1936-37

SWIMMING.
r
-
Y
;r
.a
a
it
I
d
�e
h,
d,
;d
le
ff
Ig
Id
id
le
ht
1g
gal
ve
he
he
tb
ier
to
en
he
ge
Racing Rules peculiar to Back Stroke.
It should be noted that the race must be swum entirely on the
back except when turning at the ends of the bath or course, and
that no swimmer may turn over on his breast for the
purpose of turning or finishing before his foremost hand has
touched the end of the bath or course.
BREAST STROKE.
Arm Action.
Beginning with the arms stretched forward, hands together flat
on the surface of the water, shoulders in line with the surface,
palms downwards, fingers closed, care being taken that the muscles
are not tensed until the arms have been fully extended, the head
being held with the face partially submerged and the eyes at
water level, the arm pull is made by turning the hands slightly,
palms outward, the arms taking an outward and downward sweep
until they form with each other an angle of 90 degrees; in this
latter position the hands should not be more than eighteen inches
below the surface.
The arms are recovered by bringing the hands below the chin,
the elbows being held close to the body and the arms then
stretched out to their original position.
Breathing.
When the arms are thrust forward into their stretched out
position, described at the beginning of the preceding paragraph,
the swimmer should exhale—(breathe out)—slowly through nose or
mouth, or both; this operation should be completed before the arm
pull begins; while the latter is taking place the head will be
raised above the surface, and a full breath should be taken steadily
through the nose and mouth. The correct timing of the complete
breathing operation is most important.
Leg Action.
The leg action begins with the body held straight and close to
the surface of the water with toes pointing backwards, heels
together. The legs are then drawn upward, with the knees bent
and pointing outwards, till the space between the legs is diamond
shape; the legs should then be thrust outwards and then backwards
to the limit of their reach and closed with full vigour until the
original position is attained.
The correct timing of the leg action is also most important and
the movement should be carried out as follows:—
Immediately the arms have performed their pull, the legs should
be drawn up into the diamond shaped position ready to make their
outward thrust. The leg thrust is begun as the arms start their
recovery, and finishes as the arms are about to start their pull.
541