It’s All About Water Pressure

Swimmers take your mark… Beep!  In a perfect angle, the hands, head, shoulders, hips and feet enter through the same whole.  In an underwater profile, the body is  in a perfect line and all the bubbles rise in a straight angle.  If the bubbles rise in a “u”‘ shape then you know water pressure on the swimmers backside made the body buckle and the legs suddenly dropped creating drag.

It’s all about water pressure.

A skilled swimmer can sense how far they are underwater in a prone position just by the amount of pressure exerted on their back.  That way, the timing of a perfect breakout and transition the arm does not get buried underwater.  For maximum velocity a swimmer must exit completely horizontally to the surface of the pool, as to not waist a single moment of forward speed.  During the transitioning from underwater swimming to surface swimming, if the angle is too steep, time is wasted rising up out of the water and falling back down.   Precious stability is lost through unnecessary splashing.  With too much movement of the water, propulsion is lost in bubbles and water pressure cannot be used advantageously.

Now lets compare the dynamics of the perfect racing start to a basic skill that can save a child’s life.   Fact: most drownings happen within four feet of safety, either to the wall or to  a place where they can stand.  Children must be taught to go to the wall for safety.  So when beginning dives are practiced at SwimJim we teach the child to use water pressure redirecting themselves back to the wall.

When falling into the water, we teach the child to lift their chest.  The momentum of the fall creates forward velocity, with the head lifted, and the chest exposed, water pressure is exerted upon their chest pushing them back up towards the surface.  A gentle kick helps locomotion up and back to where they started.  Racing starts which bring a child further away from where they started are introduced only when children are more independent and safer.

-Catherine Fox-

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