PE REVIEWER (MIDTERM 03/16/24)

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Ancient Civilizations: Water-related activities have been documented throughout history, with evidence of
swimming and diving dating back to ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. These
activities often had practical purposes, such as fishing, transportation, and military training.

19th Century: The modernization of swimming as a recreational and competitive sport began in the 19th
century, particularly in Europe. Swimming clubs and organizations were established, and various techniques
were developed.

20th Century: Aquatic sports gained popularity worldwide in the 20th century, with the formation of
international governing bodies like FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) for swimming, diving, water
polo, and synchronized swimming

 Based on a stroke used by native South Amercian, the version of the crawl featured a scissor kick. in
the late 1880s, an Englishman named Frederick Cavil travelled to the South Seas, where he saw the
natives performing a crawl with a flutter kick.
 Cavil settled in Australia, where he taught the stroke that was to become the famous Australian
 Swimming has featured on the programmed of all editions of the games since 1896.
 The very first Olympics events were freestyle (crawl) or breastroke.
 Backstroke added in 1904
 In the 1940s, breastroke discovered that they could go faster by bringing both arms over their heads.
This practice was immediately forbidden in breastroke, but gave birth to butterfly, whose first official
appearance was at the 1956 Games in Melbourne. This style is now one of the four strokes used in
competition
 There are 35 total olympics pool swimming events: 14 individual events per gender, plus three relays
events per gender, plus the mixed medley.

DAWN OF A SPORT

swimming was not widely practiced until the early 19th century, when the National Swimming Society of Great
Britain began to hold competitions. Most early swimmers used the breastroke, or a from of it

AN ANCIENT DISCIPLINE

Prehistoric man learnt to swim in order to cross rivers and lakes- we know this because cave paintings from
the stone Age depicting swimmers have been found in Egypt. Swimming was also referred to in Greek
mythology
UNDERLYING THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES

Hydrodynamics: Understanding the behavior of fluids, particularly water, is crucial in aquatics. Hydrodynamics
principles govern how water moves and interacts with objects and bodies within it. This knowledge helps in
developing efficient swimming techniques and designing aquatic facilities.

Biomechanics: Biomechanical principles are applied to analyze the movements of swimmers and optimize
techniques for efficiency and performance. This includes factors like stroke mechanics, body positioning, and
propulsion through the water.

Safety and Rescue Aquatics also involve knowledge of water safety and rescue techniques. Understanding
concepts like buoyancy, flotation devices, and rescue protocols is crucial for preventing accidents and
responding effectively in emergencies.

Physiology: Understanding the physiological responses to aquatic activities is essential for training and
performance optimization. Factors such as cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, and thermoregulation
play significant roles in aquatic sports.

Psychology: Mental preparation and psychological factors are vital in aquatics, especially in competitive
settings. Techniques such as visualization, goal-setting, and concentration are employed to enhance
performance and manage pressure.

Environmental Considerations: Aquatic activities take place in various environments, including pools, oceans,
lakes, and rivers. Understanding the unique characteristics and challenges of each environment is essential for
safety and performance.

BASICS OF SWIMMING

Submerging - refers to learning skills as part of breathing techniques, such as blowing bubbles or holding their
breath while underwater.

Rhythmic Breathing - pattern of timing exhales and inhales while continuously swimming in a fluid cadence.

 Repeat a pattern of 3 seconds of bubbles out and 1 second of air in. Also, maintain a proper head
position, keeping the face and ears submerged while exhaling to sustain a horizontal body position in
the water.

Floating - ability to float in the surface of water

Buoyancy - is the ability of an object submerged in the water to stay closer to the surface.

Types of Float:

 Prone Float
 Horizontal Back Float
  Supine Float
 Deadman’s or Starfish Float
 Egg or Tucked Float
 Jellyfish Float

Gliding - means travelling through the water without any movements from arms, legs, torso or head.

Flutter kick - most prevalent kick used in swimming, primarily use the flutter kick in front crawl (freestyle) and
backstroke swimming. The flutter can have different rhythms and as you get more advanced, you can adapt a
2-beat, 4-beat or 6-beat flutter kick depending on how you swim

DRILLS TO IMPROVE FLUTTER KICKS:

Kickboard Drill: Hold a kickboard in front of you with arms extended and focus on the up-and-down motion of
your legs, prioritizing a small range of motion and pointed toes.

Fin Drill: Wear fins to accentuate the feeling of aproper flutter kick and isolate leg movement for better focus
on technique. Gradually transition to kicking without fins as your technique improves.

Single-Leg Kick Drill: Focus on kicking with one leg at a time while holding the other leg straight behind you.
This helps isolate leg movement and identify any imbalances between your left and right kicks.

Phases of Arm Stroke

1. Catch
2. Pull
3. Push
4. Recovery

FREESTYLE (FRONT CRAWL)

The front crawl, also widely known as freestyle, is the fastest and most efficient swimming stroke used in
competitive swimming. Freestyle is not actually a stroke but a category in swimming competitions.

ORIGINS OF FREESTYLE

Early Beginnings: Freestyle swimming dates back to ancient times when humans first took to the water for
survival and transportation.

Evolution: Ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians and Greeks practiced various forms of swimming, laying
the foundation for modern techniques.
TECHNIQUE OF FREESTYLE SWIMMING

Body Position: Maintain a horizontal position with the body parallel to the water's surface.

Arm Movement: Alternating arm strokes with a high elbow position for maximum propulsion.

Breathing: Coordinate breathing with arm strokes, exhaling underwater and inhaling during rotation.

Kicking: Flutter kicking from the hips, generating propulsion without excessive splashing.