Costumes – don’t be tempted into the marketplace for expensive lycra costumes. They do look good on the ‘models’ in the shop, but by the time you have climbed out over the side a few times, they will not look so good. Look in the sports shops for the recognised makes – Arena, Speedo, Adidas. Unless you opt for the lycra version, they will last as long as they fit ! Buy them close fitting – don’t give too much room for growth. A baggy costume is hard work to swim in – like a drag net ! Keep an eye out for plain colours or last years patterns – often much cheaper…..Avoid the dreaded Bermuda shorts – they look good on the beach, but that’s all.
Towel – a towel is a towel – but how about keeping a big bath towel (plain colours are favourite with the swimmers) just for swimming – so that you (or Mum) – can sew on those ASA Awards. What’s wrong with a little bit of showing off ?
Hats – even big boy swimmers wear hats, except those that shave their heads – don’t tell Mum I even mentioned it ! Swimmers wear hats simply to keep their hair out of their eyes AND it makes them swim faster – they are more streamlined. The sooner you get used to wearing a hat the better. There are two basic sorts – latex & silicone. Both sorts need looking after – rinsing in tap water, drying and covering with talc……….I know it’s a fuss, but looked after a hat will last for ages. Silicone hats are favourite with the swimmers – they are more expensive to buy, but they do last longer. Both sorts will rip if you have long nails – beware……….
Goggles – in short, you don’t need them, not for a half hour lesson AND THEY ARE DANGEROUS IN UNTRAINED HANDS. Swimmers who wear goggles can’t hear – no I’m serious they will drive your teacher mad !
But I took them off last week………………
Artificial aids are used extensively at all levels of teaching & coaching swimming. They include arm bands or discs, rings, costumes with floatation chambers, floats, leg floats, woggles & flippers. They all do a slightly different job, but broadly speaking will all give added benefit, comfort or confidence to a swimmer whilst they work on a particular part of a stroke.
The most obvious use is with the non-swimmer, where aids are used for two purposes. It is an immediate confidence booster to be able to float around the pool in complete safety, for all the initial water confidence work which is so essential. It allows the swimmer to move freely in a swimming position, enabling them to practice & perfect arm & leg movements to produce the propulsion needed to both support & propel the body.
Many parents see progress in terms of how many discs are used & that once removed & a 5m badge achieved, their offspring are ‘swimmers’. As swimmers, they will never need arm bands or discs again – ever ! Wrong…….such aids will continue to be used throughout the teaching process for some time to come. Even National standard swimmers use them sometimes, as an aid to breaststroke drills.
So you should expect to see them being used, always for a specific purpose:
- To give added support where distance work is required for stamina;
- To give added support & ensure the swimmer is safe;
- To give stability & movement in a swimming position when introducing new strokes;
- To give confidence to the swimmer (and the teacher) whilst working in deeper water;
- To relieve tiredness – perhaps when new skills are being introduced;
- To give additional floatation when learning treading water skills;
- To keep upper arms near the surface when working on arm movements.
So please be patient – just because the discs come off briefly in one lesson – don’t book the Channel crossing attempt just yet – there’s a long way to go…………………
But I’m hungry Mum……….
There is nothing more frustrating than arriving at the pool, having fought your way through the traffic, simply to be told that there is no swimming – someone has been sick in the pool.
Clearly we are not going to take any chances – the water you swim in MUST be of the highest quality. If there is any doubt, in conjunction with the staff at the Centre, the teachers on the spot, make a decision to cancel. The pool has a procedure to follow, and hopefully, within an hour, the pool can be back in circulation.
BUT on the basis that ‘PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE’, we asked our nutritional expert - (Sandra actually…..) - what should we be giving the children after school but before swimming.
Whilst the blood sugar levels will be fine – as long as they have eaten within the last 3 or 4 hours – most children are usually starving – most of the time. Clearly they think they ‘need’ something to ‘keep them going until tea-time’. They will probably die if they don’t eat ! But what can we safely give them ? The answer is anything that is easily digestible – plain sweet biscuits; a ripe banana (remember Wimbledon…) together with some weak squash or diluted fruit juice – will keep them going.
What’s not recommended – fizzy drinks together with sandwiches, chocolate, crisps – all contain higher levels of fat, not easily digested.
We hope this helps but we also know that children will be children, and accidents will happen - but some sensible precautions will help to keep us all in the swim – most of the time.
Been ill recently ?
In common with most public facilities & schools, we are recommending that if your child has been ill or off school with a tummy bug or cold / flu type symptoms, in the last day or so, you should not bring them swimming.
Can I wear goggles ?
As a general rule the answer is no – you don’t need to……….but there are of course exceptions.
With the quality of water treatment in swimming pools today, there are really no problems in swimming for half an hour (the length of most Solutions lessons) without goggles. If you go on to be a serious competitive swimmer, with your face in the water for anything up to 6 or 8 hours a day, then there has to be a case for doing so.
There are two other key reasons, why the Solutions team don’t like goggles used in the lesson programme:
- Safety – there is a safe way to put on & take off goggles – but the risks are high. The safe way is to take off the elastic from the back of the head first – this way the risk of the goggles slipping & bouncing back on to the eye is removed. Sadly there are too many recorded cases of detached retinas, caused by swimmers
- Hearing – I know it will sound silly, but swimmers can’t hear with goggles on & they insist upon removing them every time the teacher talks to them or they want to talk to the teacher. It adds to the risk & simply wastes time in an all too short lesson.
- Learning – swimming underwater & encouraging the children to do so & keep their eyes open is a key part of the learning process & a key skill the children need to master.
