Swimming

History

Although it is possible that the human ones knew to swim as of the prehistoric period (there do not exist archaeological evidence in this field), the first documents on this subject go back roughly to 2.500 before the Christian era and come from Egypt, of Greece, Assyrie and Rome. One taught swimming with the Roman citizens as of their childhood: of a man little educated the Romans said: “It can neither read nor to swim. ”

The fastest stroke is the Crawl, very much used in freestyle, developped at the point by John Arthur Trudgen in 1873 while taking as a starting point the technique used by certain Amerindians. At the beginning of the XXe century the leg movement current, apparently resulting from the observation of Australian natives appeared. This stroke was called “Australian crawl” until the middle of the XXe century about.

Accessories of swimming

Swimming can only be practiced provided with the Bathing suit, although the tendency among candidates is now with the more or less complete combination. One can also help oneself of various accessories, among which:

to be maintained at water surface: buoys, belts of floating, the arm-bands
to breathe: bottles of compressed air to remain under water, the tuba to breathe at water surface without having to turn the head or the frontal tuba for the drive in freestyle without rotation of the head.
to move more quickly: palm S, Monopalme, plates for the hands (also called " paddles").
For the comfort of the swimmer: the bathing cap which protects the hair, avoids polluting the swimming pool and is due hot to the head when water is cold; isothermal combination to swim out of cool water; glasses to protect the eyes and the masks to see under water; stoppers of ear and the pince-nez to prevent water from returning in the ears or the nose. This last in particular being used for swimming synchronized.

For the training and the improvement of the stroke: the board which makes it possible to make work only the legs; the Sweater-buoy, object foams about it that one places between the legs to work only the arms; plates, accessories out of plastic increasing the support of the hands for muscler arms and to work its technique; the rubber rubber band that one puts around the wrists or of the ankles and which makes it possible to improve its supports. One can add in this heading the accessories of floating and those allowing to move more quickly (small palms to work the beats).
to swim on the spot or against resistance: shirts with resistance, belts with cups, cables or rubber bands connected to a belt carried by the swimmer, or telescopic pole fixed outside the basin connected to the swimmer by a neoprene belt.

Strokes of competition

the butterfly (butterfly) 50m, 100m and 200m ;
the back (Backstroke, “backstroke” or “back crawl”) 50m, 100m and 200m ;
the brews (breaststroke) 50m, 100m and 200m ;
It freestyle, (freestyle) 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m . In theory, the freestyle authorizes all the styles of stroke. In practice, it is the Crawl, the fastest stroke, which is used. In a test of 4 strokes, the test of freestyle does not authorize the other strokes used at the time of the test (rule SW 5.1).

In a test of 4 strokes ( 100,200 or 400m ), the order of the strokes is the following: butterfly, back, brew and freestyle. In a relay, the order changes: back, brews, butterfly, freestyle in order to make it possible to the dossist to leave (the departure in back is done in water, the hands on the handles located under the stud and not by dive of the stud as in the other strokes).

The Indian Pitch-stirrer and the back with two arms are not official strokes. The butterfly is regulated less severely in the main tests (the movements of pitch-stirrer of the legs remain authorized). The back with two arms is authorized in all the tests of back, even if he is not taught any more as a stroke. Usually practiced in the main competitions, it is less hard beyond for the shoulders of a certain age. The pitch-stirrer is the technically most regulated stroke, with in particular the obligation as out of butterfly of side symmetry and simultaneously touching the wall with the two hands with the turn and arrival.

Lastly, in all the strokes, casting is limited to 15 meters. Except in pitch-stirrer, where casting is limited by the number of movements, i.e. a movement of dolphin (called an undulation) going down from the legs, a movement of pitch-stirrer (arm and legs) and the first cycle of arm which must make it possible to the swimmer to cut surface (modification of payment FINA August 2005, FFN October 2005, the undulation are new). Also it is not possible to evolve/move over all the duration of an Olympic distance in immersion.

Also, certain swimmers shave the hairs (legs, arm and even eyebrows!) not because of negligible resistance that they exert, but because a light layer of skin is removed and the swimmer in question has better a feeling of water. Finally, the high level swimmers use from now on (in the easy countries) of the shirts reproducing the skin of the sharks which have the reputation to offer a resistance to water weaker than that of the skin of the man.

Competitive practices

One can gather the competitive practice of swimming in three categories of Sport S: races, artistic practice, and sports of opposition practiced in water.

races: it is a question of as quickly as possible traversing a certain distance by respecting a payment. One makes distinctions according to the place of practice and the accessories authorized. The sporting Natation gathers the races in swimming pool without accessories (the back, the freestyle, the butterfly, and brew it), by categories of age. it there with the futures category including/understanding people the 9 year old and less, chicks of 10 and 11 years, youngest children of 12 and 13 years, the tiny ones of 14 and 15 years, juniors by 16 and 17 years, juniors of 18 and 20 years, seniors of 21,22,23,24 and 25 years then Masters 25 years and, broken up more of 14 parties: C1 for the elderly from 25 to 29 years, C2 from 30 to 34 years, C3 from 35 to 39 years, C4 from 40 to 44 years, C5 from 45 to 49 years, C6 from 50 to 54 years, C7 from 55 to 59 years, C8 from 60 to 64 years, C9 from 65 to 69 years, C10 from 70 to 74 years, C11 from 75 to 79 years, C11 from 80 to 84 years, C13 from 85 to 89 years, C14 from 90 to 94 years. For the moment, the categories stop here because it nor does not have people of more than 94 years! the competitions Masters (beyond 25 years) make swimming one of the very rare sports where the candidates can continue their unbounded career up to the world level. Practical in full extension - with the image of the marathon in athletics - swimming Master is the occasion of very important competitions: the championships of the world of the Masters thus joined together in June 2004 more than 9.000 swimmers with Riccione, in Italy. There exist also races in swimming pools with accessories (palms or monopalme, tuba, bottles of air), of the interstitial water races with or without accessories, of the Natation out of water running. The test of 10 km out of interstitial water will make its entry with the Olympic Games of Beijing in 2008. Already of great names of swimming such as Australian Grant Hackett, meant their intention to take part in this new test. Special tests can be organized out of the interstitial water, most known is the crossing of the English Channel (31 km).
the artistic practice gathers the dive and the synchronized Natation (in the past called nautical Ballet).
sports of opposition practiced in water: the main thing is the Water-polo. There is also the subaqueous Hockey.

== In Quebec == In Quebec, the categories are separate differently. There is the 11-12 (the young people of 11 years month are also in this category), the 13-14 years, and all depend on the competitions there are the 15 years and more or the 15-16 years and the 17 years and more or senior. There are also competitions of Masters in Quebec. Moreover, to reach the levels regional, provincial 1 (P1), provincial 2 (p2) and national it is necessary to reach certain times at the time of the tests which one calls of the standards. They differ according to the groups of ages and the level from the competitions. Young people (11-12 years and 13-14 years) must reach obligatory standards in certain tests of free style and QNI. From 15 years one can reach the standards in any tests. Certain compétions is the cuts of Quebec and Canadian is accessible only to the 15 years and more. The swimmers more jenues must reach standards much higher to be likely to take part in these competitions.

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