WAIRARAPA AMATEUR SWIMMING CLUB.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9050, 8 February 1908, Page 6

WAIRARAPA AMATEUR SWIMMING CLUB.

THE "CRAWL,"

Mr E. Richards, handicapper of the Wairarapa Amateur Swimming Club, has received a letter from Mr L. W. Ludwig, President of the Thorndon Club, in which the latter states that the members of his club were delighted with their trip to Masterton on Anniversary Day, and the manner in which they were treated by the officials of the local club. "Nothing could have been better," says Mr Ludwig; "and it was just one of those functions that give a sport a good lift." The letter goas on to state that the Wellington Centre is taking up the question of correct diving and rules for judging, and in due course these would be sent to all affiliated clubs. A Mr Ribbands in Wellington who is conversant with all the latest methods of diving was interesting himself in the matter, and was to secure uniformity. His recommendations had been adopted by. the New South Wales Association, and it was thought that the New Zealand clubs generally would do the same. Mr Ludwig also sends a description of the "crawl," as giveri by C. ML Daniells, the famous American swimmer. It is as follows: -"There are as many varieties of the crawl nowadays as there are swimmers using it. No two swim it alike, and almost everyone exhibits a method of his own. This individual adaptability must "eventually produce good fruit, and it is probable that as the swimmer discovers the scientific point and drops the faults in the end different styles will be condensed into one standard stroke. To learn the American crawl, start with the arms. In fact you will probably do well not to use the legs at all until you can swim about 50 yards with the arms only. Lie flat on the water with the arms'a little bent at the elbows and stretched out above your head. The wrists should be just beyond your head and open a little, the palms turned downwards. Catch the water with a decided snap, and drive the hands through at a fast pace always bent at the elbows until they reach the hips,, then lift them clear out of the water, and carry them forward with elbow well up in the air. The under arm is started as the upper one finishes. For the kick move the legs up and down alternately, keeping them stiff at the hip and holding the knees close together. There is little difficulty in this if one knows how it should be done, but the best way after reading the description is to watch it in action. To imitate it without having read it up is not so easy, and to acquire it without seeing it is harder still, but with the help of both a few days of practice will be sufficient. Don't open the feet more than 12 to 18 inches from heel to toe. The real difficulty in the crawl is in working the arms and legs into a smooth stroke, and also in learning to hold the tiring leg-drive over a given distance. Both are a matter of practice. The position of the body in the water is flat on the face. There should be hardly any rolling, and breath should be taken only every two or three stroks by a quick twist of the head as the upper arm is brought down. The time lor exhaling is as the under arm goes forward. When the crawl is swum slowly as it is over distances, the arm is lengthened and the legs are slowed according to the length of the race. In this case a breath is taken at every stroke."