SWIMMING.

Waikato Times, Volume 98, Issue 16174, 27 December 1924, Page 17 (Supplement)

SWIMMING.

"THE IDEAL STROKE." The following article is reprinted from the Sydney Referee and will be read with interest and provide valued instruction to local swimmers, who should cut it out and keep it handy. In his introduction the Australian writer on the subject says:—

The Coaching Committee of the A.S.A. is an indefatigable band. It has made a report upon what it deems an ideal ■ swimming stroke. This description will be included in the annual report of the Association, and will undoubtedly be eagerly devoured by swimmers, young and old. I have always contended that it is difficult, and often dangerous, to alter a youngster's' stroke too drastically. The old adage that swimmers are born, not made, still holds good to a large extent. Swimmers may be improved by the inculcation of points. But if a youngster is caught early then there would be a great chance of modelling his style upon the lines adopted by champions. In my opinion, the report should have gone much further and been less technical. The committee does not advocate too strict an adherence to any one stroke, as it is realised that many real champions have peculiarities of their own, which are not suited to every type of build. "None the less," it is argued, "it is important for the would-be champion to ' mould his stroke along certain well-defined lines. This account, therefore, aims at emphasising the most important principles of the ideal stroke. The Arms and Shoulders. "Undoubtedly the most important

part of any stroke in swimming, with the possible exception of breast stroke, is the arm and shoulder \woxk. For purposes of description we shall divide the arm stroke into two phases; (1) The Drive; (2) The Recovery. "The terms almost explain themselves. Roughly, the drive is the underwater part of the stroke, whilst the recovery is all that goes on above water. *

"To commence the drive of the hand, which should have the fingers together, and should be almost in line with the forearm, and not noticeably cupped, should enter the water 'approximately midway between the line of the shoulder and the line of the head. With the entry must be oon-, sidered the catch, or the initial application by force in the drive. Undoubtedly, in the ideal stroke as soon as the hand touohes the water the arm begins to exert power, and no time is lost. Actually one is only able to put this into practice in sprinting. In short dashes the body is distinctly higher, as the force in the early part of the drive is in a downward direction, causing the body to rise somewhat in this phase of the stroke. "The sprinter who is not satisfied with his stroke and pace may improve both by applying this initial force with more deoision.

"In swimming a distance one aims at getting all those little rests during the stroke which make it possible to maintain continuous effort. And so the pull need not be started at once, but the arm may be 'floated' into position, as it were, before commencliiK the drive. Harris advised this second course even in swimming 220 yards. This can, of course, be exaggerated, and then the stroke may become slow and sluggish. The Drive. In the down stroke, or drive, two courses are open to the would-be champion. Formerly H was considered that a straight, clean, pull towards the side of the thigh was' the qnly option, but latterly the Hawaiians, in particular, have advocated a pull In which the hand moves qnder the centre of the body, and in which the forearm is noticeably bent. Frank Beaurepalre is now a strong advocate of this movement, . The application of the drive in this manner is in accord with mechanical principles which require for the best effect the application of the propelling force in the middle of the body. Little would be said about the actual drive, except to point out that as many of our swimmers were trudgeon swimmers in their early days, and now swim that stroke in the surf, there is a marked tendency to work well with one arm, and indifferently with the other, Finish Of Drive.

"It is clear, even to the beginner in mechanics, that the only components of any force in which we, as svyim-: mers, are interested, are those that lift and drive the body forward. The lift, so much needed in sprinting, is to be obtained as wo have seen in the early part of the drive. The forward progress is made in the later, stage only while the.hand and arms move backwards. After that, if the hand is moving upwards, or 'flicked across the body, the balance and pape are both adversely affected, as forces are introduced which tend to .dip the body, and move it sideways. Thus, as a mere principle of mechanics, it is unnecessary, and even harmful to work after one's hand has passed into lion of greater depth unless for a short distance further the forearm is kept in a vertical plane by a requisite bending of the elbow. The arm should be drawn from the water, and thus the stroke finished in the most relaxed condition possible.

"The one case in which a swimmer should use the arms a little later than indicated is when he rolls markedly to breathe, in which case balance may possibly, be maintained by 'holding the water' with the under arm.

"Recovery, as the term suggests, is the phasp in the stroke; when the arm muscles should recuperate, In this part of the stroke the arm should be relaxed, the elbow bent, and the whole arm and forearm, hanging loosely, should be carried forward just clear of the water. Legs. "A great many swimmers labor unr der the misapprehension that the legs are of direct importance in propulsion. In effect they assist in maintaining balance. With the exception of the, breast stroke and the trudgeon, in both of which cases the legs are" considerably bent, their function is to maintain the body in the optimum position for the application of progressive effort by the arms. Of the orthodox strokes ip use at the present time, the sixbeat trudgeon crawl enjoys the greatest popularity, so that we shall touch upon its more important points. "Six beats of leg drives are made to two arm drives, the feet moving alternately left, right, left, etc. Of the six beats in an evenly-balanced stroke, there are two majors and four minors. This is well illustrated in Ludy Langer's stroke. The majority of swimmers, however, emulate Norman Ross in this respect and swim a symmetrical stroke Of one major and five minors, i The majors should never be more than 12 to 15 inches, whilst the minors should be about six inches in extent.

"No attempt should be made to work hard with the legs, but they should be held as loosely as possible, though almost straight. The ankles and knees should be kept well relaxed. Great individual differences are seen in the ankle movements, but it is worthy of mention that Duke Kahanamoku has very loose ankles, and doubtless this was a factor in his success. To diminish resistance the toes should be extended as far as possible without, causing rigidity. In direction the kicks should be made practically up and down, though a slightly oblique movement is introduced on breathing. "A most important consideration in the kick is timing. In the double trudgeon, with two majors and four minors, as the right arm enters the water the left leg should be doing a minor beat, and as the maximum effort is applied by the right arm, it should synchronise with the right major kick- The succeeding left minor should be made as the right finishes, and just as the left arm is. about to enter the water at the finish of its recovery. Thus while the right arm is making its drive the feet do left-rlght-lcft, and similarly with the left arm, rght-left-right. To learn this timing the swimmer must be prepared to practice a great deaL "The best plan for the would-be champion in slow swims is to coun.t the time to himself over the whole distance for undoubtedly this is one of the hardest parts of the six-beat crawl to learn, and upon it depends a great deal."

ANOTHER CHAMPION LOOMING. There is always hope for the regaining of the Jost laurels in sprint swimming of the world for Australia, when we have such speed merchants as we possess in Sydney among the junior brigade writes "Natator" in the Referee. One of the best performances established for years was that of 100yds in GO 2-ssecs by fifteen-year-old Reg. Stevens at Bondi on Saturday last. The time was really remarkable for one so young, and as Bondi officials are caDable men, there

is no reason to doubt the correctness of the Untie. A couple of private watches made Stevens' time GOse.cs. I am informed that had Stevens been pressed it is quite probable he would have broken the minute, as he had.the race won at 80yds and swam to the finishing point quite easily.