Diving

History:

Diving is an aquatic sport that started in Sweden and Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 1900’s a group of Swedish divers visited Great Britain to put on diving displays, this led to the first formation of the diving organization. Women took part later in diving history. Diving has been around for years!

 

Equipment:

The equipment you need to do diving is a flexible diving board that can be adjusted to make you do small or big jumps, a platform, and the pool needs to be 5 meters down.

 

Information About How to Play:

There are two judges and they give you your score. Men and women took a part of this event.

 

 

 

Swimming

History:

Prehistoric man learned to swim in order to cross rivers, and lakes –we know this because cave paintings from the Stone Age depicting swimmers have been found in Egypt. Swimming was also  referred to in Greek mythology. Swimming was not widely practiced until the early 19 century. When  the national swimming society of Great Britain began to hold competition. Most early swimmers used the breaststroke, or a form of it.

 

First swim:

Swimming was still risky activity at the first modern games in Athens in 1896. For the 1,200m free style event, a boat deposited competitors in the icy water of the Mediterranean the required the distance from the shore. Winner Alfred Hajos later confesses that the will to live had been a bigger motivation than the will to win.

 

Swimming Today:

Men and women now compete in 16 events, involving four different strokes across a range of differences. Freestyle races cover50m, 100m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 10,000; the 800m is for the women only  and the 1,500 is only for men. Swimming today is some different than back in the olden days. Like back then swim suit weighed up to 9 pound and swim suits today weigh up to a couple pounds or so. Back then swim suits did not show much body but now the do they can show your legs, arms, feet, hands. Some people may think back then swimming is the same but it is not.

 

 

Equipment:

• Pool-The pool is 50 meters or 164 feet and is 6 feet deep.

• Goggles-The goggles are for you don’t get water in your eyes, and so you can see clear through the water.

• Lap card-The lap card is a card displayed by a turn judge at the turn side of a lane to inform swimmers in 800m and 1500m freestyle events.

• Starting blocks-You have to get on the starting blocks and jump off them into the water

• Swimming cap-The swimming cap is for when you jump in the water if you’re a girl then your hair won’t get in your face.

• Swim suit-The swim suit is for, when you jump in the water, you swim.

• Touch pad-The pad at the end of each lane in the pool, where a swimmer’s time is registered and sent electronically to the timing system.

 

How do you play?

You jump off of the starting blocks and swim to the touch pad, and touch them, then you swim back to the starting blocks and you either come in 1st place,2nd place, 3rd place, or 4th.

 

Interesting facts:

There are four strokes and they are called free style, back stroke, butterfly, and breaststrokes. There are 16 events while you swim. Each race has no more than 8 swimmers. You have to be the fastest to win then you get a medal. It will be a silver or a bronze or a gold it all just depends.

 

Famous players:

• Michael Phelps

• Mark spits

• Jenny Thompson