Resort Resources: Introduction to Swimming

Resort Resources: Introduction to Swimming

Ever watched Olympic swimmers and wondered how they manage to swim so fast and effortlessly? Well, the truth is that they all started out just like you. At some point, even the best swimmers actually did not know how to swim! They all had to learn and practice slowly, step by step. With some effort, we can all build up our swimming techniques and speed to become great swimmers. You might wonder why it is important to learn how to swim. The most obvious reasons are that swimming is simply a fun sport and a great way to stay healthy and active. It helps to build up strong muscles and keep a healthy weight level. But apart from that, swimming can also help to save your life, or someone else’s life in case of an accident in the water. Imagine falling out of a boat by mistake. Instead of panicking and drowning, a good swimmer would be able to calmly stay afloat and wait until help arrives. On the other hand, if another person is in trouble in the water, a good swimmer can help to rescue them and bring them back to land or to a boat.

Learning how to swim

If you are nervous about starting to swim, don’t worry. It’s a natural reaction in the beginning. Just remember to start slowly in the shallow end. It always helps to wear flotation devices on the arms or to use a kickboard to help with floating and balance. Instead of learning alone, it’s usually best to ask a swimming instructor for lessons. That way, they can help introduce proper swimming techniques and help the student become used to the sensation of swimming. At first, the main things to learn are how to walk in the water along the pool floor, float with the head above water, hold your breath underwater for at least a few seconds and practice a basic swimming movement. It always helps to wear swimming goggles to avoid a burning sensation in the eyes.

During the first sessions, start out on the steps of the pool in the shallow area. Sit on the steps and try raising one or both legs. This will help to introduce the sensation of floating. While sitting on the steps and holding onto the railing, take a deep breath and try to keep your face down in the water for one or two seconds. This is called holding your breath, and it is a very important technique used in swimming. Over time, swimmers learn to hold their breath for longer periods of time. Next, try walking in the pool. You’ll notice that jumping or hopping feels much different from jumping on land. This is because the water helps to carry our weight. Near the railing, try to lie flat in the water, facing upwards. Ask an adult or instructor to provide some support. Since the water carries our weight, you’ll see that you can float even while lying in the water! With the help of a kickboard, practice keeping the arms stretched out in front of the face and kicking the legs up and down. Make lots of big, noisy splashes with your legs! This is actually another common technique used in swimming. Another very useful thing to learn is treading water. It is a way to stay afloat without swimming while keeping the head above water. This is another technique that should only be practiced with a parent or instructor’s support in the water. One way is to keep the legs straight and kick back and forth. A better way to tread water is to pretend to sit on a chair in the water and then move the feet around in opposite directions. Treading water is very useful for staying afloat in deep areas, or in an emergency situation when a swimmer might need to stay at the surface for a long time. 


Swimming Safety

Even though swimming is so much fun, we must all be very careful in and around the water to avoid dangerous accidents. Always make sure that there is an adult or lifeguard close by before jumping into the water. Never go swimming alone. It’s always safer and more fun to swim with a friend. Kids who are still learning how to swim should use floatation armbands or other aids to stay afloat and stick to the shallow end. Don’t run around the pool area because it can be easy to slip on the wet floor and fall into the water. Remember that it is not good to pretend to wave your arms and scream for help if you are not really in danger. Other people may get hurt while trying to rescue you, or worse, nobody might believe it if you really are in trouble in future. When swimming in a pool at home, ask mom and dad to set up a fence around the pool. This will help to avoid accidental falls into the pool. At the beach or lake, stay in the shallow waters and always make sure someone else is swimming close to you. Try to avoid areas that have a lot of underwater plants and weeds, since it is easy to become trapped in them. In open waters, the current can easily pull you far away. If this happens, do not try to swim in the opposite direction. Instead, stay calm and yell or signal for help. After learning how to swim well, it’s a great idea to do a course in lifesaving.


Swimming techniques

There are many different swimming techniques, called strokes. Each of them enable swimmers to move at different speeds and with different levels of effort. For example, The doggie paddle is a great stroke for young children to help them get used to moving and floating in the water. It involves small kicking movements with the arms and legs while keeping the head above water the entire time. Another easy technique to start with is the breaststroke. The legs move out and in, very similar to the way a frog swims in a pond. The arms make a large round movement, as if the swimmer was digging a large hole in the water with their hands. Although the breaststroke is slower than freestyle, it is a very effective way to swim long distances without using a lot of energy. In the breaststroke, the swimmer can raise their head above the water to breathe after every stroke, or after every two or three strokes to help them move faster.

The freestyle or front stroke is the fastest and most powerful way to swim. It is also one of the most popular strokes among swimmers. The legs are stretched out and continually kick up and down, while the arms push up through the water and continue pushing down along the length of the body before coming back up. The swimmer normally has their face down in the water and move it up and sideways to breathe. This breathing technique of the freestyle can be a bit complicated for beginners to master right away, so it is best to start with the easier techniques first. The butterfly stroke gets its name from the large movement of the arms which look like butterfly wings flying. At the same times, the legs stay somewhat straight and move in a similar manner to a dolphin’s tail. For this reason, the leg movement is called a dolphin kick. The butterfly stroke is one of the most difficult strokes but also very powerful. With this stroke, swimmers can travel long distances very fast. Unlike all of the other strokes, the back crawl or backstroke is swum facing upwards. The swimmer lies on their back in the water and kicks their legs up and down. The arms rotate in the reverse technique used in the front crawl. During the back crawl, it is easy for the swimmer to continuously breathe. It is quite relaxing and uses much less effort than the other strokes. If a swimmer is very tired, they can even modify the backstroke so that only the legs paddle and the arms hang loosely by their sides. They will move much slower in this way, but will conserve more energy. Do you think you can make up a new swimming technique?