Universidad de Dagupan

School of Teacher Education

Arellano St., Dagupan City
Physical Education 3: First Aid and Water Safety
1st Semester, S.Y. 2022-2023

FINAL PERIOD
Week 5 Module

SWIMMING

Swimming is the act of driving our body through water and resisting drowning by moving our
hands and feet. Swimming can be both an individual and team activity that helps in testing one’s
endurance, agility, breath control, and flexibility.

Swimming pools should be at least two meters deep. They can be fifty or twenty-five meters
long. The fifty-meter-long ones are used for long course races and the twenty-five-meter-long
ones are used for short course races. World records cannot be compared across pools of
different lengths because it may be an advantage or disadvantage to swimmers to have more or
less turns in a race. Pools are divided into lanes. Lanes are labeled from zero and each lane
should be at least 2.5 meters wide. World championship pools have ten lanes. Pools hosting
other events can have eight lanes.

Swimming Equipment:

Swim-wear. Men's swimwear includes briefs and jammers. FINA has formulated some rules to
prevent swimmers from taking advantage by wearing aerodynamic swimsuits. They can wear
only one piece of swim suit from the waist to just above their knees.

Women usually wear one-piece suits of various designs at the back. Some of the popular
designs are racer back, axle back, corset, diamondback, and butterfly-back/Fly-Back. The suits
can be of various lengths; however, they are not allowed to wear suits that go past their knees
or shoulders.

Swim Cap. Swaying hair induces drag and slows down the swimmer. Long hair might also
obstruct vision. A swim cap is used to lock hair and reduce drag. It is made of stretchable
materials like latex, silicone, spandex or lycra.

Goggles. Swimmers use goggles to prevent water and chlorine from getting into their eyes.
While swimming at open pools, swimmers might choose tinted goggles to neutralize glare.
Some goggles are also made of vision correcting lenses.

Four major styles have been established in competitive swimming:

❖ Butterfly
 ❖ Backstroke
❖ Breaststroke
❖ Freestyle

Butterfly. In this style, swimmers dive into the pool stretching their arms and shoulders width
apart. They enter the pool either flat or slightly downwards. They rotate their arms in a semi
circle to raise the body. The body propels as they push water toward their feet by moving their
hands simultaneously. They push water backwards by synchronously moving their feet up and
down. They can use dolphin or butterfly kicks. This style originated from the breast stroke and is
considered to be the most difficult style.

Rules:

❖ Swimmers should keep their body on the breast at the start of the race and at each
turn.They are not allowed to roll onto their back at any point during the race.
❖ They should synchronously move their arms.
❖ They should move their legs simultaneously, though need not be at the same level, but
they are not permitted to move them alternatively.
❖ They are not permitted to use breast stroking leg kicks.
❖ At each turn and when the race finishes, they should touch the board with both their
hands and at the same time.
❖ They can use one or more leg kicks and one arm pull, but cannot remain in water for
more than 15 meters, at the start of the race and at the turns. They should remain on the
water surface unless they have to turn again or they are about to finish the race

Backstroke.In this style, swimmers swim on their backs. They can breathe easily as their head
will be above water throughout the stroke. However, swimmers cannot see where they are
heading. In swimming pools with artificial lanes, most swimmers know how many strokes they
take to reach the end.

Swimmers are allowed to turn their heads to see where they are heading, but it slows them
down. This stroke looks like an inverted front crawl. Swimmers move their arms in semi circular
motion, one after the other, to push water towards their legs. While they catch water with one
arm the other arm recovers.

They kick water with pointed toes and try to reduce drag by keeping their legs as straight as
possible. Their semi circular arm movement provides them the required push. The axis is longer
and is along the swimmer's body from head to toe.

At the start of the race, swimmers place their legs shoulder width apart, facing the wall and
clinging to the start block. They usually bend their knees at right angle and get ready for the
race. Once they hear the start signal they push themselves away from the start block with their
feet. They swing their hands and dive into the water on their back.
Rules:
❖ At the beginning of the race, swimmers are not allowed to stand in or on the gutter. They
also cannot bend their toes over the lip of the gutter.
❖ Swimmers can push off at the start of the race and after turning.
 ❖ At turns, swimmers can turn their shoulders over the vertical to the breast. After that they
can use a continuous single arm pull or a continuous double arm pull to take a turn.
They should get back on their backs after leaving the wall.
❖ Swimmers can slightly roll their bodies over their backs but their body should only make
an angle less than 90 degrees with the horizontal.
❖ Swimmers should take care to swim with some part of their body over water surface
throughout the race. However, they can stay completely in water at the turns and at the
finish of the race for a distance not more than 15 meters.
❖ While turning, swimmers should touch the wall with some part of their body.

Breaststroke. This style is considered to be the oldest. In this style, swimmers stretch their arms
forward and tilt their hands slightly downwards. While pulling their hands towards the waist, they
bring their feet closer to the hips and fold their legs and kick water with their feet. This propels
their body forward and gives them speed. The leg movement is similar to that of a frog, so it is
also known as frog kick or whip kick.

In this stroke, the greater angle the swimmers’ body makes with the water surface while trying to
push the water backwards, induces drag and slows down the swimmer. Swimmers master this
stroke by learning to reduce drag at the start of the race by keeping their body, from head to
hips, as straight as possible.

To gain speed while pushing water backwards during a frog kick, swimmers should try to keep
their heels immersed in water, but as close to the water surface as possible. They need to learn
to manage their breath, by pulling in their stomach and bringing their face above the water
surface, while moving their hands towards their hips.

Rules:

❖ They should start the race by swimming on their breasts.

❖ They should separate their hands and take an arm stroke at the start of the race.
❖ They should take a leg kick after an arm stroke. An arm stroke and a leg kick together
make a stroke cycle.
❖ At any point during the race, they cannot turn on their back.
❖ They should move their hands simultaneously.
❖ They should keep their hands at the same horizontal level.
❖ While pushing water from the breast, their hands can stay on, under or over the water
surface.
❖ Their elbows should always remain in water. However, it can stay above the water
surface at the final stroke before a turn, during the turn or at the end of the race. They
can bring back their hands on or under the surface of water.
❖ They cannot bring back their hands beyond the hip line, except during the first stroke
and each turn.
❖ They should turn their feet outwards during the propulsive part of the kick.
❖ They can break the surface of water with their feet, but they cannot take a downward
butterfly kick immediately after that.
❖ At each turn and at the completion of the race, swimmers should touch the wall with both
their hands simultaneously above or below the water level.
 ❖ They can submerge their head after the last arm pull just before the touch, but they
should break the water surface at some point during the last complete or incomplete
cycle preceding the touch.

Freestyle.In freestyle races, very few restrictions are placed on the swimmer. The swimmer can
choose to swim in any style. However, front crawl and freestyle have become synonymous as
almost all swimmers across the world use front crawl in freestyle competitions. In this style,
swimmers move their arms alternatively forward, pulling water backwards.

They flutter-kick their feet simultaneously. They move one of their arms in a semi circular motion
in a vertical plane while they catch water with the other arm and push it backwards. They might
also choose to whip and kick their feet. This variant is called the Trudgen.

Rules:

❖ Front Crawl is the fastest of the four major styles. Since this style is not regulated,
various variants of front crawl like Australian crawl, American crawl can be used in
races.
❖ In freestyle events swimmers can swim in any style. But, in individual medley and
medley relay events, swimmers can swim in any style other than backstroke,
breaststroke or butterfly.
❖ After swimming through a lane length and at the finish of the race, swimmers should
touch the wall with any part of their body.
❖ Swimmers should swim with some part of their body above the water surface,
throughout the race. They can remain submerged in water while taking a turn and for a
distance not more than 15 meters after the start and each turn.

Technical Rules

Trained officials observe the swimmers during each event to ensure compliance with these
technical rules. If a swimmer commits an infraction of the rules, he/she will be disqualified from
that event. This simply means he/she will not receive an official time, nor be eligible for an
award in that event. Disqualifications may result from actions such as not getting to the starting
blocks on time, false starting, walking on or pushing off the bottom of the pool, pulling on the
landline, or unsportsmanlike conduct.

Technical rule violations for each stroke may include:

Freestyle:

❖ Walking on the bottom

❖ Pulling on the lane rope
❖ Not touching the wall on a turn
❖ Not completing the distance

Backstroke:
❖ Turning past the vertical onto the stomach and gliding or kicking into the wall on the turn
(the roll must be part of a continuous turning action)
 ❖ Pushing off the wall on the stomach after a turn
❖ Not remaining on back while swimming
❖ Turning onto stomach before the finish

Butterfly:
❖ Alternating movements of the arms or legs
❖ Pushing the arms forward under instead of over the surface of the water
❖ Using a breaststroke style kick
❖ Touching with only one hand at the turns or at the finish

Breaststroke:
❖ Using either a flutter, dolphin, or scissor kick instead of the breaststroke kick
❖ Shoulders not level
❖ Alternating movements of the arms
❖ Head not coming out of the water for each stroke including one pull and kick
❖ Touching with one hand at the turns or at the finish

3.