BSA National Aquatics Workshop Stroke Mechanics for Scouts

Jay W Fox and David Bell, National Aquatics Subcommittee Changes in Merit Badge

• Increased focus on stroke mechanics and efficiency

• Notes to Counselor highlights need for improved teaching of strokes

• Goal is to produce higher quality swimmers so moving to advanced aquatics skills such as Lifesaving and Lifeguard will not be too difficult What is Stroke Mechanics?

• Physics of moving through water

• Competitive swimmers sacrifice efficiency for speed

• BSA swimming programs focus on efficient movement through water: how to swim further with less energy Why Stroke Mechanics?

• Improved stroke mechanics promotes swimming further with more confidence and safety

• Good stroke mechanics supports advancement: 2nd Class (Beginner) and 1st Class (Swimmer)

• Good stroke mechanics opens advanced opportunities in BSA Aquatics and beyond Stroke Components

• Body position in water • Arm movement • Leg movement • Breathing • (Glide) • Coordination of above Stroke Components: Forces Stroke Components Stroke Components

Streamlined Body Position:

Less drag

More drag Stroke Components

Doubling speed from 0.8 to 1.6 mph increases drag by 3.6 fold Stroke Components F = Ma rather than F = mA

Swimmers move forward by accelerating water backwards

Trick is to move water directly backwards Stroke Components

Faster speeds make it more difficult to generate effective force Stroke Components It depends. A longer glide to go further with less energy

A shorter glide to maintain a reasonable speed

How long a glide? Stroke Components

• Arm and leg movement

• Elements: Catch, pull, recovery • Streamline catch at right position • Strong pull maximizing force vector for forward movement • Recovery with minimum drag and expenditure of energy Stroke Components

• Breathing • Rhythmic: in rhythm with arm and leg movement and glide if used in the stroke • Face in water strokes, effective exhaling underwater, inhaling above Stroke Components

• Coordination • Putting it all together: arms, legs, body position, and breathing (and glide for resting strokes if applicable) BSA Swimming Strokes

• • Back crawl • • Elementary • •

N.B. Freestyle is not a stroke, it is a way of life or in swimming, a category Stroke Assessment • Floating (most neglected of swimming skills). Builds confidence, security in water. Understanding buoyance helps refine swim mechanics Stroke Assessment • Rhythmic Breathing: Observing rhythmic breathing will tell you much about the likely quality of a person’s stroke mechanics and comfort in water Teaching Strokes

• Explain: • Demonstrate: • Practice: • Review: Swimming Assessment Video

• All are Scouts

• Only one Scout does not have 1st class rank (Swimmer)

• Most of these Scouts have Swimming merit badge

• One Scout has experience on a swim team