A brief history of Swimming PDF

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A brief history of Swimming Swimming is an ancient activity that has taken place since both water and humans were on the earth. Prehistoric drawings from the southwestern part of Egypt show original documentation of people swimming. The images seem to show the dog paddle or breaststroke, but these may have been more ritualistic than anything. Of course, anciently, swimming was done because it was necessary for survival. Whether people needed to cross a river to safety on the other side or simply know how to tread water to prevent drowning, swimming has certainly come a long way since its ancient days. Here is the history of swimming in a competitive sense as it is known today. England is recognized as the first country to participate in swimming as a recreation and competitive sport. In 1837, competitions were held in man-made pools in London. The National Swimming Society in England organized the competitions which grew quickly in popularity. The very first indoor pool in the history of swimming was constructed in 1862 in England. Soon, more pools were built and another swimming organization was established in 1880. It was known as the Amateur Swimming Association of Great Britain, an organization with more than 300 member clubs. The main swimming styles utilized in competitions were the breaststroke and the recently-developed sidestroke.

Health benefits of swimming Swimming is a great workout because you need to move your whole body against the resistance of the water. Swimming is a good all-round activity because it: keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off your body, builds endurance,muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness, helps maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart and lungs, tones muscles and builds strength, provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming.Being a relaxing and peaceful form of exercise alleviating stress,improving coordination, balance and posture, improving flexibility providing good low-impact therapy for some injuries and conditions, providing a pleasant way to cool down on a hot day, being available in many places – you can swim in swimming pools, beaches, lakes, dams and rivers. Make sure that the environment you choose to swim in is safe

Ten Basic Terminologies in Swimming Deck and Lap The pool is surrounded by a hard surface called a deck. When you swim from one end of a pool to the other, the distance is commonly called a lap, although a lap also can be be used to mean the down-and-back distance that is twice the length of the pool.

Lane and Lane Line When swimming, someone might assign you to a specific lane; these lanes often are numbered. Your lane is your designated swimming area. The lanes are separated by lane lines, or floating markers attached to cables. These lines help calm the waves stirred up by swimmers.

Flag Flags are triangular banners featuring two or more colors and hanging down over the lanes on lines. Backstroke flags are placed at the end of each lane to let swimmers performing the backstroke -- who have limited visibility -- know that they are approaching the wall.

Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle From the backstroke, which is performed lying on your back, to the breaststroke, in which you keep your body on your breast, swimming features numerous terms for various swim strokes. The freestyle, or crawl, is the most common stroke, which you perform on your stomach while alternating your arms and using a flutter kick.

Diving and Relay Other common terms include diving, a method of entering the water by jumping in head first. Swimmers also often participate in relay events, or races in which four swimmers each swim a quarter of the total race distance.

Basic Floats

Survival Float The survival float uses very little energy, making it ideal for situations when you don't know how long you'll need to stay afloat. Lie on your stomach with your face underwater and your arms and legs dangling. When you need to

breathe, bring your head back up and out of the water while pushing down with your arms and legs. After you take in a breath, hold it and relax completely for a few seconds to drop back into the water. When you need to breathe again, exhale as you bring your face back up out of the water.

Horizontal Back Float When performing the horizontal back float, you don't use much energy, and you stay fairly comfortable. In the horizontal back float, you lie on your back in the water with your back slightly arched, your arms out to the sides and your legs straight. Your face won't go underwater and your legs, if relaxed, will float.

Vertical Back Float In the vertical back float, as in the horizontal back float, your face remains above the water; however, in the vertical back float, less of your body floats above the water. While your upper

chest and your face stay out of the water, your legs drop down below the surface. Keep your arms extended, and kick only when it becomes necessary to stay afloat. Treading Water Although it's technically not a type of floating, treading water makes it easy to transition between floating positions. Because your head remains completely above the water's surface, treading water is ideal in situations where you need to look at your surroundings. Keeping your arms outstretched, move them slowly just under the surface of the water while performing scissor kicks to stay afloat.

Six Basic Strokes of Swimming

Dog Paddle Often the first

stroke a young swimmer learns, the dog paddle is very basic, easy to learn and allows you to keep your head above the water for easy breathing. The stroke mimics the movements of a fourlegged animal as you propel through the water. You extend your arms forward and your hands alternate as they paw at the water moving in a downward, circular movement. Your legs extend backward with bent knees and your feet alternate in a quick up and down movement to perform a flutter kick.

Backstroke Sometimes referred to as a back crawl, the backstroke is the fastest stroke performed on your back. Your arms alternate the pushing and pulling parts of the stroke with a circular, windmill motion. As one arm extends forward and enters the water, the other is exiting. Your legs alternate in an up-and-down motion, to perform the flutter kick. Your face is out of the water, which allows you to develop your own breathing pattern.

Freestyle Sometimes referred to as the crawl, the freestyle is one of the fastest strokes. It is performed on your stomach with your face in the water and your whole body close to the surface. Similar to the backstroke, your arms move in a circular, windmill motion and you use the flutter kick. Your arms alternate, as one arm reaches forward, enters and starts to pull through the water, the other arm exists the water. To breathe, instead of lifting your head, turn it to one side to take a quick breath.

Sidestroke The sidestroke is performed while on your right or left side. The stroke starts with your bottom arm extending forward, above your head, your palm down and your top arm resting along your side. Simultaneously, pull your bottom arm backward in a sweeping, half-circular motion to the front of your chest, bend your top arm slightly and move it forward to the front of your chest. Your top arm then sweeps backward until it is fully extended. After a short glide you repeat the arm movements. The sidestroke uses a scissor kick -- you move your legs back and forth the way scissors open and close.

Breaststroke The breaststroke is more complex, requires precise timing and is performed on your stomach with your face in the water. Your arms extend forward, below the water, pull backward in an outward sweeping motion toward your chest and then extend again to glide and start the next stroke. As you pull your arms back, you lift your head to breathe. The frog kick is used and starts when your arms begin to reach forward to glide. You bend your knees, bring your feet up toward your body, move your feet outward and then extend and snap your legs together.

Butterfly The butterfly stroke also requires precise timing in addition to coordination. You time the movement of your arms with a dolphin kick as your body undulates, similar to the way worms move, through the water. Lift both arms out of the water, reach forward, enter the water in front of your shoulders and pull your hands back through the water toward your feet. When your hands are near your thighs, lift your head to breathe, lift your arms out of the water and repeat the stroke. Take two dolphin kicks with each stroke. Keep your legs together, bend your knees and whip your feet downward.

Rules on how to use the pool: Swimmers must be free of colds and other contagious diseases. No hairpins, barrettes, jewelry or glasses. No food, drink, or gum anywhere on deck. No recreational equipment unless authorized by a lifeguard. All must shower before using pool. No spitting or blowing nose in the pool. All children must be accompanied by an adult. No running, pushing, dunking, or rough play in pool area, showers, or locker rooms. No diving in shallow end. Do not stand, play, or jump off ladders or railings. Stay clear of handicap ramp and railings at all times. Starting blocks are only used by school athletic teams, not recreational use.

Non-swimmers must stay in the bleachers section of the pool area. All injuries must be reported to the lifeguard on duty. All swimmers must pass a “deep end test” by the lifeguard before attempting to swim in the deep end or using the diving board. All must wear a bathing cap if hair is beyond collar length. Always enter the water forward without flipping. Diving Rules*: One diver on board at a time (all others must be on pool deck). Diving area must be clear before diving. Dive or jump straight off board. After diving immediately swim to clearance. No cross pool swimming in diving area. *Note: No diving during community lap swim. All swimmers must pass the “Deep End Test” before using diving board.

The definition of floating is something that is buoyed up by water or air, or something that can fluctuate and change.A raft that is supported by water and that remains on the surface of the swimming pool is an example of something that is floating.A variable interest rate on your mortgage is an example of a floating rate.

Treading water is the first thing everyone should learn before swimming, but sadly many people learn the wrong techniques and it ends up costing a lot of energy to keep up. There is a correct way to tread water. It’s the most energy efficient and could make it easier on you, or even save your life later if you practice it now.

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....