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Physical Education Department

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Physical Education Department

Central Mindanao University
www.cmu.edu.ph
cmupedept@gmail.com

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 UNIT II
SWIMMING FUNDAMENTALS

TIME ALLOTMENT

This learning guide will be discussed for four (6) hours, equivalent to 3 sessions.

INTRODUCTION

History does not record when swimming first began. We do know that is a very old
skill in order to survive, economic necessity, and preservation of life, for comfort and hygiene
purposes. Swimming originates from the first humans who had to swim in order to find food
and avoid starvation. However, swimming as a sport didn't begin until the 1800s. Athletic
swimming is believed to have started in Britain. the National Swimming Society was formed
in 1837 and they held races in indoor swimming pools around Britain.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit the students should have:

1. demonstrated knowledge on the history, nature, and development of swimming,

2. identified the common misconceptions about learning to swim, and
3. recognized the factors common to body movements in water and on land.

TOPICS

HISTORY OF SWIMMING
Our ancestors settled down
next to the life-giving water, they
fished, hunted, and it is likely that they
also dared to enter the water.
- They showed their swimming
technique in the paintings on the cave
wall.
- It is likely that they overcame
water obstacles dogpaddling and

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doing propulsive arm movements similar to today’s freestyle

arm-stroke, or clung to logs and animal bladders.

- In some cave paintings from the stone-age we can discover swimming-like moves
but it is not easy to identify the style.
- Some authors say it is breaststroke, some others say it is dogpaddling. (See
picture 1).

On an ancient Egyptian clay tablet from

4000 – 9000 B.C. it is easier to identify the
swimming style. The arm-stroke clearly
shows the moving phase of the freestyle arm-
stroke: one arm is depicted in the recovery
phase above the water, while the other arm
carries out the pulling action under the water.
(See picture 2).
Egypt developed a high-standard body
culture, which was connected to water in many ways. Swimming and bathing in the Nile
was also one of their religious obligations. They also had baths, not only the pharaohs
but archeologists found pools for swimming at the dwellings of general people.
The ancient Egyptians knew a number of swimming styles. Freestyle,
backstroke and breaststroke are depicted in the representations found in royal tombs,
on vessels and vases.

Ancient Greeks swimming was a measure of culture. In Athens, Solon made the
acquisition of the science of swimming compulsory in 594 B.C., and Lykourgos, the
lawmaker of Sparta, prescribed the same in a strict Act on education in the 9th century.

Mesopotamia we can find swimming and the pictorial or written records hereof in almost
every nation’s culture from the Sumerian to the Assyrian. Their scientific achievements
include water pools and swimming pools. Excavations in Syria revealed four-
thousand-year-old baths, the water
temperature of which could be
regulated as desired.

Swimming was an integral part of

combat training of the Assyrians as
well as young people in Israel
received obligatory swimming
lessons. Herod the Great (73 B.C. –
Representation of swimming Assyrian warriors from 1200 B.C. 4 A.D.), K ing of Judea, made
swimming compulsory to all male children.

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 A spoon from Ancient Egypt showing a swimming figure

The rest of the Ancient People left us with less records of their bath culture,
The Germanic people used swimming as a tactical exercise,
The Finnish considered it as natural movement as running.
The Icelandic folklore also reports a number of swimming deeds, which shows that
both men and women were excellent swimmers.
In Japan, swimming had an important role in the training of the Samurai. It was one
of the noble skills. According to the historical records the first known swimming
competition was held in the isolated island country in 36 B:C., organized by Emperor
Su Gui.

In the remote India, the ancient records of swimming can also be found. One of the
first pools used for swimming is located here, in Mohenjo-daro, dating back to 2800
B.C. and measuring 30x60 meters. Within the military caste it was mandatory to
learn how to swim and fight in water.

In China, where body culture flourished under the reign of the third dynasty, the Zhou
dynasty (11th – 3rd c.) Historians account swimming across rivers and swimming was
part of the military training. In the 3rd century B.C., the Chinese Imperial fleet officer
training institutions have organized swimming lessons and swimming trainings.

Just as the Persian warriors did not know the mysteries of water. They were not
allowed to learn how to swim for religious reasons, because they were not allowed to
defile the holy water by entering it. The lack of swimming ability caused the demise of
many of them.

In the battle of Salamis, in 480 B.C., the Persians were heavily defeated by the
Greeks. The Persians ships were sunk by the Greeks, who due to their lack of swimming
ability could not escape to the nearby island of Salamis, and therefore most of them got
drowned in the sea.
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 The ancient swimming and bathing culture rose to its highest level in Rome. The
usefulness of swimming in entertainment and in public life, and its role in politics.
- Romans excelled in bath building, too. Augustus had a swimming pool built, big
enough to simulate sea battles in it.
- Swimming for the Romans did not only have health and “body exercising” function,
but it was considered as indispensable also in military training.
- From the 3rd century B.C., warriors had to swim in attire and weaponry in order to
improve their physical fitness

SWIMMING AND SPA LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES

After the fall of the Roman Empire (476 A.D.), water has lost its popularity. Any
contact with it was considered unclean and sinful. “Everyday bathing and swimming in
open water are extremely harmful to health”, This, of course, had some base as the
plague and leprosy imported by the Byzantine troops (Eastern Romans) around 542
reorganized Europe’s population.

Water may have been the source of diseases and illnesses, and it was better to stay
away from it. Certain authors have even written that it is “disgusting” when a man lying
on his abdomen, swimming with big and wide gestures, touches the water even with his
mouth. Swimming was like a sexual pleasure, seducing like a sinful woman: “as one of
the sources of bodily pleasures it is synonymous with evil, sin and temptation”.

The contempt of “bodily vanity”, the de-emphasis of body culture and of the hygiene
education characterized the man of the early Middles Ages. As ascetic lifestyle led to the
purgation of the soul and to the gain of salvation, physical exercise, and so is swimming,
was relegated. Due to the wide-spread of Christianity, swimming and bathing culture
fully declined. The Church prohibited physical exercise, swimming and even bathing, as
“pure body covers impure soul”.

Medieval representation of a bath from a 15th century manuscript by a famous Flemish painter.
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Medieval Christianity created a dual ideal of man.
- One is the self-mortifying ascetic, who scorned and afflicted his body and cared
only about his soul; and the other is the particular figure of the secular Saint, the armed
propagator and guardian of the faith, the knight.
In the era of knights, knightly education claimed a high level of physical
requirements to the zealot defenders of the period.
- Swimming was part of it as one of the seven knightly skills. As a knight’s suit of
armor became very heavy, knights’ swimming was transformed, and did not mean
free swimming any more but swimming on horseback.
- Knights had to learn the technique of horseback swimming in order to cross waters.
From the 12th – 13th centuries, despite the prohibitions bath life surged again all
around in Europe.
11th – 14th centuries in most of the towns, baths worked regularly. Civilian bath
houses did not particularly become popular due to swimming but rather to entertainment.
Baths became the centers of intimate social life, and often functioned as brothels.
From the second half of the 1500s, the bathing of men and women together has not
been banned, but because of the spread of infectious diseases and debauchery the
Church began to stop bath houses in Europe.
Due to the prejudices against swimming and bathing and to the closing of the bath
houses, the education of water skills fell short, and as a result the number of drowning's
increased with a huge proportion.
There was still a vivid bath life in Hungary, the restrictive
measure has reached Hungary as well, and the ban entered
into force at the time of the Habsburgs. Maria Theresa
banned swimming in her Provision for education, the Ratio
Educationis, and this was followed by another regulation in
1786, which prohibited bathing in Lake Balaton as well for
reasons of life safety. As people could not resist the
temptation of water, only a few respected the regulation, so
the open waters went on taking casualties. (See picture 3).
The first swimming manual written by Nicolaus
Wynmann, a university professor in Ingolstadt, published in
1538, also encouraged the practice of swimming and
emphasized the importance hereof.
In his work entitled “The art of swimming”, the author presents not only the
swimming styles and how to teach them but also describes how to jump in the
water, how to dive and how to save someone from drowning.

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 He propagates the primacy of teaching breaststroke. This
work by Wynmann was put on index by the synod of Trident. As
an effect of Wynnman’s work, books on swimming were
published one after the other. In 1587, Everard Digby wrote De
Arte Natandi, and in 1696 Melchisédech Thevenot published
“The Art of Swimming Represented in Images, and Instructions
for Useful Bathing”, a popular work of the author throughout
Europe.
Representation of jumping into water. From “The Art of Swimming
Represented in Images, and Instructions for Useful Bathing” by
Thevenot 1696.

In 1741, a book by the Dutch Jean Frédéric Bachstrom was published, which is
perhaps the very first reference book on saving from drowning. Bachstrom also struggled
for the integration of swimming lessons in the school curricula. His thoughts and ideas
anticipated the Renaissance already: “humans, like animals, can swim from birth, only
the sufficient courage has to be added to make movements similar to the movements
made by frogs”.
In 1786, a work propagating similar humanist thoughts was published in Paris: “Art
de nager”. Its author says that a man can swim originally, only civilization distorted him.
As we got alienated from Nature, we have forgotten this inherent ability that animals
(frogs, dogs) still use.

THE RENAISSANCE OF SWIMMING

The boom of the Renaissance body culture has overcome all the medieval
prejudices against swimming. People in the Renaissance discovered the beauty of the
human body and that of physical activity, returned to the ancient values of body culture.
- Swimming and bathing in open waters have become popular again. The scientific
thinking of the period had its effects on the experts of swimming, too. Swimming
figures appeared in the works of art. (Durer, Leonardo, Cranach, Gentile.) The
majority of the humanist thinkers have committed themselves to swimming.
- John Locke, whose work was also published in Hungary, reasons as follows: “It is
necessary, when a certain age is reached, to teach children how to swim”, “which
is useful to know, and often saves one’s life and the lives of others”.
18th and 19th centuries, open water swimming has become more and more popular.
In default of swimming pools, bathing cabins were installed on the riverside and seaside,
or mobile “ambulant cabins” were set up.
In the second half of the 18th century swimming pools started to be built. The first
facilities were wooden framed swimming pools on rivers. On the bottom, down to the
bottom of the river, nets closed them from the river or the lake. They were fixed by chains
and ropes, and they were moored due to the stream of the river.

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 Seaside bathing cabins drawn by horses Bathing women coming out from a seaside bathing cabin

Due to the influence of the Philanthropists, organized mass swimming lessons took
a favorable turn. The revolutionary new features of physical education in the 18th and
19th centuries became prevailing also in swimming lessons.
Basedow (1723-1790) and Guts-Muths (1779-1839) initiated swimming and water
saving lessons in schools. They fought for that swimming lessons also become instituted
by the State. This, however, did not happen at that time.

THE ORIGINS AND THE EVOLUTION OF COMPETETIVE SWIMMING

Great historical swims to promote swimming as a sport also took place at the end
of the century. As a greatest event in the history of swimming,
1875 Matthew Webb swam across the English Channel between Dover and Calais
in 21 hours and 45 minutes. The distance was 34 kilometres, but he supposedly swam
in zigzag, so he covered 64 kilometres by the end.
The first woman, Gertrude Ederle undertook the same distance in the English
Channel in 1926, and cut Matthew Webb’s time to 14 hours 32 minutes.
Captain Boyton was also considered to be a great long-course swimmer. In 1876,
he drew attention to himself when he swam from Linz to Budapest in a specific way, lying
on his back, with oars in his hands and a sail attached to his feet. He covered the
distance in 52 hours.
The first competitions were also held in rivers, lakes, or gulfs. Overseas countries
have gotten ahead of Europe, as the first tournaments were held in Japan in 1810 and
Australia in 1846.
The first official swimming competition in Europe was organized in the UK in 1869,
the year of the formation of the British Swimming Federation.
From the second half of the 19th century, in most European countries’ associations
were created one after the other to undertake the tasks of organizing competitions.
Associations sprouting up formed the National Swimming Federations, which
entailed the creation of an international swimming organization.
In 1908, the FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation. In English: International
Swimming Federation) was founded.

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 At the beginning of the formation of competitive swimming, at the end of the 19th
century; breaststroke was the only swimming style. At the first competitions, almost all
the swimmers competing swam in breaststroke style or in a similar way. But in order to
swim faster and faster, swimmers also experimented with other swimming styles. They
realized that forwarding the arms over the water speeds up the tempo. Side swimming
and overarm sidestroke were invented, and from this freestyle was born. At the first
modern Olympics, a champion was announced in this event. The first Olympic Games
in 1896 swimming has been included in the program of the Olympics.

BENEFITS AND ADVANTAGES

BENEFITS
1. Low impact - there is no ground impact when you swim, and so you protect your
joints from stress and strain
2. Can be continued for a lifetime for age categories of their swim competitions, you
will find a 100–104-year-old age group.
3. Builds cardio-respiratory fitness specifically your hearts strength.
4. Builds muscle mass- an eight-week swimming program, there is a 23.8% increase in
the triceps muscle.
5. Burn calories; and
Swimming slow - 450
Swimming fast - 550
Freestyle - 550
Breaststroke - 360
Backstroke - 450
Butterfly - 800

6. A family affair- swimming and other water activities are something the entire family
can share.

ADVANTAGES OF SWIMMING
1. The functioning of the heart and circulatory affected positively.
2. The increase in metabolism, stress and resistance of water during bathing have a
significant effect on the heart and circulatory system.
3. It increases the functional capacity of respiratory muscles. Swimming is directly
linked to adequate and regular supply of oxygen. Good breathing technique
strengthens the respiratory muscles.

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 4. Combat weaknesses and faults in posture. Due to the buoyancy maintain proper
posture and overall anchorage mechanism, ligaments and joints are not charged
at all.
5. Simultaneously exercise all muscles of the body heavily. It is one of the few forms
of exercise while participating in almost the same percentage of all the muscles
for work.
6. Exercising in water causes euphoria and makes placing and exploding hormones
responsible for the good will and euphoria of the organization.

VALUES OF SWIMMING ACTIVITY

1. Fitness – every study ever done by scientists say that swimming is the best
overall sport to achieve total fitness and health. Inculcating this value at an early
age makes it a value for all the life of the individual.
2. Self-Confidence – each child learns that they can learn, that they can achieve
and that they can struggle and overcome adversity daily in good swimming
practice.
3. Discipline – No good stroke technique exists without discipline. No good
practice session exists without structure and discipline to do what is required
when it is required, on a consistent basis. A daily result of good training sessions
by the athlete. Best of all, it’s self-discipline!
4. Teamwork – Swimming is impossible to do as an “individual sport,” its way, way
too hard! Teammates encourage, lead, follow, and both contribute and receive
daily in practice sessions with their friends.
5. Sportsmanship – One of the key lessons learned is that everyone has their
“moment in the sun” to shine… in practice and in meets. Good coaches teach the
lesson that we compete “with” people, not “against” people.
6. Work Ethic – No sport requires more physical effort than swimming. Lesser
“talents” can outwork (over the long haul) the more talented athlete. Over time,
athletes learn that their own efforts produces their own results.
7. Delayed Gratification – Very hard in today’s youth society! But critical!
Swimmers learn that the season (the year, the career) is long, and no one short
term result can be called success or failure. What you do in practice today will
show up in a week, a month, six months, a year, in a swim meet. Swimmers
learn to accept that “things take time” to develop.
8. Time Management – Swimmers get better grades “in season.” Why? Because
with a small amount of time, they are forced to use it well to study. When they are
not in practice, they have “plenty of time” and things don’t get done. A senior
swimmer trains 5 plus hours a day. With school, sleep, eating, studying, there is
not much left over. It’s forced learning to be effective and efficient.
9. Dedication – Swimmers learn as they grow older that one cannot be “all things
all the time” and that some sacrifices have to made to achieve in other areas.
This is also called “focus” and “concentration.” Invaluable life skills.

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 10. Skill Improvement – because of the medium of water that we operate in,
successful swimmers pay extreme attention to technique and skills, and more
and more so as they improve and swim faster. It’s all in the details. Another
major life lesson.
11. Friendship and Respect – You may not “love” your teammates all the time,
but you know how hard they work and you learn to respect that work. You also
form friendships based on the solid values on this list. The best kind of friends…
ones you share values with, not dope, secrets and aggressions.
12. Goal Setting – Swimmers learn at a early age to measure success objectively
and how to set new goals to motivate themselves as they climb the ladder of
swimming success.
13. Gender Equity – Any boy swimming with any girl in practice will tell you that
females can practice better (practice tougher) than males. Any female competing
with any male, will tell you that males can get up and race when they need to.
14. Appreciation of your support team – Mom and Dad keep you swimming.
Coach teaches and inspires you. Swimmers learn they stand on other people’s
shoulders to achieve. Great life lessons.
15. Courage – Each swimmer gets to be a “hero” in their lane, in their world every
day. Every day they get a chance to test their courage (and succeed and fail in
that regard) in practice. Courage is a “developed trait.” Swimming develops it
well.
16. Compassion – Each swimmer succeeds. Each swimmer “fails” from time to
time. Swimmers know how it feels. They can learn to support those who are
struggling, applaud those who are succeeding, and be inspired by the work of
others.

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT LEARNING TO SWIM

1. Swimming on top of the water
correction: Maintain a horizontal body position near the surface when swimming.
2. Keep the body perfectly flat with no body roll during the front and back crawl
strokes.
correction: Avoid excessive body roll, but use some.
3. Maintain a closed-hand position with the fingers held together.
correction: Relax the arms and allow the hands to assume a natural position. The
fingers may separate slightly.
4. Press the arm surfaces directly backward in a straight line toward the feet.
correction: Use a sculling action of the palms to drive in order to reposition the
palms to capture new still water.
5. Thrust the soles of the feet directly back and together for the whip or inverted
whip kicks, and the scissor or inverted scissor kicks.
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 correction: For the whip and scissor-type kicks, extend the legs to press the soles
of the feet in a blading action-out, back, and in.
6. Use only a six or eight-beat flutter kick for the front and back crawl strokes.
correction: At advanced skill levels, deliver the flutter kick at a leg tempo which
contributes most effectively to the stroke.

SWIMMING GENERAL RULES

1. The start in Freestyle, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Individual races shall be with a
dive.
2. The star in Backstroke and Medley Relay Races shall be from the water.
3. All swimmers must remain and finish the race in the same lane in which he/she
have started.
4. All events, a swimmer when turning shall make physical contact with the end of
the pool or course. The turn must be made from wall, and it is not permitted to take
a stride or step from the bottom of the pool.
5. Standing on the bottom during Freestyle events or during the Freestyle portion of
medley events shall not disqualify a swimmer, but he shall not walk.
6. Pulling on the lane ropes is not allowed.
7. Medley events, covers in the following order: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly,
and Freestyle.
8. 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.

SWIMMING STROKES RULES

4 STROKES - FINA Rules apply in terms of the nature of the strokes.
Rules of the strokes and start/turn/finish of the strokes of FINA
FINA Rules apply to below explanations of the strokes:

FREESTYLE:
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.
Some part of the swimmer must touch the wall upon completion of each length and at
the finish.
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 15metres after the start and each turn.

BACKSTROKE:
At the signal for starting and after turning the swimmer shall push off and swim upon
his/her back throughout the race except when executing a turn. The normal position on
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the back can include a roll movement of the body up to, but not including 90 degrees
from horizontal.
Some part of the swimmer must break the surface of the water throughout the race. It is
permissible for the swimmer to be completely submerged during the turn, at the finish,
and for a distance of not more than 15 meters after the start and each turn. However,
with recent developments and trends, swimmers and coaches have developed a “Fish
Action” (Fly kick on a swimmer’s side!) same distance applies and passes through 90°!
(This would be deemed as swimming on their front and thus not backstroke)
Upon the finish of the race, the swimmer must touch the wall while on the back.

BREASTSTROKE:
From the beginning of the first arm stroke after the start and after each turn, the body
shall be kept on the breast. It is not permitted to roll onto the back at any time.
All movements of the arms shall be simultaneous and in the same horizontal plane
without alternating movement.
After the start and after each turn, the swimmer may take one arm stroke completely
back to the legs. The head must break the surface of the water before the hands turn
inward at the widest part of the second stroke. A single downward dolphin kick followed
by a breaststroke kick is permitted while wholly submerged.
The feet must be turned outwards during the propulsive part of the kick. A scissors, flutter
or downward kick is not permitted except breaking the surface of the water with the feet
is allowed unless followed by a downward dolphin kick.
At each turn and at the finish of the race, the touch shall be made with both hands
simultaneously at, above, or below the water level.

BUTTERFLY:
From the beginning of the first arm stroke after the start and each turn, the body shall be
kept on the breast.
Underwater kicking on the side is allowed. It is not permitted to roll onto the back at any
time.
Both arms shall be brought forward together over the water and brought backward
simultaneously throughout the race.
All up and down movements of the legs must be simultaneous. The legs or the feet need
to be on the same level, but they shall not alternate in relation to each other. Breaststroke
kicking is not permitted.
At the start and turns, a swimmer is permitted one or more leg kicks and one arm pull
under the water, which must bring him/her to the surface. It shall be permissible for a
swimmer to be completely submerged for a distance of not more than 15 meters after
the start and each turn.

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MEDLEY SWIMMING:
In Individual Medley events, the swimmer covers the four swimming styles in the
following order: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle.
In Medley Relay events, swimmers will cover the four swimming styles in the following
order: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle.

STARTS
ALL FRONT/ PRONE STROKES
Swimmers are to start from the side of the pool (starting block, side of the pool or in the
water).
The same apples to relay events e.g. Freestyle.
BACKSTROKE STARTS
- Swimmers have to start in the water.
- Toes under the surface.
- 15 meters maximum under water before surfacing.
- One false start rule.
RELAY STARTS
- Starts apply according to entering the water as stated before.
- Freestyle relays (forward dive)
- Medley Relays will start in the water with the backstroke leg first and backstroke
start rules applying!
TAKEOVERS
- Relay swimmers must not dive (feet leave starting block) before the incoming
swimmer (on their team) in the water has touched the end of the pool in their lane.
FINISHES
- Butterfly and Breaststroke finishes must be with both hands touching at the same
time and level.
- Backstroke finishes must be on the back and can be with one hand
- Freestyle finishes (depending on the chosen stroke) tend to be one handed and on
the swimmer front
THE RACE:
1. A swimmer swimming over the course alone shall cover the whole distance to
qualify.
2. A swimmer must finish the race in the same lane in which he/she started.
3. 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 (If the host pool has a shallow
end)
4. Pulling on the lane rope is not allowed.

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 5. Obstructing another swimmer by swimming across another lane or otherwise
interfering shall disqualify the offender.
6. There shall be four swimmers on each relay team.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Any swimmer having finished his/her race, or his/her distance in a relay event,
must leave the pool as soon as possible without obstructing and other swimmer
who has not yet finished his/her race.
11. All turns require contact as this indicates successful completion of each lap.
12. Failure to execute turns properly will result in a DQ (disqualification)Turn judges
have to properly notify the start judge of the violation then to warrant if it is a
‘DQ’able violation of the rules.
13. Swimmer and coach need to be notified immediately after the race so that
swimmers and coaches are not left in the dark with unexplained DQ.’s

COMPETITION POOLS
Standard pools are either 50m or 25m in length.
Depth
- For pools with starting blocks, the minimum depth is 1.35m, extending to at least
6.0m. A minimum depth of 1.0 metre is required for pools without starting blocks.
Walls
- The end walls are at right angles to the swimming course and surface of the water.
They are made of a solid material, with a non–slip surface extending 0.8m below
the water surface, to allow competitors to touch and push off in turning without
hazard.
- Rest ledges along the pool walls are permitted. They are located at least 1.2m below
the water surface, and are up to 0.15m wide. Both internal and external ledges are
acceptable, however internal ledges are preferred.
- Gutters are placed on all four walls of the pool. If end wall gutters are installed, they
must allow for attachment of touch panels to the required 0.3 metre above the
water surface. They are covered with a suitable grill or screen.
Water temperature
- The water temperature is between 250 and 28° celsius. During competition the
water is kept at a constant level, with very little movement. Inflow and outflow is
allowed as long as no appreciable current or turbulence is created.

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Lanes
- According to FINA rules World Championships require 8 lanes and Olympic Games
require 10 lanes. The lanes are a minimum of 2.5m wide, with two spaces of at
least 2.5m wide outside of the first and last lanes.

Lane ropes
- In an 8 lane pool, lane ropes extend the full length of the course and are secured at
each end wall to anchor brackets recessed into the end walls. The anchors are
positioned so that the floats at each end wall of the pool are on the surface of the
water. Each lane rope will consists of floats placed end to end. The floats have a
minimum diameter of 0.10m‑-0.15 metre.
In a swimming pool the color of the lane ropes is as follows:
Two green ropes for lanes 1 and 8.
Four blue ropes for lanes 2, 3, 6 and 7.
Three yellow ropes for lanes 4 and 5.
The floats that extend for a distance of 5m from each end of the pool are red. At the 15m
mark from each end wall of the pool the floats are distinct. In 50 metre pools the floats
are distinct at 25m.
There is only one firmly stretched lane rope between each lane.

Starting platforms
- Starting platforms are from 0.5m‑-0.75m high above the water surface. The surface
area is at least 1.5m square and covered with a non‑-slip material. The maximum
slope is 10 degrees. The platforms are firm and are without a springing effect.

Lane markings
- The lane markings on the floor of the pool are a dark colour and marked in the centre
of each lane.
- The width of the marking is 0.2m‑-0.3m for all pools. The length for 50m pools is
46m and 21m for 25m pools.
- Each lane line ends 2m from the end wall of the pool with a distinctive cross line 1m
long and of the same width as the lane line. Target lines are marked on the end
walls or on the touch panels in the centre of each lane and are the same width as
the lane lines.

Leisure pools
- A number of pool facilities include leisure water features that are designed for
recreational swimmers, lap swimming and specific areas for toddlers and children.
These may include:
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*Varying water depths, with extensive shallow or beach areas.
*Wave pools and surfing pools.
*Water slides and flumes.
*Fast flowing river rides & rapids.
*Water jets and water cannons.
*Water features eg rain showers.
*Spa facilities, including varying temperatures.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES /ASSESSMENT

Please check with your Professor/Instructor for the online quiz link.

REFERENCES

https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/nais-pudong/news/2022/01/01/swimming-rules-
and-regulations
Fundamentals and Aquatic Skills Of School Swimming from National Curriculum
Training Program
http://oszkdk.oszk.hu/beszolgaltatas/index.php History, Technique, and Teaching
written by Dr. Melinda Bíró, Dr. László Révész, Péter Hidvégi
https://www.fina.org/swimming/rules
https://www.sportengland.org/media/4172/swimming-pools-2013-appendix-1.pdf

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