DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH 2022-2023

SWIMMING- AN ESSENTIAL SKILL

GRADE XII – 2022-2023

Name of the student: Mirra Swaminathan

Section: D
Registration number: 4707
Signature:

Name of the teacher: Mr. Darwin Rolston

Signature:
Date:

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 Reflections

The topic I chose for this year’s project was Swimming. Swimming is a very
popular sports activity, performed as leisure or even as a competitive sport. In my
project, I included information on the various strokes of swimming, famous
swimmers, the history of swimming, and I even added my own experience with
swimming. Through this activity, I gained an in-depth knowledge of the sport.

I personally wanted to do this topic, because I am a beginner to swimming, and I

have come to this stage after years of fighting the fear of water. After getting rid
of the fear step by step, I started to truly appreciate the sport, and understood its
benefits, Hence, I wanted to know more about this fascinating sport, and wanted
to share the knowledge of the same to those who are still scared of water, and
motivate them to overcome it.

While collecting information, I had to choose the most accurate ones, and hence
had to put a little extra effort into that. This was an overall learning experience for
me in research, and about the sport.

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 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH 2022-23

PROJECT-PORTFOLIO/ PROJECT REPORT -2022-2023

GRADE XII
This is to certify that the project presented herewith is the bonafide presentation of
The Project-Portfolios is a compilation of the work that the students produce
during the process of working on their ALS Project.
Mirra Swaminathan of
The Project-Portfolio may include the following:
● Cover
Grade XII section D for page, with title
the academic year of project, school details/details of students.
2022-2023.
● Statement of purpose/objectives/goals
The work has been completed following
● Certificate all under
of completion guidelines and directions
the guidance as issued by the CBSE board for the
of the teacher.
academic year 2022-2023
● Action plan for the completion of assigned tasks.
● Materials such as written assignments, essays, survey-reports and other
Teacher in charge: Mr.material
Darwin Rolston
evidence of learning progress and academic accomplishment.

● The 800-1000 words essay/Script/Report.

Signature: ● Student/group reflections.
● If possible, Photographs that capture the positive learning experiences of
Date: the student(s).
● List of resources/bibliography.
The following points must be kept for consideration while assessing the
project portfolios:
● Quality of content of the project
● Accuracy of information
● Adherence to the specified timeline
● Content in respect of (spellings, grammar, punctuation)
● Clarity of thoughts and ideas Page 3
● Creativity
 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH 2022-2023

Statement of purpose/objectives/goals:

1) To learn new and the lesser-known facts about swimming.

2) To understand the benefits and advantages of various strokes of
3) swimming.
4) To dig into the history of swimming to know how it originated.
5) To share my experience in overcoming the fear of water, and to
6) reflect on the progress I’ve made.

Competencies:

1. Research skills, due to in depth research on swimming.

2. Self-motivation and reflection, by seeing successful people in the field of
swimming.
3. Time management, as project is completed within a specified time.

Values:

1. Perseverance; research about famous swimmers motivated me to keep

going.
2. Confidence; gained while sharing ideas in front of a group.
3. Dedication; putting effort into the project has taught me to be dedicated to
the work we’re doing.

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 Table of Contents

S.No Topic Page no.

1. Introduction 6

7
2. History of Swimming

3. Some Famous Swimmers 8

Strokes of Swimming 10
1. Sidestroke 10
4. 2. Breaststroke 10
3. Freestyle 11
4. Backstroke 11
5. Butterfly stroke 12
5. My Experience with Swimming 13

6. Bibliography 14

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An Introduction
Swimming, in recreation and sports, the propulsion of the body
through water by combined arm and leg motions and the natural
flotation of the body. Swimming as an exercise is popular as an
all-around body developer and is particularly useful in therapy and
as exercise for physically handicapped persons. It is also taught
for lifesaving purposes. Some activities that involve swimming
are diving, lifesaving, surfing, synchronized swimming,
underwater diving, and water polo. This sport can take place in
open water like seas, oceans, lakes, etc. or simply in pools. There
are different strokes, and styles of swimming.

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History of Swimming

→ It is believed that recreational swimming was first enjoyed in prehistoric times. The first
book about swimming was written by a Swiss-German professor of languages, Nikolaus
Wynmann in 1538.

→ In 1828, St George’s Baths was the first indoor swimming pool in England that was opened
to the public, and competitive swimming emerged in the 1830s with the National Swimming
Society holding regular swimming competitions in London.

→ In 1880, the first national governing body, the Amateur Swimming Association, was
formed.

→ The front crawl, was debuted by Sir John Arthur Trudgen in 1873 at a local competition in
England and formed the basis for modern-day freestyle.

→ Swimming began to grow international popularity in the late 1800s with Germany, France,
and Hungary establishing swimming federations in 1882, 1890, and 1896, respectively, and
the first European amateur swimming competitions held in 1889 in Vienna.

→ The world’s first women’s swimming championship was held in 1892 in Scotland, and
men’s swimming became part of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.

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Some Famous Swimmers

Michael Phelps
Phelps was born in Baltimore on June 30, 1985, and got
serious in swimming after joining the North Baltimore
Aquatic Club. Phelps has 28 medals in total: his 23 gold
medals are more than double the count of his nearest
rivals.

Caeleb Dressel
Dressel specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and
individual medley events. At the 2020 Summer
Olympics in Tokyo, Dressel won five gold medals,
and also became the first male swimmer in the
history of swimming at the modern Olympic
Games, since 1896, to win gold medals in the 50 and
100-metre freestyle, and the 100-metre butterfly at
the same Olympics.

Emma McKeon
Emma McKeon has the record for the most medals
won by an Australian at a single Olympics currently
stands at five. Emma now finds herself as
Australia’s most successful Olympian after winning
more medals at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
than any other athlete.

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Katie Ledecky
Katie Ledecky has won 6 Olympic individual gold
medals and 14 world championship individual gold
medals, the most in history for a female swimmer, and
she is considered one of the greatest Olympians and the
greatest female swimmer of all time.

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The Strokes of Swimming

1. Sidestroke: The sidestroke is one of the earliest strokes in swimming and is so named
because the swimmer lies on his/her side and makes asymmetric movements with the
arms and legs.

Some benefits:
a. Sidestroke can be used in lifesaving for in-water rescues or taking a break on a long
open-water swim. Sidestroke can burn over 400 calories per hour.

2. Breaststroke: Breaststroke is believed to be the oldest of the five strokes and is used
frequently for both recreational and competitive swimming.

Some benefits:
a. Breaststroke burns a minimum of 400 calories an hour if swimming at a moderate
pace, and many more calories if swum at speed. Breaststroke is a good overall body
and cardio workout as it works multiple different muscle groups.

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3. Freestyle: Freestyle, also known as front crawl, is a stroke used in competitive freestyle
swimming and the fastest of all four strokes. It is also the preferred choice of stroke for
covering long distances and big swims like the English Channel.

Some benefits:
a. Freestyle is the most efficient stroke and it burns hundreds of calories in an hour and
provides a full body and great cardio workout.

4. Backstroke: Backstroke was invented in the 20th century and is one of the four strokes
swum in competitive events. It is a long-axis stroke similar to that of freestyle and
swum in a prone position on the back with the head out of the water.

Some benefits:
a. Backstroke burns approximately 500 calories per hour and is a relaxing stroke to
swim. It improves posture, strengthens the core muscles, improves hip flexibility,
and works the arms and leg muscles.

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5. Butterfly stroke: Butterfly is the most challenging of the four strokes and requires good
coordination and strength that takes time to develop. Originally, butterfly was swum
with a breaststroke kick before it was abandoned for the dolphin kick.

Some benefits:
a. Butterfly burns the most calories of any swimming stroke, approximately 900
calories for every hour swum. Swimming butterfly provides an excellent all-body
workout with a focus on the core and upper body.

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My experience with Swimming
Till I was seventeen years old, I had a huge fear of water and of swimming, known as
Aquaphobia. I never attempted to learn swimming as I always feared I would drown. This fear
kept me from going to pool parties, or truly enjoying the ocean water at the beach.

One day, I asked myself, “How long is this going to continue?” I realized it was high time I
got rid of this fear. That’s when I enrolled myself for swimming classes at the nearby academy.
The first day was pretty tough. My body was stiff as a board. I was scared to even try to float.
Thankfully, my very supportive coach led me through the process of swimming with a lot of
patience. That day onwards, me fear of water reduced greatly, and now I am close to mastering
the freestyle stroke, which for me is a huge achievement!

So, I started to firmly believe that hard-work and perseverance can help conquer one’s worst
fears too!

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Bibliography

https://www.britannica.com/sports/swimming-sport
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_(sport)
https://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/swimming-strokes.html
https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/olympic-record-swim-freestyle-backstroke-breaststroke-
butterfly-relay-medley
https://olympics.com/en/athletes/michael-phelps-ii
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caeleb_Dressel
https://olympics.com/en/news/emma-mckeon-swimming-australia-facts
https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/record-breaking-mckeon-reveals-highs-and-lows-of-
journey-from-yog-to-olympic-gol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Ledecky

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