Swimming

Diving.—The usual method of entering the water is by what is known as diving; some think it should be termed "springing." The best method of learning to dive is to stand on the side of the bath and then stoop down until the body is nearly double, stretch out the arms in front of the head, sink the head between them and gradually fall over into the water. The ability to enter the water head first will then soon be acquired. The Eng lish header, or plain dive, and the swallow dive rank equally in competition, but at the last Olympic Games only the swallow dive was permitted. In most respects the primary points to be observed are the same in each form of diving. To the ordi inary reader the word "diving," means a great deal and covers a multitude of move ments. One who jumps from a bridge is said to be a diver; whether he touches the water head or feet first the action is re ferred to as a "dive." Diving is almost in dispensable to the swimmer.

The Swallow Dive.

This dive was first introduced into Great Britain from Sweden and has now become most popular. The take-off is taken with a strong out ward and slightly upward spring, simul taneously swinging the arms upwards and outwards, extending them sideways nearly level with the shoulders, the back hollowed and the head held back; legs perfectly straight, toes pointed and legs pressed close together. The arms are brought to gether beyond the head as for a plain dive just before the body enters the water. The standard heights adopted by the International Amateur Swimming Federation are as follows : For spring boards— I metre (3ft. 3in.) and 3 metres (9ft. 9in.).

For firm boards 3 to 5 metres ( 9ft. 9in. to 16ft. 3in.).

5 to 8 metres (i6ft. Sin. to 26ft. oin.).

8 to 12 metres (26ft. oin. to 39ft. oin.).

In actual practice a greater height than Io metres (32ft. 6in.) is seldom used. To determine the relation of height of board to depth of water the following broad principle is adopted :—The height of a board should not exceed twice the depth of water, with a minimum depth of 6ft. A greater depth than isft. is unnecessary for any height of board.

As standard heights have been fixed it is hoped that the Ama teur Diving Association, which is the chief promoting body of diving in England, will insist upon standard spring and firm boards being used particularly in connection with the Olympic Games and other international competitions and also object to competi tors using their own boards, as this gives them an unfair ad vantage over those who have not had the chance to practise from them. All fancy diving is based on varieties and combinations of somersaults, either single, one-and-a-half or double, pike dives, screw or twist dives. The Amateur Diving Association in its year book provides a list of 112 dives from spring and firm boards, which are valued according to difficulty of execution for the purpose of judging, which forms a good guide to the novice who desires by practice to become perfect as a diver. (See

figs. 5, 6, 7, 8.) A useful accomplishment is that known as surface diving, be cause it enables the swimmer to find and bring an object to the surface. The correct method of performing it is first to swim a few yards on the surface with the breast stroke, take a breath, then suddenly depress the head, look downwards, elevate the body at the hips, and at the same time make a powerful stroke with the legs and an upward stroke with the hands. The im petus thus obtained will suffice to take the swimmer to the bot tom in 6ft. of water. Once under the surface it is only necessary to keep the head depressed and swim by means of the breast stroke in order to find the object of search. When about to rise to the surface, the head should be turned backwards with the eyes upwards, and a stroke made with arms and legs.

Plunging.

The sport is not very generally practised, though there is a championship for it. A plunge is a standing dive made head first from a firm take-off, free from spring. The body must be kept motionless, face downwards, no progressive movement must be imparted other than the action of the dive. The plunge terminates when the plunger raises his face above the surface of the water. With the idea of preventing long tests without breathing, it was deemed, in 1893, advisable by the Swimming Asso ciation to impose a time limit of one minute in all competitions. Yet even with this time limit the record plunge stands at 85ft. bins. for men and 71 ft. for women.

Open-air and Indoor Swim ming.—Most of the principal races are decided in baths, but there has been a tendency to re vert to open water in the sum mer and also to encourage long distance swimming. The first public baths in Great Britain were opened by the corporation of Liverpool in 1828 and the Baths and Washhouses Act was passed in 1846, the first of the London parishes to adopt the act being St. Martin's in the Fields, which opened baths in Green Street, Leicester Square, in 1846. Since then public baths have been erected all over Great Britain and Ireland, and bath swimming has become, by reason of the lack of reasonable open water accommodation the principal means of teaching the young. But open water swimming, and more par ticularly swimming in the sea, is the best training and practice for those who really love the art, because they are able to swim under normal climatic conditions, instead of in tepid water.