Beginner Swimming I Honor

Recreational Activities

Requirements

Have the Basic Water Safety honor.
Answer: You must first master the fundamentals of drowning prevention, breathing in the water, and basic floating so that learning to swim is safe. — The Red Cross recommends sequential teaching in swimming, starting from water adaptation before the stroke technique, a model followed by the official Pathfinder manuals.
With the water at chest level, retrieve an object from the bottom, without help and with your eyes open.
Answer: You need to open your eyes underwater to locate the object precisely and gradually adapt to the aquatic environment without depending on vision at the surface. — Visual adaptation to water is a fundamental step in the Australian method of children's swimming since the 1960s, advocated by Forbes Carlile as the basis for all subsequent strokes.
Jump from the side edge, in the deepest part of the pool.
Answer: You need to check the depth of the water, make sure no one is underneath, and jump feet first keeping the body straight. — FINA, the international swimming federation, recommends a minimum depth of 1.80 m for side-edge jumps, and the lifeguard should be less than 5 meters from the spot during training.
Giving a push, glide face down for a distance of two body lengths.
Answer: You keep the body fully extended, arms together in front next to the head, and legs extended with the feet together. — The streamline position is considered by World Aquatics as the basis of every start and turn in competitive swimming, and can increase glide by up to 20%, according to hydrodynamics studies.
Front crawl - 20 meters.
Answer: You alternate strokes with a continuous leg kick, rotate the torso from one side to the other, and breathe to the side between one stroke and another. — The modern front crawl was popularized by Alick Wickham in 1898 and Johnny Weissmuller in the 1920s, being the fastest stroke recognized by World Aquatics today.
Backstroke - 20 meters.
Answer: You lie face up with the body straight, hips near the surface, and the head slightly back with the ears submerged. — Backstroke is the only one of the four Olympic styles in which the athlete starts in the water, according to World Aquatics rules, requiring constant balance in the supine position.
Change direction in front freestyle.
Answer: You use a stroke as a pivot, turn the body toward the new heading, and adjust the position of the head while maintaining lateral breathing. — Changing direction in open water, part of the sighting technique, was formalized in the ITU triathlon manuals as an essential skill for crossings in a pack.
Change direction in backstroke.
Answer: You use one arm as a pivot in the water, slowly turning the body toward the new heading while continuing to kick. The head is slightly raised to locate the reference point, and the other arm resumes the stroke already pointing toward the new direction. — The gradual turn in backstroke is part of the basic training standardized by the American Red Cross, important for avoiding collisions with edges and other swimmers in open water.
Stay floating for 1 minute.
Answer: You position yourself face up, open your arms in a cross, and keep your legs slightly apart, filling your lungs with air to increase buoyancy. — Full lungs increase the buoyancy of the human body by about 10%, according to aquatic physiology studies, making the supine position the most economical for floating for a prolonged time.
Move through the water for 20 meters while wearing a t-shirt.
Answer: You simulate a real situation of an unexpected fall into the water, in which you are normally dressed. — Statistics from the Brazilian Society of Aquatic Rescue indicate that more than 70% of drownings in open water occur with the victim dressed, justifying training with clothes as a prevention measure.
Perform crawl and backstroke kicks with a kickboard for 10 minutes.
Answer: The method of isolating the kick with a kickboard was popularized by the Australian coach Forbes Carlile in the 1950s and became standard in swimming schools worldwide.