Historical notes on swimming and styles.
SWIMMING: HISTORICAL NOTES AND STYLES. Thanks to the evidence of mural paintings, graffiti and engravings we know that the practice of swimming was already widespread in ancient times. Modern swimming began with the construction of the first swimming pool in Liverpool in 1828. The first competitions took place in 1837 and from 1896 it was included among the sports of the first modern Olympics held in Athens; the styles adopted beyond the breaststroke were vaguely similar to the current ones, namely: over style, that is swimming on one side and the back, with two arms simultaneously immersed. The crawl style and the butterfly style were not yet known. The pool must have 8 lanes with a width of 2.50 meters each and with two spaces of 0.50 meters each outside lanes number 1 and 8.
The delimitation made with a float of a different color from the others must have a distance of 5.00 meters from each end wall. The starting blocks must be installed 0.30 and 0.60 above the water surface. At 1.20 meters above the water surface, false start indicators are positioned transversely to the pool. The water must have a temperature of +25 centigrade, must be transparent, free of currents. On the bottom of the pool in the center and on the end walls, with a dark and contrasting color, we find the lane marking stripes. The athletes start with a pistol shot on bases placed at a height of 50-70 cm from the water surface. The arrival will be made by the athlete who first touches the wall with one or two hands and must remain in the lane until all the athletes finish the race. The rules just listed refer to competitive level races, therefore Olympic Games, European Championships, World Championships and high-level international competitions.
SWIMMING: COORDINATION AND CONDITIONAL ABILITIES. In order to obtain excellent results, the athlete must have a natural predisposition, must have a basic preparation as in all sports and must acquire coordination and conditional abilities. We divide coordination abilities into
- motor control and direction skills
- motor transformation and adaptation capacity
- motor learning ability
The conditional abilities that concern the physical qualities of the athlete are divided into:
- fast force or speed
- Speed understood as the ability to accelerate
- Endurance, performance until the end of the race.
SWIMMING STYLES. The main characteristics present in all styles are:
1- The arm stroke
2- The leg kick
3- The position of the body in the water which we call trim
4- Breathing
5- The turn
6- The whole start and finish
The breaststroke : this is the oldest and slowest style, the movements are almost completely unnatural. The start is with a full arm stroke and the head resurfaces. The body must have a slightly inclined position with the legs and head higher than the shoulders. The legs must be drawn up towards the pelvis with the knees fixed, when the full muscles are near the buttocks, the legs are extended outwards in such a way as to give the body an advancement, the feet are in a hammer position. The arms from extended forward rotate inwards and widen outwards and the hands are rotated outwards. The turn must be done with the touch of two hands in order to perform a push with a complete action of the arms and legs. As for the arrival, the athlete must touch the wall simultaneously with both hands.
The crawl: The body is stretched out horizontally, the head in line with the body and the gaze is placed at the bottom of the pool. While the arms perform their action, the head must be slightly raised; inhalation is done with the mouth and never with the nose. The legs slightly apart perform an alternating movement that starts from the hip, the knee is straight and the tip of the foot must be extended. The strokes perform two phases: the active phase of traction and propulsion that is performed underwater and the passive phase also called recovery that is performed out of the water. As for the start, the athlete is placed on a base bending forward with the legs slightly bent, the arms behind or low in front, the feet on the edge perform the final push for the dive; the arrival occurs by touching the back wall with only one hand. In the event that the race is not finished, a turn is performed, the simplest one is performed with one hand resting on the wall and inverting the direction of travel. There is also the somersault turn which is more complicated: the athlete must reach 90-120 cm from the wall, bending his head downwards and bending at the waist, he performs the somersault with his legs coming out of the water.
Backstroke : the body is horizontal as in the crawl, but stretched out on the back. The head must be immersed up to the ears, must be in line with the body and the shoulders immersed at the surface of the water. The legs must perform a beat from bottom to top, only the tip of the foot emerging; the movement is the same as that of the crawl, the arm stroke is similar, but reversed. The start occurs in the water with the hands grasping the support devices. The turn can be performed on the normal side or with a somersault. The arrival must be performed with one hand against the wall.
Butterfly : the butterfly style is born from the breaststroke style; the movement of the legs is the same. The movement of the traction in the first phase of the arms recalls that of the breaststroke style, while in the second part it recalls that of the crawl. The start is like that of the crawl. The kick of the legs occurs simultaneously from the surface to the bottom; the knees are slightly bent, the heels just emerge from the surface and the tips are stretched, in order to have a greater push; the arms move simultaneously, from stretched forward with the hands parallel and close together, first underwater and then slightly above. Subsequently, underwater, the traction and push phase of the head occurs; once the push phase is over, the inhalation begins and the legs sink to then re-emerge with the exhalation. The turn is similar to that of the breaststroke style with the difference that once completed the athlete must immediately re-emerge. The arrival occurs by touching the bottom wall with both hands simultaneously.
