To be honest, swimming scared me, but drowning scared me more. II. (Establish credibility) Even though the risk of drowning may seem daunting, swimming can become more than just a skill. Not willing to let my fears get the best of me, I used my prior knowledge Of swimming, from experience, to assist my research of swimming.

II. (Reveal Topic) According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is a leading cause of death in the U. S.

, of which, “The risk of drowning in natural waters is 43%… Increases substantially at age 15 and remains elevated throughout (CDC). Learning how to swim can help reduce the risk of drowning; unfortunately, even with the ability to swim, drowning ultimately cannot be completely preventable.

IV. (Preview body of speech) Today I will be talking about the history of swimming the four basic strokes of swimming, and the pros and cons of swimming. Body 1. Although swimming is commonly known for being an event in the Olympic GA mess, the activity of swimming has existed way before our time. A.

According to the official website for the Olympic games, swimming began far before the creation of the Olympics and, “we know this because cave nettings from the Stone Age depicting swimmers have been found in Egypt” (Olympic. Org). I. Swimming dates back as far as 2000 B. C.

, and can even be found mentioned in the Bible. Ii. As well as this, there are mosaics of earlier Middle Eastern civilizations depicting swimmers using the dog stroke.

1 . The dog stroke is a primal technique that humans instinctively learned as a method to keep their heads out of the water. . This form of swimming was only effective for survival and short distances. Ill. Well-known historical figures like Julius Caesar and Charlemagne, both emperors of Rome of their captives time periods (46-44 B. C. And 800-814), were known as skilled swimmers.

B. Competitively, swimming gained prominence from The English. I. The English are known for developing competitive swimming.

1. As stated by the LISA swimming website, the National Governing Body for swimming in the United States, competitive swimming began in London, England in 1 837 (swimming. Rug). 2.

Swimming competitions today consist of multiple strokes, but back in the sass’s The English only practiced the breaststroke. I will be further describing all of the main strokes later on in the speech. Ii. In 1844 though, during a swim meet in London, two Native Americans by the name of Flying Gull and Tobacco were invited to swim against the English swimmers.

1. The race was only 130 feet long, but Flying Gull and Tobacco easily defeated the competition with their unknown swimming technique. 2.As mentioned by the ASSAI swimming website, they were described as using their arms, “like sails of a windmill,” as they, “beat downward with their feet” (swimming. Org). 3. Their stroke resembled an under-developed form of a stroke known commonly today as the freestyle. Iii.

Swimming pioneer J. Arthur Trudged helped pave the way for the development of faster strokes. He took a trip to South America and observed the natives’ swimming form. 1. He observed that their swimming form was similar to that of Flying Gull and Tobacco; an overhand stroke accompanied with an up and down kick. .

When he returned to England Trudged developed and taught a faster stroke that combined the arm motions of the Native Americans and the frog kicking motion of The English breaststroke. 3. In 1 873, this hybrid stroke became known as the Trudged stroke. 4. Trudged effectively changed England’s swimming styles from endurance based to ore speed based.

Iv. Another swimming pioneer, Frederick Cavil , helped further develop Drudge’s stroke into an even faster stroke known as the front crawl (Livingston. Com). 1 He was an Englishman and a notable swimmer who emigrated to Australia.

. Like Arthur Trudged, Cavil observed the natives of the Solomon Islands and found that Drudge’s stroke would have been significantly faster if he would have incorporated the natives kicking action. 3. Cavil refined the natives stroke and taught it to his sons, one Of which would later use the stroke in a competition in England. 4. Since England was still using the Trudged stoke, Cavils son Richard, destroyed his competition with the more efficient stroke, which he described as, “crawling through the water” (swimming. Org).

Hence, the name front crawl. 2.As I previously mentioned, I will describe the four basic strokes that swimming consists of, such as the freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly A. The Federation International De Notation (ANA), the governing body for international competitive swimming, regulates everything swim related. I.

ANA, states that, “the four official strokes, breast, back, free and lay, comprise all the events in national and international competition” (FINAL. Org) ii. Each stroke is an individual event in swimming competitions, while the combination of all strokes is called an individual medley. B. Let me begin with describing the freestyle. .

The freestyle can be described as the alternate rotation of the arms in and out of the water. Ii. The kicking motion for freestyle is known as the flutter kick, which is an alternating up and down movement of the legs with the feet fully extended. Iii.

Unlike it’s underdeveloped form, aka the front crawl, the restyle is performed with the head faced down in the Water. 1 . The body should be completely parallel with the water. 2. To breathe, swimmers exhale completely while facing the water and simply rotate their heads to either side bringing it just above the surface of the water to inhale.C. The backstroke is similar to the freestyle, but as the name mentions it is performed while on the back. I.

Backstroke consists of alternating rotations of the arms through the water. 1. As one of the arms enter the water, the submerged arm bends as a means to better catch the water and propel the swimmer. 2. At the same time as the one arm is in the water, the other arm should be straight out of the water moving in the same direction as the underwater arm. Ii. The backstroke uses a flutter kick as well and is significant for keeping the body parallel to the water. Ii.

Since the backstroke is performed while on the back, swimmers can breathe as much as they want. D. The third stroke, breaststroke, is the slowest of all competitive strokes. I. The earlier version of the breaststroke performed by The English had the head out of the water the entire time while moving the arms and legs simultaneously. Ii.

The current breaststroke is comprised of multiple parts: 1. The swimmer starts the stroke with the body fully extended in the water with their head facing down into the water. The swimmer should resemble a straight line. .

Starting from this fully extended position, the swimmers hands then begin to spread the water shoulder width apart with the palms facing outward. 3. The arms then come back up the body while underwater, and back into the original extended position. 4. The kicking motion for the breaststroke is called the whip kick, because the legs kick in a circular, outward motion in a whip like manner. Ii.

For every pull of the arms, the head should rise out of the water in order for the swimmer to breathe, and then back into the water after the arms are extended again.E. Finally, the last stroke is the butterfly.

I. The butterfly is performed by simultaneously rotating the arms in and out of the water in the same direction. Ii. The legs should also kick at the same time and resembles a dolphin kick, which is why the butterfly kick is called the dolphin kick. Iii. As the arms pull down into the water, the head should rise out and this is when the swimmer should breathe. Iv. The butterfly utilizes the cost energy compared to the other strokes, but is considered the most graceful of strokes.

3.Besides competition, swimming can be seen as a beneficial treatment for certain symptoms, but not everything about swimming is beneficial. A. For example, in a study done on the effect of swimming in asthma, twenty-six children with asthmatic symptoms were recruited to partake in an experiment that tested whether or not swimming benefited decrease in symptoms (“Benefits of Swimming in Asthma” 4). I. Of the twenty-six, ten completed the study.

Ii. Each Of the children underwent a six to eight week swimming program. 1. Each swimmers skill varied from beginner to advanced. 2.