Mechanics for Swimming

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SWIMMING

8th AIE College Foundation, Baguio City

Three strokes, or styles of swimming, are contested at this swimming meet: freestyle, backstroke, breastroke. Swimmers race a variety of distances, ranging from 25 meters to 200 meters. Each stroke has specific rules as to how swimmers may propel themselves through the water.

Freestyle

Freestyle, often called the “crawl,” is the most flexible in its rules, and it is typically the fastest stroke. The only rules are that the swimmer may not push off the bottom of the pool or pull on the lane line, and must touch the far wall with some part of their body.

Freestyle is swum face-down with alternating arm strokes; side-breathing; and rapid, alternating up-and-down kicks. The Freestyle race will begin with swimmers doing forward-facing dives from either a starting block or the side of the pool.

In the return lap, swimmers can do either an open turn or a flip turn. When doing a flip turn, the swimmer does not touch the wall with his/her hand. Instead, the swimmer’s feet touch the wall. At the finish, freestyle swimmers touch with one hand.

Backstroke

Backstroke is often thought of as “upside-down freestyle.” As in freestyle, backstroke is swum with alternating arm strokes and rapid, alternating, up-and-down kicks. Unlike freestyle, the swimmer must be on his/her back, facing the sky.

When swimmers turn their shoulders more than 90 degrees, they are disqualified from the race for not remaining on their backs.

The only exception to this rule applies to the flip turn in multi-lap backstroke races: Swimmers may turn onto their stomachs for one arm pull, provided their arm movement is continuous. When their feet leave the wall, swimmers must be on their backs.

Backstroke races start with swimmers already in the water. Swimmers place their feet against the wall, and hold onto either the gutter or the grip built into the starting block.

At the finish of the race, backstroke swimmers must stay on their backs until they touch the wall, ideally with one hand.

Breast stroke

Breast stroke is often thought of as the “frog stroke,” as the kick is reminiscent of a frog’s kick. A breast stroke swimmers arms and legs must move simultaneously, on the same horizontal plane, and identically to each other.

The arms and legs stay mostly underwater, but a swimmer’s head must break the surface every stroke. So-called scissor kicks are not allowed.

The arm stroke begins and ends in streamline position. The hands scoop water out to the sides, before sweeping in toward the middle of the body and then shooting forward. Swimmers are not allowed to pull their hands down past their hips, and must keep their elbows in the water when their hands are shooting forward. On the breast stroke kick, swimmers must point their toes out to the side as the feet sweep out, around, and back together. For every arm stroke there must be one, and only one, kick.

Breast stroke races begin with a forward-facing dive from either the edge of the pool or the starting block. At the beginning of each lap, swimmers may do one pull-down: one huge pull, in which the hands sweep down to the thighs, and one giant kick to the surface. On the first stroke after the pull-down, a swimmer’s head must break the surface of the water.

At the end of each lap of a breast stroke race, swimmers must touch with two hands, simultaneously and on the same horizontal plane. In the return lap race, swimmers will use open turns, not flip turns.

CRITERIA FOR JUDGING

·         Any rules broken will result in immediate disqualification of the swimmer.

·         The two swimmers (boy and girl) of each campus would swim each stroke simultaneously and their times recorded accordingly with the help of my assistants.

·         The swimmer has to back and forth for it to be considered a single lap.

·         The timing of each swimmer for each stroke will be recorded.

·         The lowest timing of the stroke will be declared the winner of that style.

·         The over – all champion will be based on his/her average time of all three styles.

Ms Thanie Khumar
Coordinator - Swimming Event