SWIMMING.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1704, 22 March 1913, Page 12

SWIMMING.

[Tst "Splash."! tHAT MAGIC CRAWL-STROKE, Ths Season has Closed,. The season for swimmers has closed. Meteorologically it hlas been antytMng but-good, and, as a consequenoe, swimming has not shown the improvement anticipated. Apart from the oonduct of tho weather, however, a few other things came to pass during tho season wMch, in a measure, doubtless mili'tated against success. -First and foremost, and the most serious of these, were tho .carnivals conducted by the Wellington Centre on the occasion of the visit of tho Australian swimmers. Both of these carnivals, which were liberally supported. by the _ publio, were such wretchedly uninteresting and badly-managed affairs, that the publio, "once bitten twice shy," gave a- very wide berth to the club carnivals which followed later in tho season. Assuredly those centre carnivals woro flies in the ointment. If a quarter-way through the programme the publio had arisen en masse and swooped down upon the ticket-box and demanded a refund of their cash, and then wrecked tho building, the centre officials would ndt have been justified in having even a grievance. ■ But the publio did not do this; thoy had their revenue upon other carnivals—they kept away. Another regrettable thing was our failure at the .championships at Wanganui. Wellington should undoubtedly havo, won tho polo championship. A strong team was serJt, but misfortune oonfronted it at overy turn. The team'played itself into the final quite easily, but on the night of <tho deciding, battle our team was prao-. tioaily non est. Of tho four men that returned to Wellington, ana whq wore to arrive back in.'time i» plav. in the final, only one returned. Thus the team which was at the outset considered strong, was, whon the climax arrived, . lamentably weak. Canterbury beat us by t> goals to 2, and back went the banner to Chrietchurch. - Wellington has aohieved something, however. Tho Nor den Cup, a cup for annual competition between Wellington and Christchurch, was, after an exciting tussle, captured by Wellington, the homo team 1 winning two events ito the visitors' one. The second competition for this cup will bo held at Canterbury next year.

A Fow Splashes. , It was inspiring to note that the Wellington contro at its last meeting took upon itself to diseussj something that is of | great importanco to Wellington swimming—the question of ■ advocating f#r a tepid bath. It may be recalled that at tho opening of the season tho Mayor and sevoral councillors expressed themselves in favour of the idea', and incidentally stated that thoy would be glad to receive a deputation from 6wimmers on the matter. The present would, for various reasons, seem a most opportune time for this deputation. • ■ Swimmers will regret to hear of the approaching departure of G. R. Paterson. Ho oxpects to complete his term of apprenticeship early in May, and will, it is 1 understood, leave for the Old' Country almost immediately. , W. Wilmott, who, until recently, took a prominent part in water polo in Wellington, has left New Zealand for his homo in England. Probably the most promising youth of tho junior division this season is W. Meyer, of the Wellington _ Club.' Meyor finished the season up by winning the Old Boys' inter-club event (150 yds.) on Tuesday evening. The Swifts Club decided the last of the season's races on Thursday evening. Tho "Autumn Stakes" as tho event was termed attraoted a large field, the winner turning up in L. Butler, with K. Riißsell second

"Captain Cook's" pig was on Saturday responsible foj swilling the carnival revenue to the extent of one pound. F. O. Jones bought the "porker" at auotion for 10s., and subsequently sold it for £1, which amount ho handed over to tho general fund. ' Interesting Remarks on the "Crawl." The "orawl" strobe appears to be the only stroke wliioh local swimmers devote muoh time to, and occasionally alt our local baths a good exhibition of the stroke is given. Tho latest issue of tho Sydney "Referee" to hand cantoins a ralther interesting passage on the "orawl," as shown by tho Australian crack swimmer, Cecil Heajy. Two Ways of Doina It. The article states: The "crawl" stroke has this much in common with other methods of propulsion: No two persons swim it cxactly alike in every particular. The broad prinoiplo, of course, is the same, but there is always observable some individual peculiarity of adaptation, just,as in the case, of finger-prints, dissimilarity of detail is perceptible. There are faro distinct modes of "crawling" in vogue at present, and its exponents can be said to consist of four classes, viz., thoso who breathe regularly, and those who tako four or five strokes before replenishing their lungs, on tho one hand, and thoso, who strike with tho right arm, left leg alternately, and vice versa; and thoso who have an independent leg action, on tho other.! Exponents who do not breathe regularly lie flat, with head down, shoulders square, face submerged, and use a short padding arm action. The effect of keeping tho head lowered is to float tho legs as high as possible, the body thus lying ill a horizontal. position near the surface, which enables it to sltim along, Un-, doubtcdly great speed can bo attained in this way, but holding tho breath for tile length of time necessitated causes the physical exertion to become much more acute and exhausting. Its range of effectiveness is thcreforo limited, particularly in open water. Under the ' latter conditions, those who swim as described show a great slackening off in their rato of progress after 100 yards havo boon covorai compared with what they aro capnble of doing up to that distance. Somo who are tremendously fast for a sprint aro absolutely unable to keep going for as much as a couple of-,hundred yards at a stretch, even slowly, Tho greatest thing that can bo said in its favour is the fact that most of tho world's fastest short-distance performers swim in this fashion. \ . Duke Kahananioku, the marvellous Hawaiian, for instance, only breathes every fourth stroke, Daniells, another wonder of tho age, likewise only auatchcs

«• breath periodically | in {not, J do not Imow of any American who differs in. this respect. Difficulty of Steering. A drawbaok nttaohed in swimming' tho head lowered is the difficulty of 6t€onns a straight course. Nearly all indoor tanks on the other cido of tho world have thick black linos painted along the bottom, running from end to end, lrhlch aro clearly visible even in the deepest part, and overcome tho objection, as far' as they go, but at Stockholm, Vr'hero trior© was no such, guide for thorn to rely upoa the Americans frequently deviated, and 6wam crookedly, occasionally bumping other competitors. Granted that they are exceptionally fast, but is it not feasible to think that they, and others who effect this stylo, I would be able to maintain their miximum | rate of speed for a greater length o£ time, if thoy micoeeded in acquiring the ! knack of obtaining breath more fire- i quently, without interfering in the least ! degree with their momentum P • ! On Taking a Weath. i As has been proved beyond doubt, '.h. j "crawl" is a erne of swimming in<iir - i ous to the South Seas. With the e.v.: . J tion of Kanahamoku, all the natives ; • • I writer has econ in the water seized thv opportunity of scouring fresh air' every 6troke of tho' ox left arm, according to how it ouited them. This is done by flicking tho f&oe sideways, just ns tho arm has reached its full extension and is about to take a downward oonrse. ■ Practice enables this to be accomplished without throwing tho head.'back or altering the position of tho body.. In this method the shoulders euro brought much mojre into play by a rolling movement from the hips, which reduces the strain on the body, acts as a propelling force, and brings about a gliding motion. Maximum of Power—Minimum jof Exer' tlon. The ideal stroke, of course, is the One' that gives the maximum of propelling power with the expenditure of the minimum of physieal exertion. A fundamental principle of the "orawl" is to float in such a way that tho muscles are, relieved of the Btxain of maintaining the body in tho required position. This result is achieved by swimming with them relaxed, except at the instant it is necessary to bring pressure to bear to'continue the forward movement.

To Learn the "Crawl." f A person who is anxious to. adopt the "orawl," and hag been used to lacking eai6sors-like, finds that his greatest difficulty is to- keep his legs extended out behind, and move them up and down, instead of sideways. I thereforo recommend the following as the quickest means of acquiring the habit, viz., having taken a deep breath, lie as flat as possible on the surface of the water, lower head well down, place hands alongside hips, or straight out in front, thumbs locked, and then kick the feot rapidly up and down, just bringing them clear of the water, and striking with the instep. Start ft yard or'two from the steps of tho bath, and try and' reaoh them before lifting i the head. After a little praotioo this can i be easily and quickly done. | After having undergone this training for a little while, the stroke proper can be attempted, as a rule, more ly. It is advisable to staTt off with [ft a from tho side _of the bath. The; should'be again lowered, the armaj bent at elbow, thrust in just: beyond tlid; face, and fully extended under water ns they go rounu. The, pressure must. taken off as they are about to come uj. The movement,is exactly the same as that of a duck's leg when swimming. Tho logs, above all, must not be allowed to separate, but should be worked dose to- ; rjothor. The whole limb ia moved, but ; the lower portion more than the'upper. • The beginner should try to flics the in-,' step as much as possible, as he will have found out by practising the .exercisei alluded to that mora propulsion is denied by this action, than a stiff lee movement. Beyond that, I am inclined to believe that the other details of the kiok, suoh as length' of thrash,' how far to lift them out of the water, etc., can bo left to ones natural inclination. It 19 not advisable to try and breathe regularly at first. Ihe learner should concentrate his ; attention on mastering the general movements. /When obtaining a breath tho faoo shouldbe twisted round, as previously stated, but tho head thrown back ever so little, as'tie tendenoy is to suik. the legs, and when .this is done they act ■ as a drag. Once the proper action has been acquired tho rest is merely a question of practice and perseverance, the rate of improve pent <md advancement being determined entirely thereby. • ■ j