SWIMMING.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 645, 23 October 1909, Page 12

SWIMMING.

(By SriiASH.)

. The characteristics and distinctive features of grade dives aro dealt with as follow in the final of the scries of articles contributed by Mr. H. Sydney B. Ribbands:—

General Notes.—Tho body and limbs are governed by detail judging rules/ Change of body position duriug llight should bo executed quickly and smartly, so that the first and succeeding positions bo clearly, defined, and not gradually evolved the one from' the other., It is a fixed'rule that both feet should lcavo.the springboard at tho same instant, the only exceptions beiugi (a) Springboard dives, N05.38, .39, 40, 55,' 56,'57. "(b) Running, plain, jitmp, sfnllow, and back-turn somersault dives, from tho 15ft. and 30ft. high platforms. In the above exceptional cases tho take-off is executed from ono foot. All, dives in which tho body enters the water feet first must show such.eutry with arms to sides. In all running springboard dives, with the exception of those just mohtionod, tho diver should give a spring when ho roaches a distance of 2ft. from tlo diving end of the board, and alight with full force, both feet together, within tho standing position area. Tho-resulting spring' of- the board will launch him upward and onward, giving boldness and dash to tho execution of the dive. % The Fall (dives 1 to 4).--Tlio body, standiOg rigid, and upright at the oxtrome ond of the board, is allowed to fall forward, the feot only slipping from the board when tho body arrives at such an angle as shell permit Of its headlong doscent, into tho water\without "spla.ih. Perfect rigidity, of body and limbs is tbo feature of. tho divo-.from start'to finish.

The Drop (dives 5 and C).—The body, stiff and .upright, is '.-balanced cither, on tho heelsforward dive, or toes-backward dive, at'tho extromo edge of tho'.board. To dislodge tho feet a slight muspulSrVmovoment of the. trunk will suffice to launch tho body perpendicularly, feet loading, into-tho water below. Absolute rigid-' ity of body and limbs is necessary from tho leaving of the: board until tho entry into tho water. ..;',■' : - ;'-..,.

The, Jump., (dives. 7 'and 40).—A pOwer'nl forward and"Upward spring from.tho board is made from ;one':-.f00t,.. Tho body is .rigiily straightened ;Out immediately after tho lupwird spring, dnd theVarms,' which have been swung forward and upward at tho moment of jumping, to: give force and impetus, are.-brought smartly to the sides! The body' reaches tho water:feet first at such an .angle; as shall occa-sion-minimum splash. ',-•■ .'■.. .The Plain (dives'B'to 11, 30/37).—Tho body must be sprung from tho board'powerfully upwards and. outwards. . From tho standing positidn.tho. OfmS must not.bd placed "leading" until just lis. the board is being : left,: as tho swing, of tho- arms into this position -Vill ■ greatly assist a bold upward .and outward spring. The trunk Of the body," together with the limbs (from the extremity of the-toes to the tips of the-fingers, to tho.topiof tho head with arms to sides) must form a graceful unbroken"lino. ' A slight curve upwards:, according to, diver's, style may bo permitted,'but on angular bend in thd hollow of the back or the front'of tho waist is-a fault. In tho plain dive backwards, tho back may bo. slightly curved downwards. Tho body must bo sprung boldly from tho board. •Tho Swallow (dives 12 and 43).—After an upward'and outward plain dive spring, from tho board, : the leading' arms are swung roundly "and'gracefully from the shoulders into an o.v tendod position at right angles to the sido of tho body, and horizontal to the' walor-linc. During (the foregoing imovemont the arms-are giveri; a halfrtiirni directing the palmsj;6f..,the hands"! forward', and ,upyards..':.TThd'-bock Imlitt be hollowed, arid, the .head thrown well back, This''poise"must'bo maintained as;;long as';pos.sible; .allowing only .sufficient time' Jot-; thd body to rdedver- .to'.'.tho' -plain-divo;; position, .with arms-leading, as the.water is: entered,-..;;-, : The Sido (dive'l3).—The body and lihib'slare treated'as in a plain standing.dis-c, tho"only difference being that the; body is presented sideways to the water. After the halt at "attention" on' tho end of thd board, the; arm which is nearer to the water'is swung up into a "leading" position (pilm of the hnild'. face to the-water), while thd other arm remains at thoside Of tho body.'" A'Sitleway spring is.'niorfo as tho-'raised arm swings up, and the water is entered with limbs'in the same felativo.position as when leaving'tho board.-" " Tho Buck;(dives: 14 to 19, -'"44, 45).-At the standing!, position : tho' straightened : arms are raised •frouy'-'attentlbn" to an angle of 45 degrees to the'front of tho thighs. ' The body is then sprung; upwards - above, mid only .just beyond; the end of tho board', while, at the same timo, i; the' straightened arms are;sniurtly lowerod'.either to touch; or within d,t ; least six inches of the toes; There, .must bo no, bend at the knees, and the toes must be kept, pointed downwards.- From a stand the . body should enter tho water almost perpendicularly below the'end Of'the board. " When 1 "this dive is . taken running, the ,body. must bo .sprunjj from the board upwards ..and outwards, as in .tho plain dive, with arms.leading,.-and; immediately after,.tho ornis'mnst bo- swung .to; tho toes. Tho,buck poise must bo maintained as long as posslblo, but tho body must recover, in every-case, to a plain divo position on reaching the water. With arms to sides, the trunk of the body executes tho same' mOvemOnts.as in arms' "loading." Tho somersault,-introduced in buck dives 18 arid-19, is produced-by swinging the'hands forcibly to. the toes.' -'The/resulting impulse should yield tho somersault,-. The .Screw ..(dives 20 to 27, 4a.to 49) .-Tho board is quitted'as in'the plain dive, and then, by a sharp muscular.movement, thebody is Tevolved horizontally on its long axis, in contradistinction to the revolution on its short axis in the somersault, The rotary movement must be obtained after the body is free of tho board, otherwiso.it will bo impossible to gauge the exact amount of force required to produco cithor tho half-turn or the ono-turn screw. If, on leaving the board, tbo.body bo horizontal to tbb water, face downwards/the half;-, screiv movement will cause it to.enter' the water face directed up, as in the plain divo backwards. Similarly tho one-turn" screw will yield, an. entiro revolution of tbe-body,' thelatter reaching the water as in a plain divo forwards. ...

' The Buck-Screw (dives 28 to 31, 50, 51).A ■ combination .of the buck and screw dives. The body, after springing from the hoard, poises, in the buck position, and then is Riven a halfscrew turn On the long axis. The result is that, while the rolativo positions of hands and feet are unchanged, the arched body's buck bend has become a back bend, and the water is, entered, arms leading, as in the plain dive backwards. The one-turn buck-screw is executed in the same way, the water bein? reached as in the' plain dive forwards. Great practico is required, to produce tho long-axis.body-turn while in the bent buck position, otherwise tho legs will swing np and over from the: hips. Tho Somersault (dives 32 to 3£ 52 to ,57).Tho spring from the. bdard is made from both feet,'with the exception pMhe back somersault dives 38, 30, 55, 56, 57, where the spring is from one foot. The backward and forward somersaults of one turn from the low and high hoards, .and also ot.one.jnd-'a-hnlf tnm from tho'. high board, must h6 made with unbent knees; but; from tho low board, the one-and-a-half turn backwards and forwards may be executed with lenees doubled to the chest. Tho 6amo rule armlies to the two or more somcrsnnlts from ; tho high board. Irt all-Ono-nnd-a-half and two-or-moro-tm-ns somersault's the hotly must be straightened to tho plniii dive position On .reaching the water. In every somersault dive, the. toes must be pointed in line.with the.shirts. In the case of tho forwards one nod onc-ahd-a-lmlf back-turn somersaults-(dives tffl, 39, 55, Bfi, 57), the head should ho thrown hack ns ihe board is quitted, and tho lot opposite to that, from which tho take-off spring in obtained should be swung UOwarcK.The action of bead and leg will:produce the'back turn Great- Care ~mu«t :b«.exercised- in all bnfV turn, somersaults, also in forward'somersaults taken-from,the stand, to spring well. clear Of the beard.': Which might. otherwise be struct with the head- In somersaults, where the body fhter« ; .the wato,feel first, tho arms must bo U livMdju oJ tbVbodj.