Floating
Most people can float in salt water, no matter what may be their build. In learning, the first movement is to gradually throw the body on the back, arching the spine, keeping the chest well inflated, crossing the arms over and back on the head, the thumbs locked or fingers touching, which latter movement tends to increase the expansion of the chest and thus make the body more floatable. If the legs are kept straight out and together the beginner will find that their weight in this position, in most cases, has a tendency to sink the body. This can be overcome by drawing up the lower limbs and extending them slightly apart and keeping them bent, which will have the effect of more evenly balancing the body, and then, later on, when the swimmer masters control of the breathing, so that the lungs can be kept partly inflated all the time, he will find that the legs can be gradually extended until they are straight, when the position in the water will be more graceful. Because of their lighter bony structure and increased tissue, women learn to float easier than men, while stout persons, being more floatable, master floating quicker than slim people. But the latter need not despair of learning, for the best floating and the most graceful work I have ever seen of this kind has been performed by comparatively slim people, who have caught on to the proper equipoise of the body and overcome the tendency of the legs to sink. Floating does not properly belong to the elementary part of swimming, as there is considerable skill required and much practice needed before those who do not float naturally can accomplish the art; but, as the ability to float means so much in ornamental and scientific swimming, the novice is advised to learn to float as soon as possible. Double floating is much easier than single floating, as each of the two performers aids the other in supporting the feet and lower limbs, the parts that have a tendency to sink.
At the seashore nothing can be more pleasant than to go out beyond the breakers and float on the back and be buoyed up and down by the hidden power of the sea, and if one is tired from battling with the strong waves, it is only necessary to turn over on the back, a little farther out, on the long swell of the big rollers, and get thoroughly rested before coming in again.
CHARLES B. DURBOROW.
Of Riverton, N. J.; the World’s Greatest Long-Distance Endurance Swimmer.
Ludy Langer, Los Angeles A. C.; Teddy Cann, N. Y. A. C.; Herbert Vollmer, N. Y. A. C.
THREE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST SWIMMERS AND RECORD-HOLDERS.
LEO HANDY,
Brookline (Mass.) High School. Greatest Scholastic Speed Swimmer in the World. 100 Yards, 56 2-5s.; 220 Yards, 2m. 29 3-5s. Princeton, N. J., February 12, 1916.
NORMAN ROSS,
Stanford University, California; 20 years of age (1916); 6 feet 1 inch; 207 pounds. 50 yards, 24 2-5 seconds; 100 yards, 56 seconds; 220 yards, 2 minutes 21 3-5 seconds; one mile, 23 minutes 22 seconds; 150 yards on back, 1 minute 56 seconds; plunge, 65 feet.