Swimming Program Research Articles

An unacceptable status quo: A sport development case study of swimming and drownings

This case study illustrates the complexity of sport development decision-making and specifically highlights the public health concern of drowning disparities in the United States. Using sport development research to demonstrate the linkage between empirical study and practice, students must consider various factors for the most effective approach to attract and retain participants involved in a local swimming program. The parks and recreation department director, Bob Shell, is tasked with determining the best program structure based on the sets of sport development proposals he received from a member of the management staff. To further ensure students are presented with a realistic scenario, this case offers a combination of fictional and real life events from an innovative swimming program in Memphis, Tennessee. Students must critically evaluate not only sport development practices and the merits of the swimming program, but other organizational partnerships that may be formed in the community. Therefore, students are placed in a decision-making role that is common to managers in many sport contexts beyond swimming. This case study is appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate sport management courses, with specific application to sport development, policy and governance, strategic management, and recreation or leisure topics.

Children’s Activity Levels and Lesson Context During Summer Swim Instruction

Summer swim programs provide a unique opportunity to engage children in PA as well as an important life-saving skill. Offering summer swim programs is critical, especially for minority populations who tend to have higher rates of drowning, specifically in youth populations. The purpose of this study was to determine the lesson context and children’s participation levels during a summer swimming program taught by two experienced PE teachers. The participants in this study were two experienced PE teachers and 45 children who were enrolled in the summer swim program. Data were collected using the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) and analyzed using MANOVA and ANOVA statistical tests. Results indicated that the students overall MVPA levels during the swim program were very high (58.96 %). Results also indicated that a majority of the lesson context was spent in skill practice (47.31%), and management (20.23%) was the lowest. These findings provide additional indications that swim instruction is a viable option to provide children with ample MVPA. It would be beneficial moving forward for schools to include swim instruction in the curriculum not only to improve water safety, but also to provide high levels of PA.

Prioritizing Local Sport Activities: Determining Organizational Commitment to an Innovative Swimming Program

This case study illustrates the complexity of decision making in public organizations, specifically highlighting the public health concern of drowning disparities in the United States. Using escalation of commitment theory, students must consider various factors in evaluating the overextended commitments of a local government in a complicated sociopolitical environment and with vital public needs that must be addressed through a local parks and recreation department. Facing a reduction in allocated resources, the department director, Claire Meeks, is tasked with determining which programs will receive higher priority despite the varied feedback from the management staff. To ensure students are provided a realistic scenario, this case offers a combination of fictional and real-life events from Splash Mid-South, an innovative swimming program in Memphis, Tennessee. Students must critically evaluate not only the merits of the swimming program, but the other sport, recreation, and parks programs that also merit an equitable share of the limited resources. Therefore, students are placed in a decision-making role that is common to managers of both public and private organizations. This case study is appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate sport management courses, with specific application to strategic management, organizational behavior, and recreation or leisure topics.

Benefits and Enjoyment of a Swimming Intervention for Youth With Cerebral Palsy: An RCT Study.

To investigate enjoyment and specific benefits of a swimming intervention for youth with cerebral palsy (CP). Fourteen youth with CP (aged 7 to 17 years, Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I to III) were randomly assigned to control and swimming groups. Walking ability, swimming skills, fatigue, and pain were assessed at baseline, after a 10-week swimming intervention (2/week, 40-50 minutes) or control period, after a 5-week follow-up and, for the intervention group, after a 20-week follow-up period. The level of enjoyment of each swim-session was assessed. Levels of enjoyment were high. Walking and swimming skills improved significantly more in the swimming than in the control group (P = .043; P = .002, respectively), whereas fatigue and pain did not increase. After 20 weeks, gains in walking and swimming skills were retained (P = .017; P = .016, respectively). We recommend a swimming program for youth with CP to complement a physical therapy program.

Undergraduate Student Engagement in Informal Recreational Swim: An Exploratory Study

The current study examined the relationship between undergraduate student engagement in an informal recreational activity (swimming) and participants' overall college experiences. Engagement in informal recreational swimming was shown to positively affect the well-being and sense of belonging of participants, as well as to establish a sense of connection with others who swam. Participants also expressed a positive change in mood and energy from participation in informal recreational swimming. Recommendations for other informal recreational activities (e.g., running, climbing) as well as for additional swimming programs are discussed.

Abstract 355: Exercise Prevents Doxorubicin-induced Cardiotoxicity via Targeting Microrna-669a-5p in Mice

Doxorubicin (Dox)-induced cardiotoxicity, usually associated with increased oxidative stress, myofibrillar deterioration, and impaired cardiac contractile function, is a serious complication of antitumor therapy which may not be detected for many years. Growing evidence indicates that the regulation of cardiac microRNA (miRNA, miR) in response to exercise is essentially involved in the protective effect of exercise in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, it is largely unknown whether and how exercise could prevent Dox-induced cardiotoxicity via regulating miRNA biology. In the current study, C57BL/6 mice were either subjected to a 3-week swimming program or remained sedentary. Mice were then treated with Dox (ip. 4 mg/kg/week for 4 weeks) to induce cardiotoxicity. Our data demonstrated that Dox resulted in marked reduction of cardiac ejection fraction (EF, %) and fractional shortening (FS, %) as measured by echocardiography. Interestingly, exercise significantly improved cardiac EF (%) and FS (%) in Dox-treated mice, indicating the protective effect of exercise in Dox-induced cardiotoxicity. Then, we performed microarray analysis (Affymetrix 3.0) showing that miR-27a-5p, miR-34b-3p, miR-185-3p, miR-203-3p, miR-669a-5p, miR-872-3p, and let-7i-3p were significantly reduced, while miR-2137 was increased in the hearts of exercised Dox-treated mice versus sedentary Dox-treated mice (FC(abs)>1.5, p<0.05). Using qRT-PCR, we further verified that miR-669a-5p was reduced by exercise training in Dox-treated mice. These data reveal that miR-669a-5p might be a potential miRNA mimicking the benefit of exercise in Dox-induced cardiotoxicity. Further study is needed to clarify the functional effect of miR-669a-5p and to identify its downstream target gene that contributes to the prevention and treatment of Dox-induced cardiotoxicity.

Comportamento da pressão arterial em homens pré-hipertensos participantes em um programa regular de natação

INTRODUÇÃO: A natação tem sido recomendada como tipo de atividade física para a prevenção, tratamento e controle da hipertensão arterial. OBJETIVO: Analisar os efeitos da prática regular de natação sobre a pressão arterial de adultos pré-hipertensos. MÉTODOS: A amostra foi composta por 36 homens pré-hipertensos divididos em dois grupos: Experimental - GE (n=24, 40,60±9,36 anos) e Controle - GC (n=12, 40,57±8,05 anos). O GE realizou um programa regular de natação, com três sessões semanais de 45 min, durante 12 semanas, enquanto o GC não alterou seus hábitos alimentares e permaneceu sem praticar atividade física no período. O procedimento estatístico utilizado para verificar as diferenças entre as médias antes e depois de 12 semanas do programa regular de natação foi o teste-t de Student. O estudo admitiu o nível de p < 0.05 para a significância estatística. RESULTADOS: O grupo GE apresentou diferenças estatisticamente significativas nas variáveis analisadas quando comparadas com o GC, tanto na pressão arterial sistólica, PAS (Δ = - 5,89 mmHg, p = 0,00), como na pressão arterial diastólica, PAD (Δ = - 5,15mmHg, p = 0,00). CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados mostram que um programa regular de natação provoca reduções significativas na pressão arterial em repouso em homens pré-hipertensos.

Oxidative stress status and placental implications in diabetic rats undergoing swimming exercise after embryonic implantation.

The potential benefits and risks of physical exercise on fetal development during pregnancy remain unclear. The aim was to analyze maternal oxidative stress status and the placental morphometry to relate to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) from diabetic female rats submitted to swimming program after embryonic implantation. Pregnant Wistar rats were distributed into 4 groups (11 animals/group): control-nondiabetic sedentary rats, control exercised-nondiabetic exercised rats, diabetic-diabetic sedentary rats, and diabetic exercised-diabetic exercised rats. A swimming program was used as an exercise model. At the end of pregnancy, the maternal oxidative stress status, placental morphology, and fetal weight were analyzed. The swimming program was not efficient to reduce the hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress. This fact impaired placental development, resulting in altered blood flow and energy reserves, which contributed to a deficient exchange of nutrients and oxygen for the fetal development, leading to IUGR.

Managing Diversity to Provide Culturally Safe Sport Programming: A Case Study of the Canadian Red Cross’s Swim Program

This article examines the piloting of a cultural safety training module in the Canadian Red Cross’s (CRC’s) Water Safety Instructor Development Program. Thematic analysis of interviews with program participants and facilitators revealed two main themes: Inclusion is important and valued by instructors, and accommodation for cultural and ethnic diversity is difficult to achieve in aquatics settings. Doherty and Chelladurai’s (1999) framework was used to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the pilot module. In conclusion, the authors propose that cultural safety training for the instructors alone will not lead to the provision of culturally safe sport; rather, there needs to be a change in the overall organizational culture in which the CRC’s programs are offered if they are to succeed. These findings make three contributions to the literature. First, the authors bridge the existing bodies of literature on critical Whiteness theory and sport management literature that addresses the management of diversity. Second, the authors explore the novel application of cultural safety training for instructors of a sport program. Finally, the authors offer recommendations to enable the development of an organizational culture that is facilitative and supportive with respect to inclusion (i.e., is welcoming) and accommodation (i.e., is flexible and adaptable) of cultural and ethnic diversity in aquatics programming.

The impact of the free swimming programme in a local community in the South East of England: giving with one hand, taking away with the other.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the introduction of the Free Swimming Programme (FSP) in a local community (not identified to preserve anonymity) in the South East of England. The question has been approached in a variety of ways: by using primary quantitative data from leisure centres and logistic regressions based on the Active People Survey (APS). Problems are identified related to the introduction of the FSP in this community and suggestions are made for future policy. A brief examination of swimming participation in England enables researchers to place this community into a national context. The problems and policies of sport organisation developed in this community are not dissimilar to a more general application reflecting the English experience; in this sense it is anticipated that the findings will enable managers of sport organisations, along with public health policy makers, to focus more effectively on raising sport participation. The unique selling points of this article are the examination of FSP for adult participants, the local analysis of junior and senior participation, and the overall assessment of the policy based on APS.

Everyone Swims: a community partnership and policy approach to address health disparities in drowning and obesity.

Well-known disparities exist in rates of obesity and drowning, two public health priorities. Addressing these disparities by increasing access to safe swimming and water recreation may yield benefits for both obesity and injury prevention. Everyone Swims, a community partnership, brought community health clinics and water recreation organizations together to improve policies and systems that facilitated learning to swim and access to swimming and water recreation for low-income, diverse communities. Based in King County, Washington, Everyone Swims launched with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant funding from 2010 to 2012. This partnership led to multiple improvements in policies and systems: higher numbers of clinics screening for swimming ability, referrals from clinics to pools, more scholarship accessibility, and expansion of special swim programs. In building partnerships between community health/public health and community recreation organizations to develop systems that address user needs in low-income and culturally diverse communities, Everyone Swims represents a promising model of a structured partnership for systems and policy change to promote health and physical activity.

The Effects Of Swimming And Dry-Land Resistance Training Programme On Non-Swimmers

Abstract Introduction . The aim of the study was to estimate the influence of combined swimming and dry-land resistance training on swimming force, swimming performance and strength in non-swimmers. Material and methods . Thirty male non-swimmers took part in the research. They were randomly assigned to one of the two groups: experimental (n=17) and control (n=13). The experimental group took part in combined swimming and dry-land resistance training. The control group took part in swimming training only. The swimming and dry-land resistance training programme lasted twelve weeks (48 training sessions of swimming and 36 sessions of dry-land resistance training). Average training volume and intensity were the same for all swimmers throughout the study protocol. The training programme included dominant aerobic work in front crawl. Results . Dry-land resistance training applied in the experimental group significantly improved the upper body strength. In spite of the theory that dry-land strength training is probably not specific enough to improve the sprint swim performance, the experimental group tended to demonstrate greater improvement in sprint performance. The imitation of the underwater phase of shoulder work during front crawl provided by the ergometer can be a useful training method in non-swimmers.

Protective effects of aerobic swimming training on high-fat diet induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Regulation of lipid metabolism via PANDER-AKT pathway

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which aerobic swimming training prevents high-fat-diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Forty-two male C57BL/6 mice were randomized into normal-diet sedentary (ND; n = 8), ND exercised (n = 8), high-fat diet sedentary (HFD; n = 13), and HFD exercised groups (n = 13). After 2 weeks of training adaptation, the mice were subjected to an aerobic swimming protocol (60 min/day) 5 days/week for 10 weeks. The HFD group exhibited significantly higher mRNA levels of fatty acid transport-, lipogenesis-, and β-oxidation-associated gene expressions than the ND group. PANDER and FOXO1 expressions increased, whereas AKT expression decreased in the HFD group. The aerobic swimming program with the HFD reversed the effects of the HFD on the expressions of thrombospondin-1 receptor, liver fatty acid-binding protein, long-chain fatty-acid elongase-6, Fas cell surface death receptor, and stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase-1, as well as PANDER, FOXO1, and AKT. In the HFD exercised group, PPARα and AOX expressions were much higher. Our findings suggest that aerobic swimming training can prevent NAFLD via the regulation of fatty acid transport-, lipogenesis-, and β-oxidation-associated genes. In addition, the benefits from aerobic swimming training were achieved partly through the PANDER-AKT-FOXO1 pathway.

Insights on the Process of Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis in a Sport Coaching Research Project

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is a qualitative research methodology used to understand participants’ subjective realities through personal interpretations of their lived experiences and the meanings they attach to these experiences (Smith, 2011). IPA has been used predominantly in health psychology, with rising interest within the field of sport psychology and coaching. This article seeks to describe insights about the processes of IPA by a research team using the methodological approach for the first time. These experiences are shared against the backdrop of research exploring the lived experiences of Masters athletes within the context of coached competitive swim programs. We describe how the multiple facets of IPA influence the refinement of the research question, the planning and implementation of data collection, and data analysis and interpretation. We elaborate on our perceptions of the complexities of IPA and make recommendations for how future research teams might smoothly navigate the rigorous research process to yield rich in-depth data and interpretations.

Exploring the Context of Coached Masters Swim Programs: A Narrative Approach

Exploring the Context of Coached Masters Swim Programs: A Narrative Approach

Exploring the Context of Coached Masters Swim Programs: A Narrative Approach

Knowing the psychosocial themes in a specific sport context allows us to understand athletes’ experiences and informs approaches of coaches (Cote et al., 1995) and sport programmers (Danish et al., 2005). Few qualitative studies focus on psychosocial conditions of adult athletes in coached sport settings. The purpose of this study was to capture important psychosocial themes from perspective of Masters swimmers involved in day-to-day coached swimming environments. Data were collected using semistructured open-ended interviews with 10 competitive swimmers (5 male, 5 female; M age = 53 years; age range: 45–65 years). Analyses revealed four over-arching themes that represented athletes’ a) motives for swimming, b) perspectives on competition, c) experiences specific to being a Masters swimmer, and d) perspectives on being coached. Using a qualitative narrative approach (Denison, 2010), we developed three narrative profiles to depict how our Masters swimmers had different experiences relating to these themes. Our discussion focuses on how swimmers’ understanding of the four over-arching themes depends on their profile.

Correction of errors front crawl swimming technique of students of physical education and sport

Mandzak Peter, Stankiewicz Blazej. Correction of errors front crawl swimming technique of students of physical education and sport. Journal of Health Sciences. 2014;4(14):27-38. ISSN 1429-9623 / 2300-665X. http://journal.rsw.edu.pl/index.php/JHS/article/view/2014%3B4%2814%29%3A27-38 http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/2014%3B4%2814%29%3A27-38 https://pbn.nauka.gov.pl/works/510005 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.13262 http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13262 The journal has had 5 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland parametric evaluation. Part B item 1107. (17.12.2013). © The Author (s) 2014; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Radom University in Radom, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. Conflict of interest: None declared. Received: 15.11.2014. Revised 05.12.2014. Accepted: 08.12.2014. Correction of errors front crawl swimming technique of students of physical education and sport Peter Mandzak 1 , Blazej. Stankiewicz 2 1 Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Arts Matej Bel University, Slovenska republika 2 Faculty of Physical Education, Health and Tourism, Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland ABSTRACT The author in this paper deals with diagnosis of Students' Front Crawl Swimming Technique. The research group was formed by 101 freshers of the Department of Physical Education and Sport, FH UMB in Banska Bystrica. Their average age at the time of research was 20 years of age. We used the assessment technique based on Svozil and Gajda's (1997) rating scale to assess the front crawl swimming technique. Based on the results of output testing, we claim that the level of acquired swimming technique increased. Despite the errors, which were not removed completely, there was a percentage decrease in the number of errors in both groups. Systematic application of our corrective programme led to an important improvement in breathing technique. Nevertheless, some students still tilt their head backwards, despite having taken lessons aimed at the correction of such error. We also registered positive changes in the pull phase. Errors were minimised in both groups. As for the position of the trunk and the leg kick, positive changes without distinct anomalies in the technique were recorded. Drawing on these facts, we confirmed the hypothesis about the efficiency of the corrective programme, which has been integrated into the swimming courses to correct errors in the front crawl swimming technique. Key words: front Crawl Swimming Technique, Corrective swimming programme

The impact of a community free swimming programme for young people (under 19) in England

A national free swimming programme for under 16s in England was a central government initiative to increase participation in 2008/09, although not all local authorities adopted it. One implemented a bespoke free swimming initiative (FSI) for under 19s in the community instead, aiming to improve the health of young people through the programme and provide value for money for managers. The FSI saw 33% of the eligible population participating at least once. However, the programme evaluation demonstrated that, despite cost being removed, participation decreased over the programme. Furthermore, the FSI had a large market penetration effect, where the majority of participants were already swimming regularly prior to the intervention. Overall, the programme provided some health benefits to the more engaged participants, but in terms of wider social benefit there was little evidence to suggest the intervention had any additional impact. The cost per swim of the community investment was almost six times more per head than the central government funded scheme, suggesting that widespread programming did not provide value for money when compared to a more targeted programme.

Examining Whiteness and Eurocanadian Discourses in the Canadian Red Cross’ Swim Program

Each year, over 1 million Canadians participate in the Canadian Red Cross’ (CRC) Swim Program. Despite the increasing importance of cultural diversity in Canadian society, the CRC has yet to incorporate diversity training for this program’s Water Safety Instructors (WSIs). Through the use of critical Whiteness theory and critical discourse analysis, in this article, we examine the program’s content to assess the ways in which, if at all, it reflects mainstream, Eurocanadian and Whiteness discourses. Our analysis revealed two dominant discourses: (a) all participants should perceive risk and demonstrate leadership like Whites/Eurocanadians, and (b) behaviors that reflect White/Eurocanadian beliefs are normal and/or superior to other alternative ways of behaving. As a result of these findings, we suggest that future research should evaluate the possibility of implementing cultural safety training to equip instructors with a suitable understanding the cultural implications of aquatics programming, which may improve the program’s effectiveness for diverse Canadian populations.

Organização e metodologia de ensino da natação no 1º ciclo do ensino básico em Portugal

The aim of this study was to describe the management and the teaching methodology in the primary level Physical Education classes in Portugal to teach swimming motor skills. The sample included 89 public swimming-pools supervisors and 100 swimming teachers. In order to assess the management and the teaching methodology, two questionnaires were used and their results were described based on descriptive statistical analysis techniques. Data suggest that swimming classes in primary schools are designed according to the Ministry of Education guidelines. The most frequent reasons mentioned to justify the inexistence of swimming classes are related to budget constraints (60.0%) and to some commuting issues of the children to and from the swimming pool facilities (54.0%). Swimming programs are mainly conducted with older children from the year 3 and year 4 (80.1%). The classes happen once a week (60.4%) with a large number of students (13 to 16 students). The lessons focused on aquatic readiness (81.4%), developing basic aquatic skills, mostly without any teaching material. The reported data allowed us to identify some weaknesses in the primary school swimming classes, probably affecting the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process, such as the acquisition of more complex and challenging aquatic skills.