What is Swim?

Swimming is an individual sport where people participate in teams. It is most commonly done in a swimming pool of either 25m or 50m length, but is also done in 'open water' such as lakes and oceans. People comepete induvidually (except in relay races) but their places in meets count for points towards their team. These points are then used to rank the teams in the meet.

Swimming each stroke requires a set of specific techniques; in competition, there are specific rules concerning the acceptable form for each stroke.

There are also regulations on what types of suits, caps, jewelry and injury tape that are allowed at competitions. The rules are there to prevent any form of cheating and advantage over competitors. If someone breaks a rule and are caught their times are disqualified.

Competitive Swimming

Competitive swimming became popular in the 19th century. The goal of high level competitive swimming is to break personal or world records while beating competitors in any given event. Swimming in competition should create the least resistance in order to obtain maximum speed. However, some professional swimmers who do not hold a national or world ranking are considered the best in regard to their technical skills. Typically, an athlete goes through a cycle of training in which the body is overloaded with work in the beginning and middle segments of the cycle, and then the workload is decreased in the final stage as the swimmer approaches competition.

Pools

World Championship pools must be 50 metres (160 ft) (long course) long and 25 metres (82 ft) wide, with ten lanes labelled zero to nine (or one to ten in some pools; zero and nine (or one and ten) are usually left empty in semi-finals and finals); the lanes must be at least 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) wide. They will be equipped with starting blocks at both ends of the pool and most will have Automatic Officiating Equipment, including touch pads to record times and sensors to ensure the legality of relay takeovers. The pool must have a minimum depth of two metres.

Seasons

Competitive swimming, from the club through to international level, tends to have an autumn and winter season competing in short course (25 metres or yards) pools and a spring and summer season competing in long course (50-metre) pools and in open water.

Levels

Swimming creates a mix of levels, including: fully professional, semi-professional, and amateur. Fully professional swimmers will typically get a salary both from their national governing body and from outside sponsors, semi-professionals a small stipend from their national governing body, and amateurs receive no funding. Outside of these major championships prize money is low – the 2015 FINA World Cup series has a total prize fund of $3,000 per race shared between the top three and the 2014–15 USA Grand Prix Series $1,800[27] compared to the 2015 World Aquatics Championships fund of $60,000 per race shared between the top eight.

Seasons pt. 2

In international competition and in club swimming in Europe, the short course (25m) season lasts from September to December, and the long course (50m) season from January to August with open water in the summer months. These regulations are slowly being brought to competition in North America. As of right now, in club, school, and college swimming in the United States and Canada, the short course (25 yards) season is much longer, from September to March. The long-course season takes place in 50-meter pools and lasts from April to the end of August with open water in the summer months.

Swimming is a healthy activity that can be done by most people throughout their life. It is a low-impact workout that has several mental and bodily health benefits all while being a good recreational activity. Swimming builds endurance, muscle strength, and cardiovascular fitness. Correspondingly, it also improves weight loss while being a safer alternative of working out for someone who is injured or for women who are pregnant.[39] Swimming requires less effort than other sports, but the athletes will get the results they are looking for.

"The U.S. Census Bureau reports that two and a half hours per week of aerobic physical activity such as swimming can decrease the risk of chronic illnesses, and help regenerate healthy cells. Furthermore, swimming is linked to better cognitive function; also lowering the risk of Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, and a stroke. It can improve lung and heart strength while it tones muscles in a full body workout. People can typically exercise longer in water than on land without increased effort and minimal joint or muscle pain. When in the water the body undergoes less physical stress thus releasing pressure from the joints."