Swimming

Lesson Proper for Week 1

Trivia

FINA : (Fédération internationale de natation)

“International Swimming Federation” – International swimming governing body based in Lausanne, Switzerland

Teofilo Yldefonso is the first Filipino medalist in swimming in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Michael Phelps of the united states is the most decorated Olympian in history and the most accomplished swimmer of all time with 28 medals 23 of
which are gold.

HISTORY OF SWIMMING AND DEVELOPMENT OF SWIMMING

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 doggy paddle, although it is also possible that the movements have a ritual meaning unrelated to swimming. An
Egyptian clay seal dated between 9000 BC and 4000 BC shows four people who are believed to be swimming a variant of the front crawl.

More references to swimming are found in the Babylonian 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 BC. The Nagoda bas-relief also shows swimmers inside of men
dating back from 3000 BC. The Indian palace Mohenjo Daro from 2800 BC contains a swimming pool sized 12 m by 7 m. The Minoan palace of
Knossos in Crete also featured baths. An Egyptian tomb from 2000 BC 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 at Teotihuacan, and in mosaics in Pompeii. [1]

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 Bourbon codices. A series of reliefs from 850 BC in the Nimrud Gallery of the British Museum
shows swimmers, mostly in military context, often using swimming aids. (Source:wikipedia.org/wiki/File)
Since swimming was done in a state of undress, it became less popular as society became more conservative in the early Modern period.[2]
Leonardo da Vinci made early sketches of lifebelts. In 1538, Nikolaus Wynmann, a Swiss–German professor of languages, wrote the earliest known
complete book about swimming, Colymbetes, sive de arte natandi dialogus et festivus et iucundus lectu (The Swimmer, or A Dialogue on the Art of
Swimming and Joyful and Pleasant to Read).[3] 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.[1]

In 1587, Everard Digby also wrote a swimming book, claiming that humans could swim better than fish.[4] Digby was a Senior Fellow at St. John's
College, Cambridge and 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.[5] In 1603, Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan declared that schoolchildren should swim.[6]

In 1595, Christopher Middleton wrote "A short introduction for to learne to swimme", that was the first published guide recording drawings and
examples of different swimming styles.

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.[7] In 1793, GutsMuths 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, GutsMuths 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.[8] 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. (Source:wikipedia.org/wiki/File).

Swimming as a competitive sport

Swimming emerged as a competitive sport in the early 1800s in England. In 1828, the first indoor swimming pool, St George's Baths, was opened to
the public.[8] 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.[9]

In 1844 a swimming competition was held in London with the participation of two Native Americans. The British competitor used the traditional
breaststroke, 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 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.[8]

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
revolutionized the state of competitive swimming – his stroke is still regarded as the most powerful to use today.[10] 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 ungentleman-like splashing.[8]

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 Bill 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.[11]

Nancy Edberg popularized 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. [12] Her public swimming exhibitions from 1856 with her students were likely
among the first public exhibitions of women swimming in Europe[12]

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. (Source:wikipedia.org/wiki/File)

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 100 m freestyle. Hajós was also victorious in the 1200 m 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 200 m, 1000 m, and 4000 m freestyle, 200 m backstroke, and a 200 m 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 4000 m 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[13]

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 100 m backstroke. At these games Duke Kahanamoku from Hawaii won the 100 m 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 100 m,
400 m, and 1500 m freestyle, 100 m backstroke, 200 m and 400 m breaststroke, and four by 200 m freestyle relay. The women's competitions were
100 m freestyle and four by 100 m freestyle relay.

The Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft (DLRG) (German lifesaving organization) was established on October 19, 1913 in Leipzig after 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 100 m 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.
(Source:wikipedia.org/wiki/File)

The scientific study of swimming began in 1928 with David Armbruster, a coach at the University of Iowa, who filmed swimmers underwater.
[citation needed] 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 a Berkoff 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 turn faster if they rolled almost 90 degrees sideways, touched the
wall, and made a forward tumble turn, pushing off the wall on their backs. The FINA has changed the rules to allow the swimmers to turn over
completely before touching the wall to simplify this turn and to improve the speed of the races.

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.

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. (Source:wikipedia.org/wiki/File)

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. Read the lesson and learn about swimming.

Lesson Proper for Week 2

Benefits and Values in Learning Swimming

1. Competitive benefits of swimming

a) It is low impact

While competing will mean that you put in more effort than your leisurely swimmer, it is still a low impact exercise, this does depend on your
technique

b) It keeps your brain active

Swimming competitively requires you to actively think about your stroke, your lengths and your times. All of these aspects of competitive swimming
will keep your brain active and will give provide further benefits in other walks of life.

c) It improves your look

When you think about a swimmers physique it is lean, broad and strong and that in itself is a benefit.

d) Keeps you and others safe

Using the correct techniques and that makes you safe around water. Between the age of 1 and 4, drowning is the biggest cause of death which is a
staggering fact but being able to swim will give you the confidence to save someone should you see them in trouble in the water.

e) Swimming works for all ages

It does not matter how old you are, once you have learned the skill of swimming, you will be able to enter the pool and swim as much as your body
will allow you. As a competitive swimmer now, it will give you the stamina and fitness to go on and continue swimming to a high level as you get
older but even then, you will still be able to grace the water like a professional.

f) It is social

It will also give you the ability to meet new people and form new friendships that stem from a sport you love and enjoy. When you are all training
and working towards a common goal will bring you all closer together.

g) It gives you complete versatility

When you swim just to keep fit, you tend to stick with what you know but when you swim competitively, you will find that you will push yourself to
try new things.

Swimming as Therapeutic Exercise

A. General Benefits

• Swimming can help improve your flexibility, strength, circulation and lung capacity.

• When you exercise in water, 90 percent of your body is buoyant, which takes the stress off your joints,

B. Arthritis

• The buoyancy of water supports joints while encouraging a full, free range of movement.

• Heated pools are especially helpful for arthritis and fibromyalgia patients, because the warmth helps relax muscles and diminish pain and
stiffness.

• Warm water also causes blood vessels to dilate and increase circulation.

C. Back Problems

• therapeutic swimming exercise can be an effective therapy for back pain.

• swimming was potentially beneficial to patients suffering from general chronic low back pain and pregnancy-related low back pain.

• swimming can help in rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries by improving their ability to bathe and dress themselves and restoring
some muscle strength and motor skills.

D. Heart Disease

• training in warm water improves exercise capacity and muscle function in patients with chronic heart failure, without adverse cardiovascular
effects,
• improved their muscle endurance in performing knee extensions and heel-lifts and showed greater shoulder flexibility than non-swimmers.

• Because heart disease is unpredictable and every case is different, check with your doctor before starting a swimming therapy regimen if you have
heart disease.

E. Peripheral Neuropathy

• swimming therapy promoted the loss of excess body weight, which is a contributing factor in diabetes, and also helped restore muscle and nerve
activity and motor skills. (source: sportsrec.com/421711-swimming-as-a-therapeutic-exercise.html)

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:

a) keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off your body

b) builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness

c) helps maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart and lungs

d) tones muscles and builds strength

e) provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming

Other Benefits of Swimming

Swimming has many other benefits including:

a) being a relaxing and peaceful form of exercise

b) alleviating stress

c) improving coordination, balance and posture

d) improving flexibility

e) providing good low-impact therapy for some injuries and conditions

f) providing a pleasant way to cool down on a hot day

g) 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.

Source: betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/swimming-health-benefits)

Seven Benefits of Swimming for your Mental Wellbeing

1. Releases endorphins. Swimming, like all exercise, releases endorphins in your brain.

2. Reduces stress

3. Soothing effects

4. Boosts brain health

5. Beach benefits

6. Social hubs

7. The color blue

Every Sports activity has been beneficial to us one way or another. in this lesson we will discover the benefits and values of swimming.

In this Lesson, you will discover the different Health Benefits and Values that a swimmer usually develops in engaging in swimming activities.

Activity 2: Video Streaming: List down important facts about the video presented and prepare for the discussion