in breaststroke. While this "butterfly" technique was difficult, it brought a great
improvement in speed. A year later, in 1935, Jack Sieg, a swimmer also from the University of
iowa, developed a technique involving swimming on his side and beating his legs in unison
similar to a fish tail, and modified the technique afterward to swim it face down. Armbruster and
Sieg combined these techniques into a variant of the breaststroke called butterfly, with the two
kicks per cycle being called dolphin fishtail kick. Using this technique, Sieg swam 100 yards (91
m) in 1:00.2. However, even though this technique was much faster than regular breaststroke,
the dolphin fishtail kick violated the rules. Butterfly arms with a breaststroke kick were used by a
few swimmers in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin for the breaststroke competitions.

In 1938, almost every breaststroke swimmer was using this butterfly style, yet this stroke was
considered a variant of the breaststroke until 1952, when it was accepted as a separate style
with its own set of rules.

In the early 1950s, another modification was developed for breaststroke. Breaking the water
surface increases drag, reducing speed; swimming underwater increases speed. This led to a
controversy at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, when six swimmers were
disqualified, as they repeatedly swam long distances underwater. However, a Japanese
swimmer, Masaru Furukawa, circumvented the rule by not surfacing at all after the start, but
swimming as much of the length underwater as possible before breaking the surface. He swam
all but 5 m underwater for the first three 50 m lengths, and also swam half underwater for the
last length, winning the gold medal. The adoption of this technique led to many swimmers
suffering from oxygen starvation and even to some swimmers passing out during the race, so a
new rule was introduced by the FINA, limiting the distance that can be swum underwater after
the start and after every turn, and requiring the head to break the surface every cycle.
Since then, the development of breaststroke has gone hand-in-hand with the FINA rules. In
about the mid-1960s, the rules changed to prevent the arm stroke from going beyond the hip
line, except during the first stroke after the start and after each turn. Before 1987, the head had
to be kept above the water surface during the entire stroke. Later on, swimmers were also
allowed to break the water with parts of the body other than the head. This led to a variant of the
stroke in which the arms are brought together as usual under the body after the pull but then are
thrown forward over the water from under the chin until the arms are completely extended.
There was a controversy at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens after Japan's Kosuke
Kitajima won the gold medal in the 100m breaststroke race over American Brendan Hansen,
the world-record-holder. Video from underwater cameras showed Kitajima using a dolphin kick
at the start and at some of the turns. Officials claimed that these kicks were not visible from
above the surface of the water, so the result stood. In July 2005, FINA changed the rules to
allow one dolphin kick at the start and at each turn, this change taking effect on 21 September
2005.

Techniques
The breaststroke starts with the swimmer lying in the water face down, arms extended straight
forward and legs extended straight to the back.

Arm movement

There are three steps to the arm movement: outsweep, insweep, and recovery. The movement
starts with the outsweep. From the streamline position, the palms turn out and the hands
separate to slightly past shoulder width. The outsweep is followed by the insweep, where the
hands point down and push the water backwards. The elbows stay in the horizontal plane
through the shoulders. The hands push back until approximately the vertical plane through the
shoulders. At the end of the insweep the hands come together with facing palms in front of the
chest and the elbows are at the side at the body. In the recovery phase, the hands are moved
forward again into the initial position under water. The entire arm stroke starts slowly, increases
speed to the peak arm movement speed in the insweep phase, and slows down again during
recovery. The goal is to produce maximum thrust during the insweep phase, and minimum drag
during the recovery phase. Another variant is the underwater pull-down, similar to the push

phase of a butterfly stroke. This stroke continues the insweep phase and pushes the hands all
the way to the back to the sides of the hip. This greatly increases the push from one stroke, but
also makes recovery more difficult. This style is well suited for underwater swimming. However,
FINA allows this stroke only for the first stroke after the start and each turn. In late 2005, FINA
has also introduced a new rule which permits a single downward kick after the push off the wall.

As a variant, it is possible to recover the arms over water. This reduces drag, but requires more
power. Some competitive swimmers use this variant in competition.
Leg movement The leg movement, colloquially known as the "frog kick" or "whip kick", consists
of two phases: bringing the feet into position for the thrust phase and the insweep phase. From
the initial position with the legs stretched out backward, the feet are moved together towards the
posterior, while the knees stay together. The knees should not sink too low, as this increases
the drag. Then the feet point outward in preparation for the thrust phase. In the thrust phase, the
legs are moved elliptically back to the initial position. During this movement, the knees are kept
together. The legs move slower while bringing the legs into position for the thrust phase, and
move very fast during the thrust phase. Again, the goal is to produce maximum thrust during the
insweep phase, and minimize drag during the recovery phase. In the recovery phase the lower
leg and the feet are in the wake of the upper leg, and the feet are pointed to the rear. In the
thrust phase all three parts create their own wake, and the flat end of the feet acts like a
hydrofoil aligned to give maximum forward thrust. The resulting drag coefficient (or more
precisely the frontal area) is thus doubled in the thrust phase.

A fit adult creates a wake. Drag due to a wake is Newtonian drag, increasing with the square of
the velocity. For example, if the relative speed between the water and the leg is twice as high on
the thrust phase than on the recovery phase, the thrust is four times as high as the drag.
Assuming the legs are recovered with a relative speed between leg and body which amounts to
the same as the relative speed between water and body, the legs must be kicked back with five
times the mean velocity of the swimmer. This limits the top speed. Both effects together, velocity
and frontal area, yield a thrust-to-drag ratio of 8 for the legs.

As a variant, some swimmers move the knees apart during the preparation phase and keep
them apart until almost the end of the thrust phase. Moving both knee and foot outwards like a
real frog avoids the extreme rotation in the lower leg.

All other variants fail to increase the frontal area, yet swimmers using them still generate some
thrust by the velocity variation and do not drown. Another variant of the breaststroke kick is the
scissor kick, however, this kick violates the rules of the Fina as it is no longer symmetrical.
Swimming teachers put a great effort into steering the students away from the scissor kick. In
the scissor kick, one leg moves as described above, but the other leg does not form an elliptical
movement but merely an up-down movement similar to the flutter kick of front crawl. Some
swimming teachers believe that learning the front crawl first gives a higher risk of an incorrect
scissor kick when learning breaststroke afterwards.

Breaststroke can also be swum with the dolphin kick in butterfly, but this also violates the FINA
rules. One kick is allowed, however, at the start and at the turn, providing that it is part of the
body's natural movement.

Humans have strong muscles in the legs and would need swim fins (like a frog) to bring all
their power into the water and stand with the sole of the feet on the water. Rather the leg grabs
almost as much water as the foot and a small amount of water is accelerated to high kinetic
energy, but not much impulse is transferred. The toes are bent, the feet point 45° outwards,
the sole points backwards, to mimic a hydrofoil. While closing in a V shape to the rear a small
"lifting" force can be felt. Unlike in the other kicks, the joints are moved into extrema. Before the
kick the knee is maximally bent and the upper leg is rotating along its axis to its extreme outer
position and the lower leg is twisted to extreme, at the end of the kick the ankles are maximally
turned to the inside so that the soles clap together to achieve a nozzle effect like in a jelly fish.
Therefore, training involves getting flexible in addition to fitness and precision. The sudden
sideways stress on the knees at the kick can lead to uncomfortable noise and feeling for the
beginner and to wear for the senior.

Breathing

The easiest way to breathe during breaststroke is to let the head follow the spine. When the
swimmer's elbows have reached the line of his eye and have begun to rise, his head starts to
lift. If he uses his high elbows as a hinge for the inward sweep of his hands and forearms, he
will create the leverage he needs to use his abdominal muscles to bring his hips forward. When
his hips move forward, his chest, shoulders and upper back will automatically lift up. Breathing
is usually done during the beginning of the insweep phase of the arms, and the swimmer
breathes in ideally through the mouth. The swimmer breathes out through mouth and nose
during the recovery and gliding phase. Breaststroke can be swum faster if submerged
completely, but FINA requires the head to break the surface once per cycle except for the first
cycle after the start and each turn. Thus, competitive swimmers usually make one underwater
pull-out, pushing the hands all the way to the back after the start and each turn.

Body movement

The movement starts in the initial position with the body completely straight. Body movement is
coordinated such that the legs are ready for the thrust phase while the arms are halfway through
the insweep, and the head is out of the water for breathing. In this position the body has also the
largest angle to the horizontal. The arms are recovered during the thrust phase of the legs. After
the stroke the body is kept in the initial position for some time to utilize the gliding phase.
Depending on the distance and fitness the duration of this gliding phase varies. Usually the
gliding phase is shorter during sprints than during long distance swimming. The gliding phase is
also longer during the underwater stroke after the start and each turn. However, the gliding
phase is usually the longest phase in one entire cycle of breaststroke.

Start

Breaststroke uses the regular start for swimming. Some swimmers use a variant called the frog
start, where the legs are pulled forward sharply before being extended again quickly during the
airborne phase of the start. After the start a gliding phase follows under water, followed by one
underwater pulldown and dolphin kick, then one whip kick as the hands are recovered back to a
streamline. This is known as the pull out. The head must break the surface before the arms
reach their widest point on the first stroke after the pull-out. The downward butterfly kick was
legalized by FINA, WWF and the NCAA in 2005, and remains optional. The downward fly kick is
now allowed in MCSL.

Turn and finish

For competitive swimming it is important that the wall at the end of the lane is always touched
by both hands (known as a "Two-Hand Touch") at the same time due to FINA regulations.

The tum is initiated by touching the wall during the gliding or during the recovery phase of the
arms, depending on how the wall can be touched faster. After touching the wall, the legs are
pulled underneath the body. The body turns sideways while one hand is moved forward (i.e.
towards the head) along the side of the body. When the body is almost completely turned, the
other hand will be swung straight up through the air such that both hands meet at the front at
the same time. At that time the body should also be almost in the horizontal and partially or
totally submerged. After the body is completely submerged, the body is pushed off the wall with
both legs. Doing this under water will reduce the drag. After a gliding phase, an underwater pull-
out is done, followed by another gliding phase and then regular swimming. The head must
break the surface during the second stroke

SW 7 Breaststroke
SW 7.1 After the start and after each turn, the swimmer may take one arm stroke completely
back to the legs during which the swimmer may be submerged. At any time prior to the first
Breaststroke kick after the start and after each turn a single butterfly kick is permitted. The head
must break the surface of the water before the hands turn inward at the widest part of the
second stroke.

SW 7.2 From the beginning of the first arm stroke after the start and after each turn, the body
shall be on the breast. It is not permitted to roll onto the back at any time except at the turn after
the touch of the wall where it is permissible to turn in any manner as long as the body is on the
breast when leaving the wall. From the start and throughout the race the stroke cycle must be
one arm stroke and one leg kick in that order. All movements of the arms shall be simultaneous
and on the same horizontal plane without alternating movement.

SW 7.3 The hands shall be pushed forward together from the breast on, under, or over the
water. The elbows shall be under water except for the final stroke before the turn, during the
turn and for the final stroke at the finish. The hands shall be brought back on or under the
surface of the water. The hands shall not be brought back beyond the hip line, except during the
first stroke after the start and each turn.

SW 7.4 During each complete cycle, some part of the swimmer's head must break the surface
of the water. All movements of the legs shall be simultaneous and on the same horizontal plane
without alternating movement

SW 7.5 The feet must be turned outwards during the propulsive part of the kick. Alternating
movements or downward butterfly kicks are not permitted except as in SW 7.1. Breaking the
surface of the water with the feet is allowed unless followed by a downward butterfly kick.

SW 7.6 At each turn and at the finish of the race, the touch shall be made with both hands
separated and simultaneously at, above, or below the water level. At the last stroke before the
turn and at the finish an arm stroke not followed by a leg kick is permitted. The head may be
submerged after the last arm pull prior to the touch, provided it breaks the surface of the water
at some point during the last complete or incomplete cycle preceding the touch.

Lesson 2 butterfly

Butterfly stroke
The butterfly (colloquially shortened to fly) is a swimming stroke swum on the chest, with both
arms moving symmetrically, accompanied by the butterfly kick (also known as the "dolphin
kick"). While other styles like the breaststroke, front crawl, or backstroke can be swum
adequately by beginners, the butterfly is a more difficult stroke that requires good technique as
well as strong muscles. It is the newest swimming style swum in competition, first swum in 1933
and originating out of the breaststroke.
Speed and ergonomics

The peak speed of the butterfly is faster than that of the front crawl due to the synchronous
pull/push with both arms and legs, which is done quickly. Yet since speed drops significantly
during the recovery phase, it is overall slightly slower than front crawl, especially over longer
distances. Another reason it is slower is because of the extremely different physical exertion it
puts on the swimmer compared to the front crawl. Its name was taken from the butterfly

The breaststroke, backstroke, and front crawl can all be swum easily even if the swimmer's
technique is not the best. The butterfly, however, is unforgiving of mistakes in style; it is very
difficult to overcome a poor butterfly technique with brute strength. Many swimmers and
coaches consider it the most difficult swimming style. The main difficulty for beginners is the
synchronous over-water recovery, especially when combined with breathing, since both arms,
the head, shoulders, and part of the chest have to be lifted out of the water for these tasks.
Once the efficient technique has been developed, it becomes a smooth, fast stroke.

History
The International Swimming Hall of Fame credits Australian Sydney Cavill as the originator of
the butterfly stroke. Cavill (1881-1945), the son of "swimming professor" Frederick Cavill, was
220 yards amateur champion of Australia at the age of 16. He followed his famous brothers to
America and coached notable swimmers at San Francisco's Olympic Club.

In late 1933, Henry Myers swam a butterfly stroke in competition at the Brooklyn Central YMCA.
The butterfly style evolved from the breaststroke. David Armbruster, swimming coach at the
University of Iowa, researched the breaststroke, especially considering the problem of drag due
to the underwater recovery. In 1934 Armbruster refined a method to bring the arms forward over
the water in a breaststroke. He called this style "butterfly". While the butterfly was difficult, it
brought a great improvement in speed. One year later, in 1935, Jack Sieg, a swimmer also from
the University of Iowa, developed a kick technique involving swimming on his side and beating
his legs in unison, similar to a fish tail, and then modified the technique afterward to swim it face
down. He called this style Dolphin fishtail kick. Armbruster and Sieg quickly found that
combining these techniques created a very fast swimming style consisting of butterfly arms with
two dolphin kicks per cycle. Richard Rhodes claims that Volney Wilson invented the 'Dolphin'
after studying fish, and used it to win the 1938 US Olympic Trials, earning him a disqualification.

This new style was substantially faster than a regular breaststroke. Using this technique Jack
Sieg swam 100 yards in 1:00.2. However, the dolphin fishtail kick violated the breaststroke rules
set by FINA and was not allowed. Therefore, the butterfly arms with a breaststroke kick were
used by a few swimmers in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin for the breaststroke
competitions. In 1938, almost every breaststroke swimmer was using this butterfly style, yet this
stroke was considered a variant of the breaststroke until 1952, when it was accepted by FINA
as a separate style with its own set of rules. The 1956 Summer Olympics were the first
Olympic games where the butterfly was swum as a separate competition, 100 m (women) and
200 m (men).

Technique
The butterfly technique with the dolphin kick consists of synchronous arm movement with a
synchronous leg kick. Good technique is crucial to swim this style effectively. The wave-like
body movement is also very significant in creating propulsion, as this is the key to easy
synchronous over-water recovery and breathing.

In the initial position, the swimmer lies on the breast, the arms are stretched to the front, and the
legs are extended to the back.

Arm movement The butterfly stroke has three major parts, the pull, the push, and the recovery.
These can also be further subdivided. From the initial position, the arm movement starts very
similarly to the breast stroke. At the beginning the hands sink a little bit down with the palms
facing outwards and slightly down at shoulder width, then the hands move out to create a Y.
This is called catching the water. The pull movement follows a semicircle with the elbow higher
than the hand and the hand pointing towards the center of the body and downward to form the
traditionally taught "keyhole".

The push pushes the palm backward through the water underneath the body at the beginning
and at the side of the body at the end of the push. The swimmer only pushes the arms 1/3 of the
way to the hips, making it easier to enter into the recovery and making the recovery shorter and
making the breathing window shorter. The movement increases speed throughout the pull-push
phase until the hand is the fastest at the end of the push. This step is called the release and is
crucial for recovery. The speed at the end of the push is used to help with the recovery.

In the recovery, the arms are swung sideways across the water surface to the front, with the
elbows straight. The arms should be swung forward from the end of the underwater movement;
the extension of the triceps in combination with the butterfly kick will allow the arm to be brought
forwards quickly in a relaxed manner. In contrast to the front crawl recovery, the arm recovery is
a ballistic shot, letting gravity and momentum do most of the work. The only other way of lifting
the arms and the shoulders out of the water would be by dropping one's hips. Therefore, the
recovery, at least the acceleration of the arms, is in no way relaxed. It is important not to enter
the water too early, because this would generate extra resistance as the arms move forward in
the water against the swimming direction, however, during longer distances, this is difficult to
avoid, and it is more important to avoid dropping one's hips. A high elbow recovery, as in front
crawl, would be disadvantageous because of the natural undulations that are partially caused
by the recovery and the relaxed movement caused by the momentum of a triceps extension.
Limitations of the shoulder movement in the human body make such a motion unlikely. The
hands should enter into the water with a narrow V shape (at 11 and 1 o'clock, if viewed like a
clock) with thumbs entering first and pinkies last.

The arms enter the water with the thumbs first at shoulder width. A wider entry loses movement
in the next pull phase, and if the hands touch, it will waste energy. The cycle repeats with the
pull phase. However, some swimmers prefer to touch in front, because it helps them catch
water - as long as they can do this efficiently, they are not losing anything.

Leg movement
The legs are synchronized with each other which uses a whole different set of muscles. The
shoulders are brought above the surface by a strong up and medium down kick, and back below
the surface by a strong down and up kick. A smooth undulation fuses the motion together.

The feet are pressed together to avoid loss of water pressure. The feet are naturally pointing
downwards, giving downwards thrust, moving up the feet and pressing down the head

There is no actual stipulation in competitive butterfly rules that a swimmer make a fixed number
of pulses butterfly-the swimmer may kick as little or as much as he or she may wish. While
competitive rules allow such a choice, the typical method of swimming butterfly is with two kicks.
As butterfly originated as a variant on breaststroke, it would be performed with a breaststroke or
whip kick by some swimmers. While breaststroke was separated from butterfly in 1953, the
breaststroke kick in butterfly was not officially outlawed until 2001. However a number of
Masters swimmers were upset with the change since they came from a time when butterfly was
usually swum with a breaststroke kick. FINA was then convinced to allow a breaststroke kick in
Masters swimming. Given the option, most swimmers choose to use a dolphin kicking action,
but there still is a small minority of swimmers who prefer the breaststroke kick, for recreational
swimming and even for competition.

Breathing There is only a short window for breathing in the butterfly. If this window is missed,
swimming becomes very difficult. Optimally, a butterfly swimmer synchronizes the taking of
breaths with the undulation of the body to simplify the breathing process; doing this well requires
some attention to butterfly stroke technique. The breathing process begins during the
underwater "press" portion of the stroke. As the hands and forearms move underneath the
chest, the body will naturally rise toward the surface of the water. With minimum effort, the
swimmer can lift the head to fully break the surface. The swimmer breathes in through the
mouth. The head goes back in the water after the arms come out of the water as they are
swinging forward over the surface of the water. If the head stays out too long, the recovery is
hindered.

Normally, a breath is taken every other stroke. This can be sustained over long distances.
Often, breathing every stroke slows the swimmer down. (At a certain level, a breathing stroke
becomes just as fast as a non breathing stroke; therefore, very experienced competitors, such
as Michael Phelps, may breathe every stroke.) Other intervals of breathing practiced by elite
swimmers include the "two up, one down" approach in which the swimmer breathes for two
successive strokes and then keeps their head in the water on the next stroke, which is easier on
the lungs. Swimmers with good lung capacity might also breathe every 3rd stroke during sprints
for the finish. Some swimmers can even hold their breaths for an entire race (assuming that it is
a short one). To be able to swim with best results it is important to keep one's head down when
taking a breath. If the swimmer lifts his or her head too high the swimmer's hips often drop,
creating drag, thus slowing the swimmer down. The closer one's head is to the water the better
one swims is the general technique used by swimmers.

Body movement Swimming butterfly is difficult if the core is not utilized, and correct timing and
body movement makes swimming butterfly much easier. The body moves in a wave-like
fashion, controlled by the core, and as the chest is pressed down, the hips go up, and the
posterior breaks the water surface and transfers into a fluid kick. During the push phase, the
chest goes up and the hips are at their lowest position. In this style, the second pulse in the
cycle is stronger than the first pulse, as the second pulse is more in flow with the body
movement.

Although butterfly very compatible with diving, the resulting reduction in wave drag does not
lead to an overall reduction of drag. In the modern style of the butterfly stroke one does only
little vertical movement of the body.
Start

Butterfly uses the regular start for swimming. After the start a gliding phase follows under water,
followed by dolphin kicks swim under water. Swimming under water reduces the drag from
breaking the surface and is very economical. Rules allow for 15 m of underwater swimming
before the head must break the surface, and regular swimming begins.

Turn and finish

During turns and during the finish, both hands must simultaneously touch the wall while the
swimmer remains swimming face down. The swimmer touches the wall with both hands while
bending the elbows slightly. The bent elbows allow the swimmer to push himself or herself away
from the wall and turn sideways. One hand leaves the wall to be moved to the front underwater.
At the same time the legs are pulled closer and moved underneath of the body towards the wall.
The second hand leaves the wall to be moved to the front over water. It is commonly referred to
as an "over/under turn" or an " open turn". The legs touch the wall and the hands are at the
front. The swimmer sinks under water and lies on the breast, or nearly so. Then the swimmer
pushes off the wall, keeping a streamline position with the hands to the front. Similar to the start,
the swimmer is allowed to swim 15 m underwater before the head must break the surface. Most
swimmers dolphin kick after an initial gliding phase.

The finish requires the swimmer to touch the wall with both hands at the same time, in the same
horizontal plane.

SW 8 Butterfly
SW 8.1 From the beginning of the first arm stroke after the start and each turn, the body shall be
kept on the breast. It is not permitted to roll onto the back at any time, except at the turn after
the touch of the wall where it is permissible to turn in any manner as long as the body is on the
breast when leaving the wall

SW 8.2 Both arms shall be brought forward simultaneously over the water and brought
backward simultaneously under the water through-out the race, subject to SW 8.5.

SW 8.3 All up and down movements of the legs must be simultaneous. The legs or the feet
need not be on the same level, but they shall not alternate in relation to each other. A
breaststroke kicking movement is not permitted.

SW 8.4 At each turn and at the finish of the race, the touch shall be made with both hands
separated and simultaneously,at, above or below the water surface.

SW 8.5 At the start and at turns, a swimmer is permitted one or more leg kicks and one arm pull
under the water, which must bring him to the surface. It shall be permissible for a swimmer to be
completely submerged for a distance of not more than 15 metres after the start and after each
turn. By that point, the head must have broken the surface. The swimmer must remain on the
surface until the next turn or finish.

Lesson 3 Medley swimming

Medley swimming

Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly,

and freestyle-into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM)
or by four swimmers as a medley relay.

Individual medley
Individual medley consists of a single swimmer swimming equal distances of four different
strokes within one race.

Stroke order

Individual medley consists of four strokes. The swimmer will swim one quarter of the race in
each style, in a certain order. The strokes are swum in this order:

1. Butterfly

2. Backstroke

3. Breaststroke

4. Freestyle
Competitions

A number of competitions in the individual medley are regularly contested, by both men and
women. The competitions are limited in that every distance must consist of either four lengths of
the pool (100 yard or meter) or a multiple of four lengths (200 or 400 yard or meter), so that no
stroke must change mid-length. Regardless of the length of the individual medley, each stroke
comprises a quarter of the overall distance.

-100 m/yd individual medley: Swam in short course (25 m/yd pool) competition only. This is not
an Olympic event.
-200 m/yd individual medley: Swum in both short course and long course (50 m pool)
competitions. This was swum as an Olympic event in the 1968 Summer Olympics, Mexico City,
Mexico but then omitted until the 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles, United States. The
event has been swum ever since.
- 400 m/yd individual medley: Swum in both short course and long course competitions. This
has been an Olympic event since the 1964 Summer Olympics, Tokyo, Japan.
The technique for individual medley events does not differ much from the technique for the
separate events for the four strokes. The main difference is the turning technique needed at the
transition from one stroke to the next stroke. Each section has to be completed as described by
the stroke rules of this section.

The butterfly stroke section has to be ended with both hands touching the wall at the same time,
but has to leave the wall on the back for backstroke. Swimmers may do this by pulling the knees
underneath of their body after touching the wall with both hands, and then rolling backwards on
their back, or swinging one arm back and rolling over onto the side of the arm swung back.
During the roll in the first method the arms are not stretched, but rather hold close to the body
with the hands a few centimeters in front of the chest. This reduces the rotational moment and
allows for a faster turn. At the end of the backwards roll the swimmer sinks under water and
extends over the head. The swimmer then pushes off the wall with both legs and starts the
regular underwater phase of backstroke, usually a dolphin kick for up to 15 m before surfacing
and swimming normal backstroke.

The backstroke section has to end with touching the wall while lying on the back. For the
subsequent breaststroke the swimmer has to leave the wall on the breast. Most swimmers
prefer to do an open turn, simply driving the feet into the wall. The swimmer is then under water
face down and extends the hands forward before pushing off the wall with both legs. The
swimmer continues with the regular breaststroke, consisting of a gliding phase, an underwater
pull-down, and another gliding phase before surfacing and swimming normal breaststroke. A
newer, but not required technique for the backstroke to breaststroke turn is a backflip turn. The
swimmer touches on his or her backside with one hand. After touching the wall, the swimmer
tucks their knees up to their stomach and flips around so that their feet are touching the wall
pointing down and they can push off of the wall on their stomach. Another, arguably faster
variation of the new backstroke to breaststroke turn is to the regular forward flip turn. The
swimmer goes into the wall with their leading arm outstretched. behind their head. The swimmer
then touches the wall and immediately goes into a frontflip and very similar proceeds with the
breaststroke portion of the race. With this turn, it is crucial that the swimmer remains technically
on their back until they touch the wall, which means that the front of the body should be rotated
chest-side up more than it is chest-side down, otherwise the swimmer will be disqualified.

The breaststroke section has to be ended with both hands touching the wall at the same time
while on the breast. A normal breaststroke turn is usually used to turn and push off the wall.
After leaving the wall the freestyle underwater phase is initiated, followed by regular freestyle on
the surface after up to 15 m underwater. For medley events, freestyle means any style other
than backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly. Some form of front crawl is typically used.

Medley relay
Medley relay consists of four different swimmers in one relay race, each swimming one of the
four strokes.
Stroke order

Medley relay is swum by four different swimmers, each swimming one of the four strokes. The
stroke order is different than for the individual medley. Backstroke is the first event as
backstroke is started from the water. If backstroke were not the first event, the starting
backstroke swimmer and the finishing previous swimmer could block each other. The remaining
strokes are sorted according to the speed, with breaststroke being the slowest and freestyle
being the fastest stroke. The order of the strokes is as follows:

• Backstroke
• Breaststroke
• Butterfly
• Freestyle

Backstroke performances (only) are eligible for backstroke records as they are performed under
normal controlled starting conditions; for example, Ryan Murphy set the world record for the 100
m backstroke during the first leg of the 4x100 m medley relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Competitions

There are a number of competitions swum regularly in medley relay, both by men and women.
• 4x50 m/yd medley relay: Swur in both short course and long course pools. This is not an
Olympic event.
• 4x100 m/yd medley relay: Swum in both short course and long course pools. This was the first
Olympic medley competition and has been swum since the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome,
Italy. The first Olympic butterfly event itself was first swum in the previous 1956 Summer
Olympics.

Mixed-gendered medley relays were introduced at the 2014 FINA World Swimming
Championships (25 m) (4x50 m) and 2015 World Aquatics Championships (4x100 m). The
event will debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics (4 x 100).

Standard United States high school swim meets have short course events, that is the lengths
are typically swum in a 25-yard or meter long pool. One relay event swum in State or Sectional
Championships is the 4x50 yard medley relay.

Many collegiate programs hold competition in the 4x50 medley relay, and

4x100 medley relay.

Technique

The technique for medley relay events does not differ much from the technique for the separate
events for the four strokes. The first swimmer swims the backstroke normally. The only
difference for the following swimmers is that there is no start signal, but rather the previous
swimmer completing his or her turn by touching the wall signals the start for the subsequent
swimmer. It is very important for the next swimmer off the block to accurately judge the time at
which the swimmer in the water will touch the wall. A fast reaction could result in a significant
time gain in the race, but a false start (diving early) will result in a disqualification.

FINA rules require that a foot of the second, third or fourth swimmer must be contacting the
platform while (and before) the incoming teammate is touching the wall; the starting swimmer
may already be in motion, however, which saves 0.6-1 seconds compared to a regular start.
Furthermore, many swimmers may perform better in a relay than in an individual race owing to a
team spirit atmosphere. As a result, relay times are typically 2-3 second faster than the sum of
best times of individual swimmers.

History

Prior to 1952, the butterfly was not defined as a separate stroke from the breaststroke, and so
medley races featured only three styles: backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. The usual
distance of both the IM and the medley relay was thus 300 meters or yards rather than 400. In
the United States, during the year of 1953, some medley races included the butterfly stroke, and
the Amateur Athletic Union made it mandatory from 1954.

SW 9 MEDLEY SWIMMING

SW 9.1 In individual medley events, the swimmer covers the four swimming strokes in the
following order: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle. Each of the strokes must
cover one quarter (1/4) of the distance.

SW 9.2 In Freestyle the swimmer must be on the breast except when executing a turn. The
swimmer must return to the breast before any kick or stroke.

SW 9.3 In Medley relay events, swimmers will cover the four swimming strokes in the following
order: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle. Each of the strokes must cover one
quarter (1/4) of the distance.

SW 9.4 Each section must be finished in accordance with the rule which applies to the stroke
Concerned.

SW 10 THE RACE

SW 10.1 All individual races must be held as separate gender events.

SW 10.2 A swimmer swimming over the course alone shall cover the whole distance to qualify.
SW 10.3 The swimmer must remain and finish the race in the same lane in which he/she
started.

SW 10.4 In all events, a swimmer when turning shall make physical contact with the end of the
pool or course. The turn must be made from the wall, and it is not permitted to take a stride or
step from the bottom of the pool.

SW 10.10 There shall be four swimmers on each relay team. Mixed relays may be swum. Mixed
Relays must consist of two (2) Men and two (2) Women. Split times achieved in these events
cannot be used for records and/or entry purposes.

SW 10.11 In relay events, the team of a swimmer whose feet lose touch with the starting
platform before the preceding team-mate touches the wall shall be disqualified.

SW 10.12 Any relay team shall be disqualified from a race if a team member, other than the
swimmer designated to swim that length, enters the water when the race is being conducted,
before all swimmers of all teams have finished the race.

SW 10.13 The members of a relay team and their order of competing must be nominated before
the race. Any relay team member may compete in a race only once. The composition of a relay
team may be changed between the heats and finals of an event, provided that it is made up
from the list of swimmers properly entered by a member for that event. Failure to swim in the
order listed will result in disqualification, Substitutions may be made only in the case of a
documented medical emergency.

SW 10.14 Any swimmer having finished his race, or his distance in a relay event, must leave the
pool as soon as possible without obstructing any other swimmer who has not yet finished his
race, Otherwise, the swimmer committing the fault, or his relay team, shall be disqualified.

SW 10.15 Should a foul endanger the chance of success of a swimmer, the referee shall have
the power to allow him to compete in the next heat or should the foul occur in a final event or in
the last heat, he/she may order it to be re-swum,