Swimming

Competitive swimming began in England in the early 1800s; the Amateur Swimming Association (1880) was the first national body; FINA (1908) governs it worldwide. Women first swam at the 1912 Olympics. India's SFI was formed in 1948.

Standard pool: 50 m x 25 m, at least 2 m deep, 10 lanes of 2.5 m, water at 25-28 degrees C; starting platforms 0.5-0.75 m above the water.

Teaching beginners: a cheerful, patient teacher; get to know the pool; safe entry with a partner (spotter); walk and blow bubbles in the shallow end; push off and glide; floats (tuck, jellyfish, prone, star, supine).

Strokes: front crawl (freestyle), back crawl, breaststroke and butterfly. Front crawl: prone body, alternate arms, flutter kick, side breathing, body roll.

Starts: grab, circular, racing, conventional, track; backstroke starts in the water. Turns must touch the wall; no step off the bottom. A relay team has four swimmers.