THE TEACHING OF SWIMMING IT is to be regretted that those possessing the necessary technical knowledge and practical proficiency have hitherto made so few attempts to place the teaching of swimming on a proper scientific basis. When everything is done by rule of thumb,' it is not surprising to find that paid instructors have their own notions or theories as to the best method of imparting a knowledge of the art of natation. From time to time various so-called systems of instruction have been formulated, but there is none that has obtained or deserved general acceptance, and it is difficult to find any two men who adopt similar means or teach the movements in precisely the same way. This want of uniformity is very largely due to the absurd notions which exist as to the qualifications which should be possessed by a swimming master. Very often his self-appoint ment as professor,' or his election by club committees and bath commissioners, is based upon the fact that he has been a successful competitor and is the possessor of a fine collection of trophies, or that he has been a soldier or sailor and has thereby learned habits of drill and discipline which may fit him to act as instructor. There is no need to demonstrate the erroneousness of these ideas, for it must be apparent to all that a champion swimmer or a smart drill sergeant is not necessarily a good teacher. Many of the best swimmers do not know why they :wim so fast ; with a good number of them their speed is more the result of accident than the following out of the art on any sound scientific lines. They do not take the trouble to investigate and understand the mechanical laws which govern all propulsion through the water, and when they dub them selves Professors,' do so on the assumption that because they have been able to compete successfully in championship races they are born teachers.
In order that the teaching of swimming may be systematic and thorough in every detail, it is necessary that the title of Professor' or Instructor' should have attached to it a meaning very different from that which it has at present ; but if this is to be effected, it is absolutely essential that a proper code of fixed principles should be laid down, so that the fabric of the profession may be established and built up on a sound foundation. The code must be complete in its details, so that nothing may be forgotten, nothing be unforeseen, nothing un provided fa. This is a labour which should be undertaken by those professors who are recognised by the public as capable men, whose object should be to raise their calling to the high position in which it deserves to be placed. It is, of course,
easy to give advice of this nature, but it is quite a different matter to attempt to carry it to a practical issue. There are now many competent teachers of swimming, who, if they could be induced to work together, would doubtless arrive at and adopt a definite system of instruction on scientific principles ; and even if the work were at first imperfectly accomplished, it would be the means of directing attention to the subject. But, unfortunately, personal considerations are at present very powerful obstacles to any measures of reform, and the attempts which have been made to institute some system of certificate examinations have been rendered futile by the very men who would chiefly benefit by them. Competition is the stumbling block over which the professional legislators came to grief. They were perfectly willing to institute proficiency certificates, but wanted them to be awarded without proper examination, possibly by reason of the fact that the ordeal would hare been too much for some of their number. There is no properly organised society entitled to speak or act for the main body of professional swimmers, and the matter should, therefore, be taken up by those who are not pecuniarily interested in the sport, so that they may not be bound to any course of action, or their opinions ignored, when any serious endeavour is made to make the calling of a ' swimming instructor' as honourable and at tractive as, in virtue of its great importance, it ought to be. As a natural result of reform, the measures which are at first adopted will of necessity be trying, and to a certain degree appear harsh, but when once the work is accomplished and a proper system of examination established, the status of the art will be considerably raised from a professional point of view. Good men who now are deterred from adopting the teaching of swimming as a means of livelihood, by reason of the discredit into which professional swimming has fallen, will be enabled to take their proper place among the ranks of the workers in tLe cause of national education. It is by no means uncommon to hear the superficial instructor announce everything in detail beforehand with great volubility, and then to see him working in a false position, endeavouring to justify his previous statements. He simply labours under a form of ignorance which consists of practical knowledge alone, without the aid of theory. This kind of knowledge is to a great extent antagonistic to all useful development.