Synchronized Swimming

History

Synchronized swimming which is also known as water ballet is first inspired from one of the founding father of USA, Benjamin Franklin and while he was swimming in The Thames river he performed a certain type of a swim which he called "ornamental Swimming" for the entertainment of observers (History of Synchronized Swimming, n.d.). 

However later on the first water ballet was held in Berlin in 1891 and the credit for inventing the today well known sport, 'Synchronized Swimming" is given to an Australian born actor and swimer Annette Kellerman where she was a champion swimmer, diver and practiced ballerina (History of Synchronized Swimming, n.d.). 

What is Synchronized Swimming?

Synchronized swimming which have close relationship with swimming mainly combines elements of swimming, dance and gymnastics and it will help to develop special water skills, strength, flexibility, timing and team work (Synchronized Swimming, 2012).

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The Sport

When consider it as a sport synchronized swimming, the athletes who compete are trained and choreographed to music and usually a team consist of 8 members (Synchronized swimming, n.d.). There are solo, duet and team events and the swimmers are graded on a scale of 0 to 10 on their performance and during a routine swimmers will do a list of elements, combination of figures and different swimming strokes (Synchronized swimming, n.d.).

  One of my first performance did for
school swimming pool opening.
Me  at the right

A bit of my experience

During my school years i have participated in several synchronized swimming group performances. I followed synchronized swimming more as a hobby than a sport and personally not mastered as much as swimming. However synchronized swimming is some thing i enjoyed doing and it helped me to improve my rhythmic skills apart from my music lessons. I participated in several water ballets done by my school team for openings of pools and swimming meets for entertainment. In my opinion synchronized swimming is not a easy sport to do but a very good one to polish your team work skills and relax your mind. 

Last performance me and my team did
for school inter-house meet.
Me in the right standing.

Me in the right corner 

  

Reference list

History of Synchronized Swimming. (n.d.). Retrieved from 

         http://synchroswim.isport.com/synchronized-swimming-guides/history-of-synchronized-swimming

Synchronized swimming. (n.d.). Retrieved from

         http://library.thinkquest.org/J002862/swimming.htm

Synchronized Swimming. (2012). Retrieved from

         http://www.coquitlamsharks.org/synchronized-2

Fear of Swimming

Why some fear swimming?

When it come to swimming some people fear even to get in to the water and this fear of swimming is a natural psychological reaction to many people because humans are land occupants swimming doesn't come naturally to many (Ireland, 2011). Moreover the main reason to fear swimming is not enough confident or doesn't know how to swim very well. However this situation can be deadly if you find your self in deep water without the ability to swim. 

Therefore it is called Aquaphobia, where some one suffering from an abnormal and persistent fear of water (Bailey, 2009). Furthermore people who suffer from aquaphobia go through anxiety when ever they see water in such places like sea, pools and lakes and they generally avoid  activities like swimming or boating (Bailey, 2009). However some may be able to be in shallow water but fear when the water is above their neck.

How to overcome the fear?

To overcome this fear of water first of all you need to build confidence. This is Important to do before starting to take swim lessons. According to Bailey (2009), it is advice to spend some time around the water or in the water so that it will help to reduce and slowly remove the panicky feelings and make it easier when taking swimming lessons later on. Furthermore one of the best way to get in to the water is to find a partner who is good in swimming or not suffering from the same problem because then you will feel less anxious or scared to go deeper (Bradley, 2012). When their is another person with you in the water you will be confident and aware that there is a helping hand next to you if any thing goes wrong. 

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According to Bradley (2012), one of the important thing is water can support the body weight and it allow you to float but you need to know how to hold your self in water. Basically you can spend some time near the wall of the pool and walk along the edge of the pool. so then comes the swimming lessons where you can learn how to hold your body in a floating position. 


Therefore in my opinion and experience each and very person try swimming for the first time will face some fear. During my first lessons of swimming the coach was training us how to float and i took many weeks than all my friends just to put my face in the water. However i was lucky that i didn't had to go through major fear like aquaphobia since from very young age i use to pools. 

Reference list

Bailey. E. (2009). Aquaphobia: The fear of water. Retrieved from     

       http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/22705/71074/aquaphobia-water

Bradley.M.(2009). How to overcome your fear of swimming.

        Retrieved from http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/12947/1/How-to-Overcome-Your-Fear-of-   

        Swimming.html

Ireland.J.(2011). Fear of swimming. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/467043-fear-of-    

        swimming/

Swimming and Health

Swimming is a sport that benefits in many ways and helps a person in any age to enjoy, relax and exercise at the same time. Furthermore it is a healthy activity that can be carried out for a life time and it works all the muscles in the body with out much pain. Swimming can develop the strength, cardiovascular fitness and stamina (Luebbers, 2012).

Therefore swimming can improve and benefits a person's cardiovascular system, when it improves the body's use of oxygen without overworking the heart (The lifescript editorial staff, 2006). According to the same article when the swimmer able to swim longer the heart rate and respiratory rate will be reduce and it make blood flow to the heart and lungs more efficiently. 

If a person training regularly swimming can helps a person release stress and if you having an injury then swimming can help to keep up your regular exercise. Lots of work out sessions specially kicking or water aerobics will help if a person having an injury because the weight of the body is not pounding directly on that person (Luebbers, 2012).  Moreover since swimming have a low risk of injury there's no stress on bones, joints or connective tissues. In addition low risk of  injury helps the older people to relax stiff muscles without weight carrying (The lifescript editorial staff, 2006).

Also spending some time in a group workout such as water aerobics or even swimming practices   is great for socializing and relax your mind and it will helps to focus more on rhythm making life more refreshed and active (Luebbers, 2012). 

Therefore as mentioned above and according to Health Benefits of Swimming (n.d.), some major benefits that helps a person's health can list as below. 

- It helps to maintain the blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

- Reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack and diabetes.

- Improves the flexibility and boost up physical activity.

- Good work out choice for pregnant woman and injured or people suffering from arthritis and back pain.

- It can be used as a warm-up and cool-down activity.

- With regulated breathing it can give a soothing effect on mind and body of a person. 

Reference list

Health Benefits of Swimming. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iloveindia.com/fitness/swimming/index.html


Luebbers, M. (2012). What's Good About Swimming: Some of the health benefits of swimming. Retrieved from

         http://swimming.about.com/od/swimworkouts/a/swim_bnefit.htm

The lifescript editorial staff. (2006). The health benefits of swimming. Retrieved from

        http://www.lifescript.com/diet-fitness/articles/t/the_endless_health_benefits_of_swimming.aspx


WVUHealthcare. (2010, August 9). Swimming Benefits-WVU Health Report [Video file]. Retrieved from
         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNyQHbV522k

Competitive Swimming tips

The Dive or the Start

When i started to swim most of us was beginners and learn  step by step basics of the four main strokes. One unforgettable memory that i have is my first dive from deep end of the pool. When we were ready to start lap swimming my coach ask us to try a start from the other side of the pool where it was not the comfortable side yet that time for many of us and some fear diving from the deep end. Therefore the coach's tactic was to push in to the water which ever kid who refuses to dive so that they wont be fear of deep waters and swimming any more in their lives. However we all mange to dive on that day due to fearing more the coach than the water and after i went through my first try i wanted over and over again and till today i enjoy diving in to a pool when ever i enter. 

In competitive swimming the start or the dive takes up an important place. There are two main types of starts namely the traditional grab start and the new track style start or the track start (Luebbers, n.d.). The grab start is where the both toes of the swimmer together and forward on the block and some swimmer tend to get a grip using their toes. This style of starting is an easier way for the beginners and it will gets off the swimmer quicker from the block. On the other hand the track start is where the swimmer place one foot forward and one foot back and this start may gets the swimmer off the block little slower but it will gets you out further (Luebbers, n.d.). When it comes to backstroke the dive is a bit different. You get in to the water first and start the dive while you are inside the water. First place you toes together on the wall and hold up the bar on the block to get a starting grip, then pull up your body as much as you can while your toes on the wall pointing out from water. If your back slightly touches water and body is above the water when you pull up it's perfect, then bring the head forward and tucking as much as you can between your legs and push off from the legs and when takes off stretch the body push the head backwards with the body and arms and enter with your hands first ( Britt, 1993). 

The track strart
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The grab start
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Backstroke dive
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Backstroke start
http://www.featurepics.com/FI/Thumbs300/
20070420/Backstroke-Start-291456.jpg

Few rules to remember

During competitive swimming events rules and regulations are also important. So i will share some most common rules that you should follow when doing the events. When swimming freestyle swimmers may not push or stand on the bottom of the pool or pull on the lane ropes and when finish have touch the wall with one hand (iSport, n.d.). According to the same article when swimming backstroke swimmers must be on their backs till the race ends and they touch the wall with one hand. In breaststroke swimmers are not allowed to pull their hands down pass the hips and end the race with touching the wall with both hands together and the in butterfly also the finish is with both hands together on the wall (iSport, n.d.). The other common disqualification rules that meets will follow according to Competitive Swimming Rules and Regulations (2010), are as below, 

- Start before the starting signal

- Swimmer did not cover the whole distance

- No contact with the wall when turning

Reference list

Britt, C. (1993). The Backstroke Start. Retrieved from htttp:// www.usms.org/

          articles/articledisplay.php?a=96

Competitive Swimming Rules and Regulations. (2010). Retrieved from

          htttp://247swim.com/category/competitive-swimming-rules-and-regulations/

iSport Swimming. (n.d.). Swimming Rules and Regulations. Retrieved from

          http://swim.isport.com/swimming-rules-regulations/

Luebbers, M. (n.d.). Swimming start technique for a masters swimmer. Retrieved from

          http://swimming.about.com/od/startandturntechnique/qt/track_grabstart.htm

Competitive events

Competitive swimming races are held all over the world where it has become a popular sports among many nations. The events which will be include in a competitive swimming meet are mostly the same events that you can see in an Olympic event. The lengths of the race and lengths of the pools are depends on the type of event and type of meet. However most of the swimming meets from high school level to national or international level consists of  the four main strokes which described in my previous post. 

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Team+Trials+Swimming+Day+5+Q5MWUpgdCesl.jpg

Long Course

Long course is a type of swimming meet where usually main events can be experienced and an Olympic standard 50m pool will be used. Furthermore in this type of meets 50 meters, 100 meters and 200 meters will be the basic distances used and a single is available for each and every stroke (Goldsworthy, 2011). Therefore the four strokes freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly has individual events for 50m, 100m and 200m distances. In addition only for freestyle there are 400m races and also in extended races 800m for woman 1500m for men can be seen (Goldsworthy, 2011).

Short Course 

This is another type of swimming meet where short distances comes to action. short course swimming races are usually held in 25 meter length pools and as similarly the major events such as the 50m, 100m and 200m for the four strokes are conducted (Goldsworthy, 2011). Here the main difference is that the swimmers have more turns using tumbles due the short length of the pool and with this under water roll of the tumble turn the swimmer can gain more speed by pushing off from the walls when each lap is completed (Goldsworthy, 2011). 

Individual Medley

This is another event that can be seen mostly in every swimming meet. Individual medley is an interesting event to watch but a hard to swim. This event commonly known as "IM" consist of all four strokes and the swimmer must complete all four in the order of Butterfly, Backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle (Competitive Swim Events, n.d.). Moreover this event is done in 200meters where 50m for each stroke and 400 Meters where 100m for each stroke. 

Relays 

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Images/MWTeamUpdates/April2009/
swimming.jpg

A relay is where four swimmers will perform as a team. There are two types of relays namely medley relay and freestyle relay where in medley relay the four swimmers will swim the four stroke in order of backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle (Competitive Swim Events, n.d.). In freestyle relays all four swimmers will be swimming freestyle and generally the fastest will swim the last lap of the race. Furthermore in relays the swimmers will enter the water after the previous swimmer touch the wall and one swimmer will swim only one lap of the race (Competitive Swim Events, n.d.). 

Open Water

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assets/images/WOMENS_NAC_DOCKLANDS_SWIM_
MX1.jpg

Open water swimming events are held out doors and it can be in lakes or sea and this is a long distance race where mainly freestyle stroke is used. In this kind of event the competitors have to go through natural conditions such as waves and different temperatures (Goldsworthy, 2011).

How I started competitive events

One of my first meets. I going to start the race in lane 8

Soon after i learned my four main strokes i was enable to participate in school level meets and after a while i entered  national level. My first national level meet was a Novices which we had to pass through to participate in other national level meets. 

When  i first started freestyle was my main and best stroke where i participated in many events and after several years it changed to backstroke and with time to breast stroke as well. During that time i participated almost all the events i described above but giving more space for my main stokes. However relays were the most nicest to swim and most enjoyable events in the list. Usually the meets were always ends with the relays. Here i also like to share some photos of me taken when i was participating in my first Novices meet. 

One of my first relays

Waiting anxiously for the event to start in one of the
first meet i participate in

Reference List

Competitive Swim Events, (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bluewaveswimteam.com/documents/

           CompetitiveSwimEvents.pdf

Goldsworthy, J. (2011). Types of races in competitive swimming. Retrieved from

           http://www.livestrong.com/article/416582-types-of-races-in-competitive-swimming/

The Four Strokes

People from all around the world with no age barrier enjoyed swimming for many years; either you are a beginner or a competitive master swimmer or either you are swimming for enjoyment, exercise or regular basis training.
There are four main strokes in Swimming and namely they are freestyle, butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke and these four strokes are used on all levels, from swim competitions at your local swim club to the Olympics (Herman, 2011).

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swimmers&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_nf=1&gs_l=img.3..0l10.1373.2789.0.3309.8.8.0.1.1.0.128.586.4j3.7.

A bit from history: How it all started

The history of swimming runs back to the Egyptian times dating 2000 B.C. , and it is found that Egyptian art found from  that era exhibits swimmers performing a certain style similar to the freestyle (Barlowe, 2011). Moreover same article describes Assyrian stone carvings also show swimmers performing a style similar to the breaststroke. Furthermore according to Barlowe (2010), the interest of swimming showed by Japanese during 1603, the Emperor Go-Yoozei made school children compete in swimming races. In addition in 1800s British started Swimming as a competitive sport in Europe.

Freestyle

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uploads/2012/FREESTYLE.jpg

Free style which is also called the front crawl stroke is the fastest and the most common stroke of all four. This stroke is easily recognized by the alternative arm strokes and swimmer rotating head side to side for breathing (Seltzer, 2011). When swimming this style your face have to be down in the water and your arms are moving in a windmill motion and legs are kicking up and down alternatively (Herman, 2011). When consider the hand motion the elbows are bend a bit when the hand is outside the water and one hand move above water to the front while the other

pushes back in the water.

Backstroke

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back.jpg

This stroke is similar to free style in a way that your arms and legs move, but here you will be facing up in a floating position instead of facing down in the water. Therefore this also known as the back crawl a flipped over version of front crawl and here swimmer use alternative arm motion, up and down flutter kick and breathing is not big deal since the swimmer will not be entering the face in to the water (Seltzer, 2011). 

Breaststroke

Breaststroke is the slowest among the four and the force is provided by the legs and arm which will remain under the water. This stoke is also a face down stroke where both arms do the same movement at the same time by moving the hands straight out in front of your body circling them out to the side and then back again (Herman, 2011). While the arms working in a large heart shaped the legs will be brought together straight near to your body and kick away from your body together at the same time with the hands.               

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43/62743-004-F3B6CCDE.gif

Butterfly

This is the most challenging stroke among the four and it is also called as dolphin stroke. Here your face will be again down in the water and arms will be moving together in a shape of a butterfly wings, while your legs doing a up and down kick similar to dolphin’s tail (Herman, 2011).

Reference list

Barlowe, B.(2011). History of Swimming Strokes. Retrieved from

                http://www.livestrong.com/article/347359-history-of-swimming-strokes/

Barlowe, B. (2010). Origins of Swimming. Retrieved from

                http://www.livestrong.com/article/34577-origings-of-swimming/

Herman, J. (2011). What are the four strokes in Swimming? Retrieved from

                http://www.livestrong.com/article/378883-what-are-the-four-strokes-in-swimming/

Seltzer, G. (2011). Types of Swimming Strokes. Retrieved from

               http://www.livestrong.com/article/406196-types-of-swimming-strokes/

            

Why Swimming?

I will be sharing a series of information, experiences and ideas that i learned and found about swimming. Why i choose this topic for my blog is because Swimming was one of my most favourite free time activity, my interest and also school time sport where i made many friends.
I will be writing about different experiences i gone through in my life with swimming and as well as I'm planing to introduce the different types of strokes, different types of events can be seen in a swimming meet, some tips and lessons you can learn from this sport, reasons to fear swimming and also a brief introduction about the other sports related with swimming such as  synchronizing swimming.
Swimming was some thing very close to my life for many years. I started swimming in an early age as an interest which ended up as my main sport by the time i graduated from high school. when i was about 9 years old i have accomplished learning all the strokes and i started to participate in competitions. 

Apart from that I followed Synchronizing Swimming and water polo as well. Synchronizing swimming was a wonderful memory and it was a new experience for me when i first started to swim according to the music. On the other hand these fun activities i did during school time gave me an opportunity to learn about team spirit and how to success as a team.