Competitive Swimming
Competitive Swimming is a high commitment sport in Singapore. A high level of discipline and motivation is needed in order to excel in this area. When a child discovers his/her passion for competitive swimming, jumping into the pool is no longer just for fun. From freestyle to butterfly, hours will be spent in the pool, trying to perfect their technique. While not every swimmer makes it to the Olympics, swimming in squad levels can offer a long-term gains for them as well.
The focus of the competitive swim training are:
1. Competitive Swim Strokes
2. Start-Turn-Finish
3. Muscular Endurance Development
4. Stamina Training
As the saying goes, if you can’t win, then you learn. Each races can be a new learning experience for the swimmer. Running through every aspect of the race, analysing and adjusting can help the swimmer bounce back stronger. It is all about the hard work that the athlete is willing to put in. Being a naturally good swimmer does make it slightly advantageous for swimmers at the beginning, but everyone knows the amount of time commitment, sacrifices and discipline needed in order to succeed. Competitive swimming, unlike swimming lessons, may have been a personal passion and is the main driving force, but without the family and friends around you, winning a swim race may not seem as sweet as it is suppose to be.
Competitive Swim Strokes
Freestyle/Front Crawl
The Freestyle stroke is sometimes called Frontcrawl. It is basically an action of alternating arm strokes over the surface of the water surface and a continuous alternating up-and-down flutter kick. Breathing technique can be on either side, depending on the preference of the swimminer.
Breaststroke
The Breaststroke is an action that requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. The hands are pressed outward and downward from in front of the pull. During the recovery phase, the arms go under water drawing a small circular shape before pushing the arms back to the front. The kick is a simultaneous circular bend-in, kick-out and squeeze motion similar to the action of a frog.
Backstroke
Backstroke consists of an alternating arm stroke, similar to that of a freestyle stroke, except it is in the reverse direction. The kicking action is a continuous flutter kick while laying on the back.
Butterfly
Butterfly stroke is considered to be one of the most graceful strokes. It requires a simultaneous recovery of both arms out-stretched and parallel over the water. In the kick, the swimmer must keep both legs together combining with an undulating dolphin kick.
