Sports | Swimming Sports and Recreation

Snorkeling Basics

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Swimming is as simple as floating and pushing. Swimming well or effectively might require a little more technique, and for experienced swimmers adding recreational activities such as snorkeling increase aquatic enjoyment. Snorkeling is done from a stomach floating position so that the wonders and hidden treasure of the sea can be viewed.

A snorkeling mask should include a soft and flexible skirt that fits snugly over a person’s face. It should have a clear face plate made of either plastic or safety glass. The mask will keep water out of a diver’s nose and eyes and allow a view of underwater. The fit of the mask can be checked prior to putting the strap on. Inhaling will create suction and provide a quick test of whether or not the mask will fit properly. Once the mask is properly in place a snorkel can be added. Snorkels should be soft and have a comfortable mouthpiece. When attached to a mask it should remain upright while swimming and allow for easy breathing while a diver’s face is submerged. Any water that accidentally gets inside the snorkel can be expelled with a sharp puff of air to clear it. Breathing through the snorkel should come fairly easy. Snorkels come in various sizes, but it is not recommended to use a snorkel longer than 16 inches. Snorkels with purge valves are far easier to keep clear than those without.

With equipment in place it is now time to begin snorkeling. All snorkeling begins with a prone or front float. Fall forward with arms extended in front and breathe. The front float while wearing a snorkel is an easy technique to master. From this position depending on a swimmer’s level of expertise propulsion can be added. A standard knee bend leg kick is noisy and creates lots of splashing, but it will get the job done until swimmers are ready to move onto more difficult techniques.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: Hawaii, Recreation, Recreation and Sports, Scuba diving, Shopping, Snorkeling, Sports, Water Sports

Basic Back Stroke

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For swimming long distances without tiring the backstroke might be the most effective manner to propel through the water. The basic backstroke is a far more effective way to move around the water than sculling, but it also is a more complex set of motions. Sculling is a continuous and tiring motion with the basic backstroke provide swimmer with a powerful and restful motion. Once a backstroke has been established inertia will help to carry the swimmer through the water.

The basic backstroke motion propels swimmers through the water at considerable speed and incorporates a stride that allows for moment of rest. Some exhausted swimmers have been able to rely on the basic backstroke motion when fatigue prevented them from using any other stroke.

The basic or elementary backstroke position starts with a back float. With finger extended swimmers should bring their hands to their shoulders. Arms should them extend out in a position that looks resemble a crucifix position. With arms at shoulder level, swimmers should them pull their arms to their side to push the water and propel their bodies.

The motion can be perfected by remembering to slide thumbs all the way to the shoulders in the beginning of a rotation. Hands and arms should be just under the surface of the water and pulls should be long and powerful. Swimmers should stop and glide after each stroke and remember to keep their hips up. The ease of this motion makes it ideal for long distances. Once mastered as swimmer could easily swim for miles with minimal effort. The key is to build up endurance and confidence prior to attempting a long distance swim.

In an 25-meter pool eight lengths equals 1/8 of a mile. For a swimmer to reach the mile mark it means going 64 lengths.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle swimming, Health, Stroke, Swimming, Swimming stroke, Water

Simple Water Locomotion

By breathing calmly, quickly and deeply humans have the natural ability to remain at the surface of a body of water. From their swimming is as easy as moving around. Perhaps the simplest way to achieve motion for novice swimmers while keeping their head above water is a technique known as sculling. Sculling is an arm and hand motion that propels swimmers through water from a back float position. Sculling is also a way to keep floaters’ faces above water if the water is choppy or the swimmer is not naturally buoyant.

Sculling is the first propulsive move for many newbies. It is also the basis of synchronized swimming moves. From the back float position sculling can be easily achieved by rotating the heels of submerged hands back and forth. The motion is similar to polishing a car. From this position legs and feet can then be added to add propulsion, balance and support. A basic stroke is a leg kick which occur by bending the knee and alternating kicks between legs. A bike motion kick can also be used, which copies the motion of pedaling a bicycle. Proper technique when using either of these approaches required keeping feet and knees under the surface of the water. Ankles should be hooked when moving up and foot should be pointed when moving down so that the soles of feet can be used to push the water. Not splashing is more important than anything else, because breaking the surface of the water will damage both propulsion and support.

Once a swimmer has these techniques down the basics of back stroke have been learned. For beginners who are not comfortable combining movement with a back float proper form can be learned by adding a kickboard as a sort of aquatic training wheels. Once the floating and kicking without support have been mastered a swimmer is ready to as the arm pull to the backstroke.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Environment, Freestyle swimming, Stroke, Swimming, Water, Water Resources

Back Float

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Even the most complex swimming stroke involves only two skills: floating and adding propulsion to get a swimmer to move. The first step might be the most frightening for novices.

Floating is the basis of all swimming, and it should be easy for most people to master with a little practice. For the vast majority of people holding a full breath makes it impossible to sink. Human bodies are inherently buoyant, which means that it is not a skill that needs to be learned. Three elements control buoyancy: breath control, body position and relaxation. Relaxation might be the key in the beginning because even though human bodies float a large percentage of a person’s body will still be submerged in the water. Panicking while attempting to keep one’s head above water could result in a failure to float.

The back float is one of the easiest and most important skills for a swimmer to learn. It allows a person to rest and breathe in deep water. A back float requires almost no effort and it may save lives in the event of an accident on open water. The back float is also important when trying to learn one of several strokes that require swimmers to be on their backs.

A proper back float has a swimmer lying down in the water so that his or her ears are submerged. When holding steady in the water it is time to practice breathing techniques. Take short quick breathes through the mouth, while holding in breath for periods.

A full back float is achieved when a swimmer is able to extend his or her arms above the head. The feet will rise as the arm move up and a simple and potentially life saving technique has been learned. Rather than treading water for hours the back float can keep people breathing and rested while waiting for help to arrive.

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Free Style Technique

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Proper swimming technique is essential for swimmer to glide through rather than fight the water. For freestyle the arms provide most of the propulsive force. The hand should go into the water fingertips first with the palm facing down and out diagonally. The elbow should be higher than the hand, and the hand should enter the water at a spot directly in front of the shoulder.

A common mistake that novice swimmers make with attempting to swim in freestyle form is to have their arms cross at the center of their body rather than keeping it inline with their shoulder. As a swimmer’s arm hits the water it should not be fully extended until it pushes the water. The arm should accelerate as it enters the water pulling outward, down and back. At the maximum bend the arm should cross the body at the thigh and pushes back out at the hip. The pull in freestyle should resemble an inverted S pattern because the elbow should be higher than the hand.

The continuous leg action during freestyle is not a kick as much as it is a flexible movement that should be generated by the hips. The force of the leg movement does not add much to the movement of the body. Legs should be vertically separated by only about 10 to 16 inches depending of body size.

Proper breathing is more important that the force generated by the legs. Rotary breathing should be performed during every stroked cycle in line with the body roll and arm recovery. Swimmer need to breath in through their mouths as their bodies move sideways and them exhale as their mouths are about to go back underwater. When performing this stroke, swimmers should keep their bodies as streamlined and flat as possible. Their heads should stay with in the axis of their bodies, and their entire movement should be continuous and smooth.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: Breaststroke, Breathing, Environment, Freestyle swimming, Shopping, Swimming, Water, Water Resources

Cheating in Swimming

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Is it cheating to wear a suit that makes swimmers so streamlines that they have the ability to shatter world records? The question must now be asked to due to the invention of the the Speedo LZR Racer. The suit forces swimmers’ bodies into an aerodynamic shape and pushes water to the side as they swim.

This is not the first time that technology has entered sports and it surely will not be the last. The suit gives swimmer the advantage of being able to glide through the water as if the normal drawback of a primate pushing through the water did not exist. Swimming is not the only sport to be impacted by scientific advancements that render athletic achievement less dependent on hard work then on careful planning.

Swimming has previously been affected by a steroid scandal. In the 1970s female swim teams from the Communist Bloc heavily abused steroids for a competitive advantage. In the 1976 Olympics the America male swimming team was victorious in 12 of their 13 events. The women lost all but one of their events despite setting eight American female swim team records. The East German women’s swim team won 11 events and the Russian swim team won another. The drug abuse severely affected the East German swim team. The women reported side effects including unnatural body hair, voice changed and rapid muscle growth. Women swimmers who became pregnant during their steroid treatments were ordered to have abortions so that the deformities of their children would not be revealed.

The drug abuse of the East German swimmers is cheating that goes far past the open wearing of a swim suit, but the legacy of attempting to circumvent rules to achieve superior is established. Swimmers like other athletes are tend to seek out methods to achieve victor rather than worry about ways to make the sport more transparent.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: California, Fran Crippen, Sports, Swimming (sport), Swimming and Diving, Swimsuit, United States, Water Sports

Phelps Bigger than His Sport

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Towards the end of the documentary “Pumping Iron” Arnold Schwarzenegger celebrated the end of his body building career by smoking marijuana and eating birthday cake on camera. While the moves might be considered normal behavior for 1970s celebrities the sight of the future governor taking a hit is shocking in both political and body building terms. The event is significant in the film because the behavior represented the ultimate taboo for bodybuilders. Restricted diets and obsessive behavior are at the core of Olympic athletes, which is perhaps part of the outrage and shock when Michael Phelps made public missteps involving drugs and alcohol.

Swimmer Michael Phelps dominated the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Phelps was already an Olympic hero after the 2004 Olympics. He won eight medals at the Athens games, six gold medals and two bronze. Phelps matched his medal total in 2008 with eight, but at those games he never failed to win a race. Phelps has already won 16 medals at age 25. His total puts him in striking distance of all time record of 18 by Soviet Union gymnast Larissa Latynina.

While Phelps has been nearly perfect at he Olympics his extracurricular activities have been damaging to his image. At 19 Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. In 2009 picture of Phelps smoking out of a bong hit the internet. People were shocked at the behavior. Perhaps the biggest shock was how could a world class athlete with an impeccable swimming record drink and smoke in his spare time. Perhaps Phelps is such a genetic freak that he does not have rely on perfect training to win.

Phelps might regret his missteps but that the public cares showed that he had made an impact that went past the world of swimming. The greatest athletes transcend their sport, and Phelps like Schwarzenegger captivated the public because they had become iconic figures.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: 2004 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larissa Latynina, Michael Phelps, Olympic, Olympic Games, Soviet Union

Worst Naval Disaster in History

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For the approximately 880 survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, any feelings of relief or joy of having survived the sinking of the ship quickly gave way to the terror of the situation. The World War II era cruiser had sunk so fast on July 30, 1945 that crew members did not have the chance to properly evacuate the ship. Some life boat and life vests were obtained, but not enough for the number of sailors not stranded in open water.

The worst part of the ordeal for the crew of the fallen ship might have been the response by their fellow sailors. Stations that heard the distress calls from the Indianapolis either ignored the calls or dismissed them as the Japanese attempting to lure a rescue party into a trap. The Navy then compounded the mistake by failing to notice that the Indianapolis had not reported to its destination. This meant that the 880 had to fend for themselves in the shark filled waters. The survivors waited for rescue for days as sailor began to die from exposure, exhaustion and dehydration.

As the sailors died sharks would drag away their bodies to add to the terror of the situation. For 3 days no one knew about the disaster and as a result there was no attempt of a rescue for the maligned crew of the Indianapolis. A routine patrol flight came across the dwindling population of survivors and a massive rescue effort was launched. The Cecil J. Doyle was the first ship on the scene, but for the majority of the 880 who had survived the sinking of the ship it was too late. The disaster is the worst naval disaster in American history and a chilling story for any swimmer who take a dip off a boat on the open seas. Being stranded in the ocean has been a tortuous sentence for shipwreck survivors.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: History, Navy, Sailor, Ship, United States, United States Navy, USS Indianapolis, World War II

Open Water Swimming Disaster

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For all the fun that swimming can be plenty of horror stories surround swimming in open water. Perhaps the worst real life horror stories occurred in the closing days of World War II to the survivors of the USS Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis holds a unique position in American history. The Portland-class cruiser served with distinction throughout the Pacific Theater during World War II, but history remembers the Indianapolis and its crews less for the service during the war than for the ship’s final mission. The Indianapolis delivered crucial part to be used in the construction of the first atomic bomb to the island of Tinian on July 20, 1945. Without this delivery the uranium bomb Little Boy could not have been constructed. The bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, which helped to convince the Japanese leadership of the futility of their situation. The atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki prevented the United States military from having to launch Operation Olympic, which was the codename for the invasion of the Japanese homeland.

Historians estimate that causalities from that attack might have approached one million military personal and perhaps hundreds of thousands of civilians. While it is impossible to be certain, many people including President Harry Truman have said that the nuclear attacks ended up saving lives in the long run. While the Indianapolis played a vital roll in the mission to end the war with Japan many members of the crew played the ultimate price.

Shortly after making its delivery on Tinian, the Indianapolis went back out to sea where it was met by a submarine in the Japanese Imperial Navy. Torpedoes hit the ship, which sunk in a manner of minutes. About 300 members of the crew went down with the ship. The survivors faced a terrible fate of bobbing in open water for days while dealing with exhaustion, dehydration and shark attacks.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Harry Truman, Japanese Imperial Navy, Nuclear weapon, United States, United States armed forces, USS Indianapolis, World War II

Crippen’s Death a Warning for Others

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Open water swimming remains a dangerous endeavor even for the most experienced swimmers. American swimmer Fran Crippen died during and open water 10k race off of the coast of Dubai. Crippen was a medal winning member of the U.S. National Swim team.

Crippen had the pedigree to be an excellent swimmer. He came from a prominent family of world class swimmers. FINA, an international governing body that oversees aquatic sports around the world, reported that this is the first fatality at one of their events. The investigation into Crippen’s death is centering around the temperature of the water. The waters around the United Arab Emirates were in the high- to mid- 80s and other swimmers received medical treatment after reporting complications from heat exhaustion. Even swimmers who did not show any ill-effects from the hot water said that the conditions were extreme for swimming.

Crippen told his coach that he was not feeling well towards the end of the race, but he elected to push on past his discomfort in an attempt to finish the race. When Crippen failed to appear at the finish line his fellow swimmers were the first to respond to his absence. Several swimmers went back out to search for the 26-year-old Philadelphia area native. His body was discovered near a buoy on the triangular course. Crippen was raced to a hospital and pronounced dead.

His death is shocking in the swimming world because of his experience and past success. Crippen was a standout swimmer at the University of Virginia. He place in both the 5K and 10K races at the World Championships in 2010. Crippen had a reputation for being selfless and even sacrificed his own time at a Pan Pacific meet to assist a teammate who had fallen behind. For all of his skill and pedigree even an excellent swimmer such as Crippen showed the danger of swimming through signals to stop.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: Dubai, FINA, Fran Crippen, Open water swimming, Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, United Arab Emirates, United States, University of Virginia