final Flashcards
when was swimming invented
Swimming can be dated back to the Stone Age, but did not truly become an organised sport until the early 19th century.
when did swimming become a sport
Swimming was not widely practised until the early 19th century, when the National Swimming Society of Great Britain began to hold competitions.
Most early swimmers used the breaststroke, or a form of it.
birth of the crawl exact year
Based on a stroke used by native South Americans, the first version of the crawl featured a scissor kick. In the late 1880s, an Englishman named Frederick Cavill travelled to the South Seas, where he saw the natives performing a crawl with a flutter kick. Cavill settled in Australia, where he taught the stroke that was to become the famous Australian crawl.
swimming in the olympics
Swimming has featured on the program of all editions of the Games since 1896. The very first Olympic events were freestyle. Backstroke was added in 1900.
In the 1940s, breaststrokers discovered that they could go faster by bringing both arms forward over their heads. This practice was immediately forbidden in breaststroke, but gave birth to butterfly, whose first official appearance was at the 1956 Games in Melbourne. This style is now one of the four strokes used in competition.
Women’s swimming became Olympic in 1912 at the Stockholm Games. Since then, it has been part of every edition of the Games. The men’s and women’s programs are almost identical, as they contain the same number of events, with only one difference: the freestyle distance is 800 meters for women and 1,500 meters for men.
what are the important parts of a good swimming technique
- Breathing
- Body position
- Kick
- Stroke (pull)
front crawl Body Position
‐ Streamlined with even body roll from side to side
‐ Head is steady, slightly tilted up, eyes look forward
front crawl Leg Action
‐ Head is steady, slightly tilted forward
‐ Kick originates from hips
‐ Loose ankles, toes pointing
‐ Whipping action of lower leg and foot
front crawl Arm Action
‐ Smooth hand entry in front of shoulder
‐ Question mark pull pattern with hand skulling
‐ Accelerated pull finishing past hips
‐ Relaxed recovery
‐ Shoulders, forearms, and hands lined up vertically at midpoint of pull phase
‐ Shoulder and elbow initiate recovery
‐ Elbow is higher than hand during recovery
front crawl Breathing
‐ Bilateral breathing pattern is used
‐ No forward lift of head breathing
front crawl Timing
‐ Recovery arm is trying to ‘catch‐up’ to pulling arm
‐ Six‐beat kick is used
backcrawl body position
- Shoulders and body rolls from side to side
- Chest and hips at the surface
- Head is steady, slightly tilted forward
back crawl leg action
- Kick originates from hips
- Knees lead in both directions
- Loose ankles, toes pointing
- Whipping action of lower leg and foot
- Knees stay below surface
back crawl arm action
- Arm enters above shoulder
- Pinky enters first and deep entry
- Accelerated pull past hips
- Shoulders, forearms, and hands lined up vertically at midpoint of pull phase
- Question‐mark pull pattern, hand leading
- Shoulder leads arm recovery
- Hand exits, thumb first, straight arm recovery
back crawl breathing
Pattern is regular, rhythmic and relaxed
back crawl timing
Recovery arm enters as pulling arm finishes
butterfly body position
- Body undulates continuously
‐ Hips break surface
butterfly leg action
- Leg action flows from hips
‐ As feet drive down, hips rise
‐ As hips drive down, feet rise
‐ Legs together, feet pointed & turned slightly inward Initial ‘catch’ positioning of legs
butterfly arm action
- Hands enter shoulder width apart, thumbs down
‐ Key‐hole / facing question marks shaped pull
‐ Shoulders, forearms, and hands lined up vertically at midpoint of pull phase
Accelerated pull past hips
‐ Elbows exit water first
‐ Relaxed recovery, arms clearing but close to surface
butterfly breathing
- Breathing occurs every second stroke (if possible)
‐ Breathing starts at end of pull phase
‐ Head enters and exits surface before hands
butterfly timing
Two kicks per stroke
‐ First kick on hand entry
‐ Second kick toward end of pull phase
breast stroke body position
- Body close to surface
‐ Body rotates at the hips
‐ Head rises and dives with body rotation
breaststroke leg action
- Feet draw up and close to buttocks
‐ Feet turned outward close to surface
‐ Initial ‘catch’ positioning of legs
‐ Knees separate shoulder width apart
‐ Semicircular path of feet and legs reach full extension
breaststroke arm action
- Outward pull and sweeping action of arms
‐ Shoulders rise as hands and forearms move inward and upward to chest
‐ Hands and elbows squeeze together moving forward close to surface
breaststroke breathing
- Breathing occurs every stroke
‐ Breathing occurs during propulsive phase
breaststroke timing
- Pull begins after kick finishes
‐ Feet ready to kick as shoulders are up
flip turn approach
- Last arm stroke finishes about 1 meter from wall
‐ As arm action finishes, both hands are at side and head starts to drop
flip turn rotation
- Chin drops to chest, body bends forward into pike
‐ Arms stay at side throughout rotation
‐ Knees bend as legs swing over water
‐ As feet touch, arms come together above head in streamlined position
flip turn push off
Legs fully extend, with strong and quick push
‐ Arms stretched overhead, one hand on top of other
‐ Body is extended and streamlined, toes pointed