Sports History
Federation
Swimming Swimming is an individual or team
racing sport that requires the use
of one's entire body to move
through water. The sport takes
place in pools or open water (e.g.,
in a sea or lake).
Swimming has been known since
prehistoric times. Drawings from
the Stone Age were found in "the
cave of swimmers" near Wadi
Sora (or Sura) in the southwestern
part of Egypt. Written references
date from 2000 B.C., including
Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey,
the Bible (Ezekiel 47:5, Acts 27:42,
Isaiah 25:11), Beowulf, and other
sagas. In 1538 Nicolas Wynman,
German professor of languages,
wrote the first swimming book,
"Colymbetes". Competitive
swimming in Europe started
around 1800, mostly using
breaststroke. The front crawl, then
called the trudgen, was introduced
in 1873 by John Arthur Trudgen,
copying it from Native Americans.
Swimming was part of the first
modern Olympic games in 1896 in
Athens. In 1902 the trudgen was
improved by Richard Cavill, using
the flutter kick. In 1908, the world
swimming association, Federation
Internationale de Natation de
Amateur (FINA), was formed.
Butterfly was first a variant of
breaststroke, until it was accepted
as a separate style in 1952.
 Freestyle Australian’s credit Alick Wickham
Basic Skill
Gliding through the water is a
basic skill to master before you
even consider kicking and
paddling. Gliding helps you to
get used to the sensation of
moving through the water
headfirst.
Coordination- you must get
used to moving muscles in
your lower back, abdomen and
hips to power you forward.
Similarly, try to let your legs
come up behind your body,
and keep a slim, streamlined
position.
Breaststroke-Once you feel
confident with basic swimming
techniques, mastering a
specific stroke is your next
challenge. Breaststroke, while
requiring slightly more
coordination than front crawl,
offers a stable, gentle stroke
that's ideal for beginners.
Diving-Diving into the pool is a
basic swimming skill -- even if
it starts out of the water.
Always practice diving in a
deep pool with a lifeguard on
duty.
Water Comfort .The most
basic and essential swimming
skill is simply becoming
comfortable in the water.
When unintentional
submersion occurs, panicking
gets in the way of logical
thinking and increases the
likelihood of drowning. Breath
Control- breathing is often
Equipment Association or
Swimming Pool- This type In 1908, the world
of swimming pool is used swimming
in the Olympic Games, association, Fédération
where the race course Internationale de Natation
is 50 metres (164.0 ft) in (FINA), was formed. FINA
length, typically referred to is the international
as "long course", federation recognised by
distinguishing it from "short the International Olympic
course" which applies to Committee (IOC) for
competitions in pools that administering
are 25 metres (82.0 ft) in international competition
length. in water sports.
Earplugs/Nose Clips
Some swimmers use
earplugs to block water
from entering the ear canal
while they are swimming
Some swimmers also use
nose clips to prevent water
from entering their nose
while they are swimming.
Goggles- Goggles allow
you to see while your head
is immersed in the water,
without having to worry
about chlorine irritation.
Training Tools- For
example, pull buoys are
foam flotation devices that
can be placed between the
legs and used to
strengthen and place focus
on arm technique. Swim
paddles develop arm
strength by increasing
resistance in the water,
and they also help develop
proper stroke mechanics.
Kickboards switch the
majority of work onto the
 with the invention of the front crawl
(aka freestyle), but some debate
who was the first to use this style
of swimming. Some analysts say it
has been used since antiquity.
London, 1844, Native North
American’s were witnessed using
the style, defeating the British with
ease. The Brits used the
breastroke style and continued to
use it because they thought the
thrashing crawl stroke was
barbaric and “un-European”
according to wikipedia. In 1873,
John Arthur Trudgen took a trip to
Argentina and developed a crawl
stroke mimicking the native South
Americans, but he used the
scissor kick — wide and inefficient
— instead of the flutter kick. This
hybrid stroke became popular and
was called the Trudgen stroke.
Australian, Richmond “Dick” Cavill,
was inspired by Solomon Islander
Alick Wickham in the early 1900s.
They watched Wickham and
experimented, developing a
modified Trudgen stroke which
ultimately became known as the
“Australian Crawl”. Charles Daniel
is credited with adding the six-beat
kick, which further developed the
stroke into what some call the
“American crawl”. This biggest
innovation since the six-beat kick
is, arguably, the straight-arm
recovery.
 Backstroke Backstroke swimming developed
as an offshoot of front crawl, with
swimmers copying the overarm
difficult for novice swimmers.
With water all around, having
some water enter the nose and
mouth is a common
occurrence. Some novice
swimmers panic at the feeling
of water in their noses, while
others have trouble holding
their breath while submerged.
Learning to control your
breathing is a key component
in learning to swim.
Floating or keeping your body
in a horizontal position in the
water, is a basic water skill. If
you accidentally fall in the
water, you may be able to float
until you are rescued, even if
you are not strong enough to
swim to safety. Humans are
naturally buoyant, and floating
is not difficult. Like any other
skill, however, floating does
require a bit of technique. Get
lessons from a coach or a
competent friend or relative.
Kicking provides propulsion
through the water. Once you
are comfortable with floating,
kicking is the logical next step.
Kicking is also used in treading
water, which is the process of
remaining in one place while
keeping your head above the
water line. Many coaches use
kickboards, or flat flotation
devices made of foam or
plastic, to support the
swimmer’s body. A kickboard
allows you to focus solely on
your kicking technique without
worrying about staying afloat.
legs when swimming to
strengthen the legs as well
as help develop proper
kicking technique, states
the U.S. Masters
Swimming organization.
Stretch cords and
resistance bands develop
both arm and leg strength.
Swim Caps-The swim cap
is a piece of equipment
that provides multiple
benefits. For professional
swimmers, swim caps
reduce drag to increase
speed in the water. Swim
caps also keep hair out of
the face, help reduce the
effects of chlorine on the
hair and help swimmers
retain body heat when they
are swimming in colder
water.
Competition Equipment-
For example, coaches and
timers at meets use
stopwatches to help keep
track of completion times
for swimmers. Swimmers
use lap counters in
competition to help keep
track of how many more
laps they need to complete
their event. Lane dividers
consist of buoys that are
strung on ropes and placed
across the pool to divide
the water into several
swimming lanes.
Recreational Equipment-
Some swimming
equipment falls in the
technique on their backs. One of
the most important developments
in the history of backstroke was
made in the late 1930s when
Australian swimmers began to
bend their arms for the underwater
phase of the stroke.
Backstroke is an ancient style of
swimming, popularized by Harry
Hebner. It was the second stroke
to be swum in competitions after
the front crawl. The first Olympic
backstroke competition was the
1900 Paris Olympics men's 200
meter.
Strokes are the arm recreational category,
movements used to pull the including devices such as
body through the water. The snorkeling masks and
front crawl, sidestroke, breast swimming fins, which allow
stroke, backstroke and swimmers to navigate
butterfly are the five most natural aquatic
common swimming strokes. environments such as
Each stoke uses different body lakes, seas and the ocean.
positioning, breathing
techniques and arm Other equipment used in
movements. Training with a swimming:
qualified swimming coach is Swimsuit
the best way to learn the Flotation devices and other
various strokes. equipment
Kickboards
Pull buoys
Fins
Hand paddles
Water dumbbells
Noodle
Aqua jogger
Water treadmill