History

1. History Swimming has been recorded since ancient times. The earliest copy of swimming was paintings from about 7,000 years ago dates back to Stone Age. Before, in open water swimming men and women swam in a lake or sea where they had 5 km, 10 km and 25 km events. In 1578 a German named professor of languages, Nikolaus Wynmann wrote the first swimming book, The Swimmer or a Dialogue on the Art of Swimming. Around the 1800’s competitive swimming started in Europe. In 1817 the first German swimming club was founded in Berlin. Nancy Edberg was the first active woman instructor in swimming in Stockholm, making swimming training available for both genders in 1847. The first indoor swimming pool was built in England in 1862. In 1880 an Amateur Swimming Association of Great Britain was formed with more than 300 members. In 1908, Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) the world swimming association was formed.

2. Olympics In 1896, swimming became an Olympic sport for men with 100 metres and 1500 metres freestyle competitions held in open water. From 1896 and the 1906 Olympic games women could not participate because the creator of the modern games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin said that women were too delicate to participate in competitive swimming. The 1900 Olympic Games in Paris included three strange swimming events: 1. Obstacle Course Test of underwater swimming endurance 4,000 metre event, the longest competitive swimming event ever. None of the three were ever used in the Olympics again.’ In the 1912 games women were able to participate due to the promoting of the group that later became known as the International Olympic Committee. The Olympics now have established 32 swimming races, 16 for men and 16 for women. The special Olympics include competitive swimming for people with disabilities and has 22 events for men and 22 for women.

3. Commonwealth Games • The Commonwealth Games Federation Headquarters is in London, England. • The current president of the games is Michael Fennell. • The first Commonwealth Games were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in the year 1930. • 11 countries sent 400 athletes to take part in 6 sports and 59 events. • The Opening ceremony was held on 16th August and the Closing Ceremony was held on 23rd August 1930. • The Games have been held every four years except for 1942 and 1946 due to World War II. • From 1930 to 1954 the Games were known as the British Empire Games, from 1954 till 1966 the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and from 1970 to 1974 British Commonwealth Games. • Swimming is among the oldest sports on the Commonwealth Games and it has been competed at every Games since the first in 1930. • The games include events for men and women over 50m, 100m and 200m in Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly. • There are also 400m freestyle events for both men and women, and also 800m for women and 1500m for men freestyle events. • Out of the 40 swimming events contested at the Manchester Games in 2002, Australia won a amazing 27 gold medals - nearly three quarters of the medals available. Motto: Humanity- Equality-Destiny

4. Women • Goggles and Swim Cap (Choice) • Swim Suit: • Racer back • Knee skin • Body Skin • Training Gear • Pool Noodle • Pull Buoy • Training Fins • Swimming Float Equipment • Men • Goggles and Swim cap (Choice) • Swim Suit: • Body skin • Knee skin • Leg skin • Swim Briefs • Manufacturers • Arena • Speedo International Limited • TYR Sport, Inc.

5. Swimming Skills Butterfly: Performed facedown in the water, you do a dolphin kick and move your arms in a forward circle at the same time. Breaststroke: Performed face down in the water, the arms stay in the water and move at the same time, while the legs perform a frog-kick. Backstroke: The swimmers lie on their back. They swing their arms back over their shoulder to move through the water. When one arm is in the air the other arm is in the water. The swimmer’s legs kick up and down with the knees slightly bent. Sidestroke: On the side, pull the water as if with a rope with arms going out and stopping in the middle, while the legs are performing a scissor kick. Freestyle: The swimmers can swim any way they want. But nearly every swimmer uses the front crawl. This is normally the fastest way to swim.

6. Swimming Rule in the Olympics • All Strokes: • Walking on bottom toward the finish. • Pulling on the lane rope in the direction of the finish. • Left the water before finishing the full distance or DNF (Did Not Finish). • Freestyle: • Failure to touch on the turn at 25m, 50m and 75m. • Failure to resurface by 15m after the start. • Backstroke: • Failure to touch on the turn at 25m, 50m and 75m. • Failure to stay on back during race or at finish. • Failure to surface by 15m after the start. • Not on back when feet left the wall at 25m, 50m and 75m. • Breaststroke: • One hand touch at 25m, 50m and 75m finish. • Scissor or dolphin kick. • Failure of head to surface during each stroke. • Butterfly: • One hand touch at 25m, 50m and 75m finish. • Flutter kick or scissor kick. • Failure to surface by 15m after the start.

7. Interesting Facts • Swimming started in the 1st century. • Over 50% of world – class swimmers suffer from shoulder pain. • Peanuts are a source of energy for swimmers. • Drags slow you down in swimming because they are not skin tight. • The shorter your hair is the more chance you have for swimming faster. • An hour of energetic swimming will burn up to 650 calories. • It burns off more calories than walking or biking. • Swimming strengthens the heart and lungs. • Swimming works out all of the body’s major muscles. • Swimming helps reduce stress. • About 65 thousand people in the United States do not know how to swim. Many of them learned as young children but never go to a pool, lake, river, or ocean anymore and have forgotten how to swim over the years. • You should not swim for an hour after eating, this is because your body is digesting your food and you may get a cramp during the time right after you eat.

8. Famous Australians Full Name: Dawn Fraser Born: 4th September 1937 (73) Place of Birth: Balmain, New South Wales Height: 1.71 metres Nickname: Frase Nationality: Australian Full Name: Ian James Thorpe Born: 13th October 1982 (28) Place of Birth: Sydney, New South Wales Height: 1.95 metres Nickname: Thorpedo, Thorpey Nationality: Australian Dawn Fraser is regarded as the greatest female swimmer in the world, being the first woman who swam the 100-metre event in less than a minute. Dawn was praised in 1955 when she broke currently held records in the freestyle events right up to 880 yds. She shot into international fame at the Melbourne Olympics held in 1956 when she broke the 100-metre freestyle record, which was set 20 years back by Willy Den Ouden. Just 18 years of age, she won 3 medals from her first Olympic games. An Australian, Ian Thorpe has won 5 Olympic golds as well as 11 gold medals in the World Championships. No one else from Australia has been able to match is Olympic gold tally. He also has been nominated four times as the World Swimmer of the Year by the Swimming World International magazine.

9. Landmark Events • In the first four Olympics, competitions were not held in pools, but in open water, 1896 The Mediterranean Sea, 1900 The Siene, 1904 an artificial lake,1906 The Mediterranean Sea. The 1904 Olympic races were the only ones ever measured in yards, instead of the normal metres. • Male swimmers wore full body swim suits up until the 1940’s, which caused more drag in the water than their modern swim-wear. • The 1924 Olympics were the first to use the normal 50 metre pool with marked lanes. In the freestyle, swimmers first dove from the pool walls, but diving blocks were included starting at the 1936 Summer Olympics. • Swimming goggles were first allowed in 1976. • Women were first allowed the longer distance of 800m freestyle in 1968, which remains the longest distance for women in the Olympics. • Both men and women were granted the 200m freestyle race, in 1968 giving swimmers a halfway distance race between 100m and 400m. • Women’s teams were first granted the 800m freestyle relay race in 1966, even though there had been a men’s relay race at that distance since 1912. • The butterfly events were not held until 1956. According to the rules, the butterfly stroke was allowed in the breaststroke races, but then the rules changed stopping the use of the butterfly stroke in the breaststroke races.

10. Thank You for Watching and Listening!Hope you liked it! ^.^By: Amisha & Bellyse C4 6/7