SWIMMING
John's College, Cambridge and
- in recreation and sports, the propulsion of the body
through water by combined arm and leg motions and the
natural flotation of the body. As an exercise, an all around
body developer and is particularly useful in therapy and as
exercise for physically handicapped person
I. 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.
A. Ancient times
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 dog paddle, although it is also possible
that the movements have a ritual meaning unrelated to
swimming. An Egyptian clay seal dated between 9000
BCE and 4000 BCE shows four people who are believed to
be swimming a variant of the front crawl.
More references to swimming are found in
the Babylonian bas-reliefs 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 BCE. The Nagoda bas-
relief also shows swimmers inside of men dating back
from 3000 BCE The Indian palace Mohenjo
Daro from 2800 BCE contains a swimming pool sized 30 m
by 60 m. The Minoan palace of Knossos in Crete also
featured baths. An Egyptian tomb from 2000 BCE 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
atTeotihuacan, 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 Bourboncodices. A series of
reliefs from 850 BC in the Nimrud Gallery of the British
Museum show swimmers, mostly in military context, often
using swimming aids. The Germanic folklore describes
swimming, which was used successfully in wars against
the Romans.
B. Early modern era
Leonardo da Vinci made early sketches of lifebelts. In
1539, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of
languages, wrote the first swimming book Colymbetes. 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.
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 of Japan declared that schoolchildren should swim.
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.[6] In
1739, Guts Muts (also spelled as Guts Muth)
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, Guts Muts 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.
C. Swimming as a competitive sport
Swimming emerged as a competitive sport in the 1830s 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 traditionalbreaststroke, 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 just 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
revolutionised 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 ungentlemanlike splashing.
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. His feat was not
replicated or surpassed for the next 36 years, until T.W.
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.[10]
Nancy Edberg popularised 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.
D. Olympic era
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 100m freestyle. Hajós
was also victorious in the 1200m 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
200m, 1000m, and 4000m freestyle, 200m backstroke,
and a 200m team race (see also Swimming at the 1900
Summer Olympics). There were two additional unusual
swimming events (although common at the time): an
obstacle swimming course in the Seine river (swimming
with the current), and an underwater swimming race. The
4000m 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[12]
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.
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 100m backstroke. At these games Duke
Kahanamoku from Hawaii won the 100m 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
100m, 400m, and 1500m Freestyle, 100m backstroke,
200m and 400m breaststroke, and four by 200m freestyle
relay. The women’s competitions were 100m freestyle and
four by 100m freestyle relay.
The Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft
(DLRG) (German lifesaving organization) was established
on October 19, 1913 in Leipzigafter 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 100m 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.
E. Swimming innovation
The scientific study of swimming began in 1928 with David
Armbruster, a coach at the University of Iowa, 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 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 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 aBerkoff 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 6. Kickboards- to develop the lower extremities of the
turn faster if they rolled almost 90 degrees sideways, body in performing the different strokes.
touched the wall, and made a forward tumble turn,
pushing off the wall on their backs. The FINA has changed 7. Swimming pool- area of the swimmers to perform the
the rules to allow the swimmers to turn over completely basic swimming skills.
before touching the wall to simplify this turn and to
improve the speed of the races. 8. Swimming Noodles – can be used as a pool toy,
floatation device or tool for aerobic exercise.
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.
In 1998, Benoît Lecomte swam across the Atlantic
Ocean, a total of 5,600 kilometres in 72 days, swimming 6
to 8 hours daily. He was accompanied by three sailors on a
boat. The Rocky Mountain News disputed what he did
could be described as having swum across the Atlantic.
Sophisticated body skins were banned from FINA
competitions from the start of 2010 after many national
swimming federations demanded the action, and leading
athletes such as Michael Phelps and Rebecca
Adlington criticized the suits.

Definition and terminologies in swimming.

II. Swimming attire, facilities, accessories and equipment.
1. Swimming caps- used to protect the head.
Silicone Swim Cap
Latex Swim Cap
Lycra Swim Cap
2. Swimming goggles- for eye protection.
3. Nose clips/nose plugs
Nose clips- are those little pieces of bent wire
padded with rubber that you can stick on your nose. They
squeeze the nose so that the nostrils are kept shut and
water is kept out.
Nose plugs- Swimming nose plugs (nose clips) are
small devices designed to be worn on the nose and that
keep the water out.
4. Pull bouy- pull buoys help you to learn how to swim
and under which circumstances they can hinder your
progress.
5. Swimming fins- Swimming with fins can help you to
learn a new swim stroke or to improve your swimming
technique.
1. Accredited Meet is a competition where there is a full
complement of officials and all the rules of swimming will
be applied.
2. Automatic (Electronic) Timing (AOE) electrical
equipment designed to measure the elapsed time
between the start and finish of a race in each lane.
3. ASA (Amateur Swimming Association): the governing
body of swimming in England.
4. ASFGB (Amateur Swimming Federation of Great
Britain): the governing body of swimming across the whole
of Great Britain.
5. Backstroke flags a line of flags (not bunting!) suspended
above the pool 5 metres from each pool end. Used
to help backstroke swimmers judge when to turn.
6. Competitive skills - starts, turns, streamlining, start and
finish speeds - all components of racing.
7. Consideration Time is a time for an event set by the
meet organiser that swimmers must be faster than in
order to enter.
8. Converted Time a time calculated using tables to
compensate for a change of pool length. A time swum in a
25m pool can be converted into an equivalent
time for a 50m pool and vice versa.
9. Disqualification (DQ) indicates the swimmer has broken
a swimming rule.
10. Entry form/disk the page(s) or computer disk upon
which the team's entries for a particular meet are
submitted to the meet host or designated
committee.
11. Even Pace is a swim that is swum at the same pace for
each section - e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th 50's of a 200m
swim swum with equal times.
12. Event a race or series of races in a given stroke and
distance.
13. FINA (Federation Internationale Natation Amateur):
the world's governing body of swimming.
14. Final any single race that determines final places and
times in an event.
15. Graded Meet - At a Graded Meet a time cap is applied
and only those swimmers below the cap are allowed to
compete. Some graded meets may have both high end
and low end caps.
16. Heat the division of an event in which there are too
many swimmers to compete at one time.
17. Heat Declared Winner means that there will be no
final and the winner of the event is determined by
times alone when all the heats have been swum.
18. I.M. (Individual Medley) is an event where all four
competitive strokes are swum in one event by one
swimmer. Order: butterfly - backstroke - breaststroke -
frontcrawl.
19. Kickboard - a flat rectangular (usually) piece of foam
used when kicking in training.
20. Lane numbers: lanes are numbered from right to left
as the swimmer stands facing the course.
21. Leg: the part of a relay that is swum by a single team
member.
22. LEN (League European Natation) is the governing body
of swimming in Europe.
23. Licensed Meet is a competition that has been
approved by the SASA. Only times from licensed and
accredited meets can be used to enter most
North District competitions.
24. Long Course means in a 50 metre pool.
25. Marshalling Area - the area where the swimmers
meet ahead of their race
26. Medley relay is an event where all four competitive
strokes are swum in one event with four swimmers
swimming in turns. Each swimmer swims one
stroke. Order backstroke – breaststroke - butterfly –
frontcrawl. (Compare to IM)
27. NEASCA is the North East Amateur Swimming Clubs
Association comprising 6 clubs – Broch Seals,
Deveron, Garioch, Huntly, Peterhead and Ythan.
28. Negative split: a pacing tactic where the swimmer
performs the second half of a race faster than the first
half.
29. North District is the part of SASA that we belong to
covering the North of Scotland and the islands.
30. Officials are volunteers who help to ensure that the
rules of swimming are adhered to in swimming events
and time trials. Officials will usually wear white.
31. SASA National Championships: senior and age group
competitions for all swimmers who make the
qualifying standard to determine the best swimmers in
Scotland.
32. Session: any portion of a meet distinctly separated
from other portions by time or type, i.e., heats and finals,
senior and age group.
33. Short Course is in 25 metre pool.
34. Speeding Ticket is what a swimmer receives for
swimming too fast at a graded meet.
35. Split time the time(s) recorded within individual
sections of a race.
36. Starter the official who starts the race.
37. Starting block / Plinth: a raised platform from which
competitors dive at the start of freestyle, butterfly,
breaststroke and individual medley races.
38. Stroke judge the official who inspects competitors to
determine that the stroke being used is legal.
39. Streamlining the method of aligning the body so as to
reduce resistance in the water.
40. Swim off an additional race used to determine the
finalists in the event of a tie in the heats.
41. Timekeeper is an official who operates a stopwatch to
record a swimmer’s time.
42. Touchpad - a board at the end of the pool that acts as
a stopwatch. When the swimmer finishes and hits the
touchpad, it records the time.
43. Turn Judge is the official who ensures that all turns are
completed correctly in a race.
44. Timed finals / Heat Declared Winner: competition in
which only heats are swum with final.
45. Arm Cycle – the movement involved in completing the
full arm action of a stroke.
46. Backstroke – a stroke where swimmers are on their
back performing flutter kick and rotating the arms
alternately backwards.
47. Bilateral breathing – breathing on alternate sides,
usually either every third, fifth or seven stroke.
48. Block – a period of work completed without rest as
part of an interval session.
49. Breaststroke – a stroke where swimmers are on their
front with their hands moving forwards then
outwards while the legs kick in a frog-like motion.
50. Broken swim – training method where you try to beat
your best time for a distance by breaking it into
smaller sections with short periods of rest.
51. Build – an increase in speed during a section of a pool
workout.
52. Catch – the point in stroke where the hand begins to
propel the body forwards.
53. Catch-up – front crawl drill where the swimmer
completes one full arm cycle before starting the arm
cycle on the opposite side.
54. Descend – to swim parts of a set progressively faster.
Similar to build swims, but where your focus on time
rather than on effort.
55. Drag – the natural resistance created by an object as it
travels through the water. Drag cannot be
eliminated entirely but can be reduced with an
efficient stroke.
56. Drill – an exercise, such as catch-up, involving a
specific part of a stroke and aimed at improving
technique.
57. Fins – training aid attached to the feet to assist
movement through the water.
58. Flutter kick – a kick, performed in front crawl and
backstroke, where the legs are straight and
movement comes from the hips rather than from
the knees.
59. Interval training – repetitions of high-intensity activity
separated by brief rest periods. Used as a way of
increasing the amount of increasing the amount of high-
intensity work that you are able to perform in a session
than if you did s continuous swim.
60. Kick – the leg movement a swimmer makes during
stroke.
61. Kick board – a training aid that you use with your arms
extended in front of you. Used during drills that involve
the legs only.
62. Length – the distance from one end of the pool to the
other.
63. Main set – the central, often longest and most
challenging, part of a swimming session. Should be
constructed around a particular technique or fitness aim.
64. Negative split – swim where the second half of a
distance is completed in a faster time than the first.
65. Paddles – discs (usually made from plastic) worn on
the hands and used in drills to increase the surface
area, and therefore resistance, being pulled through the
water.
67. Pull buoy – a floatation tool used in drills, which fits
between a swimmer’s legs to hold the feet up
during drills that focus on the arm cycle.
68. Streamline – body position that allows a swimmer to
travel efficiently through the water. Used at the
beginning of a length after pushing off from the wall.
69. Subset – warm-up set before the main set of a
training session. Used to practice drills and to prepare
a swimmer for the physical demands of the main set.
70. Tumble turn – an underwater somersault that allows
the swimmer to finish one length and begin another by
pushing off from the wall with their feet without stopping.
71. Open competition: a competition in which any
affiliated club, organisation or individual may enter.
72. One Start Rule is a rule applied almost everywhere
now and it means that a swimmer is automatically
disqualified if they fall or dive into the water
before the starting signal
73. Over the top Starts this means that the swimmer
should stay in the water after finishing their race, holding
on to the lane rope, until after the next race has started.
74. Pace Clock - normally a constantly running single arm
(displaying time progression in seconds) clock with
different coloured ends - each pointing to 30
seconds apart & used to assist swimmers and coach to
send swimmers off for each repeat swim in a
swim set - e.g. 5 or 10 seconds apart & used by swimmers
for pacing or noting their swim times for
particular swim sets.
75. Pacing an important procedure for distributing energy
resources in a particular race to achieve the best overall
performance.
76. Paddles - flat pieces of plastic worn on the hands,
usually during pull sets.
77. Personal Best (PB) This is the fastest time that a
swimmer has recorded for a particular event.
78. Placing (order of finish): determined by either the
automatic timing system when available or by the meet
officials when manual timing is used.
79. Programme (Start sheet) is a complete listing of all
swimmers entered in the events at a competition.
80. Pullbouy - a piece of foam that goes between your
legs and helps you float while swimming
without kicking during training.
81. Qualifying / Consideration time (QT) the time a
swimmer must perform to enter a particular meet or gain
selection to a certain squad.
82. Recorder the official who records the results at a
meet.
83. Referee the highest ranking official in overall charge of
an accredited meet.
84. SAS (South Aberdeenshire Swimming) is a composite
team made up of the 5 competitive clubs in South
Aberdeenshire – Banchory Beavers, Garioch, Stonehaven,
Upper Deeside, Westhill & District.
85. SASA (Scottish Amateur Swimming Association) the
governing body of swimming in Scotland.
KINDS OF BODY FLOATS IN THE WATER
1. DEAD MANS FLOAT
2. TURTLE FLOAT
3. SHRIMP FLOAT
4. PRONE FLOAT/GETTING HORIZONTAL
5. GLIDING IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION
6. JELLYFISH FLOAT
7. TOWING
Pool Rules and Safety Procedures
The pool rules are posted for all patrons to see. One of
your duties as a department employee is to enforce those
rules. The pool rules are as follows:
Pool Policies
1. No one may enter the Aquatic Facility unless supervised
by a Department of Recreation Lifeguard.
2. Showers are required before entering the pool area. If a
patron is using the sauna they must shower before
entering the pool or spa.
3. Appropriate swimsuits are required for all swimmers.
Street clothes, street shoes, thongs and see-through
swimwear and diapers are prohibited.
4. Participants are not permitted in the pool area with
open sores, ear, eye, or nose infections or with bandages
or adhesive tape. Lifeguards reserve the right to inspect
and refuse admittance for health concerns.
5. Individuals who have had diarrhea in the last two weeks
are asked not to use the pool.
6. Dispose of gum, food or drink before entering the
Aquatics facility.
7. No running, diving, dunking, pushing, pulling or
horseplay. Also, playing on or around ladders, railings and
drains is prohibited.
8. The use of starting blocks is prohibited, except for
competitive programs.
9. Sitting or swimming over and through the lane lines is
not permitted.
10. The use of radios, tape or CD players is restricted to
devices with headphones only.
11. Personal items are to be stored safely in the locker
rooms. Personal items and strollers will not be permitted
on the pool deck.
12. Lifeguards have the responsibility to enforce rules and
regulations and have the authority to remove anyone for
unsafe or inappropriate behavior.
Basic strokes in swimming
1. Freestyle
The freestyle stroke, also known as front crawl, is
the fastest and most efficient of the
competitive swimming strokes. That's why it is always
used in the freestyle event of swimming competitions and
is also often the preferred stroke of experienced
swimmers and triathletes.
To swim freestyle, you assume a prone position in
the water. Your arms execute alternating movements.
One arm moves backwards in the water from an overhead
position towards the hip and provides propulsion. The
other arm recovers above water from the hip towards the
overhead position. Atferwards your arms exchange their
roles.
Your legs do the flutter kick, which means they
are extended and kick downwards and upwards in the
water with pointed toes. This is a simple and efficient
kicking technique.
2. BACK STROKE
a swimming stroke executed on the back and usually
consisting of alternating circular arm pulls and a flutter
kick.
What are the essential elements of backstroke?
1.Body Position
The body position should be high and flat. This position
allows the hips and shoulders to ride high in the water
creating the position for minimal resistance and maximal
ventilation. The ears, shoulders and hips should form a
relatively horizontal line.
2. Head Position
The correct head position is vital for achieving correct
body position. The head should be laid back in the water
so the eyes look upward toward the roof or sky. If the
head is too far back, this creates arching of the spine and
ploughing through the water. If the head is too far
forward, this creates a bending of the spine and lowering
of the hips and legs.
3. Kicking Action
The kicking action is generated from the hips and upper
legs with feet below surface. Swimmers should use a
continuous 6 beat action. Lower abdominal and back
strength is important when doing backstroke kick.
4. Hand Entry
The hand enters directly in front of the shoulder. Arms
should be fully extended and the little finger enters first.
5. Arm Action
The hands initially sweep and catch in a downward and
outward pattern. They then sweep up and in maintaining
the elbow lower and forward. They then complete a down
sweep keeping the hand 90 degrees to the body. At the
completion of the pull, the hand releases the water. The
recovery begins with a relaxed wrist and forearm, with the
wrist firming on entry.
6. Timing
Propulsion is initiated with the leading hand as propulsion
is released with the trailing hand.
7. Hip and Shoulder Rotation
Hip and shoulder rotation occurs as part of the natural
stroking sequence with natural levels generally being
insufficient to create the propulsive forces necessary for
optimal performance. Specific drills must be included in
the training program to enhance the rotational capabilities
of the competitive backstroker.