Αquatics Swimming Competitors must swim a defined distance. Races take place in a 25 or 50 m pool. Men & women compete in 4 strokes: breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly & freestyle. Some races combine all four strokes (medleys).the goal of the competition is a race against the other swimmers & the clock. Vocabulary help: Defined distance=συγκεκριμένη απόσταση Take place= γίνομαι, λαμβάνω χώρα Stroke= κίνηση κολυμβητή, στυλ medley=μικτή Against= εναντίον
Swimming At the starter s first signal, the competitors take their positions on the starting blocks (or backstroke grips) in their respective lanes. At the second signal (gun or electronic tone), they dive into the pool. If a swimmer has a false start s/he is disqualified. During the race, the swimmers must stay in their lanes. Voc help: Signal=σήμα, ένδειξη Respective lane=αντίστοιχη διαδρομή Dive= βουτάω, βουτιά
The crawl Forward start: the swimmer holds his breath& concentrates until the signal is given. Then, s/he pushes off strongly with the legs, stretching the body fully. Competitions: recognized distances in the Olympics & world championships: Men: Individual: 50,100,200,400 & 1500m. relays: 4 x 100 & 4 x 200m Women: Individual: 50,100,200,400 & 800m relays: 4 x 100 & 4 x 200m Voc help: Crawl= ελεύθερη κολύμβηση (κρόουλ) Recognized distances=επίσημες αποστάσεις World championship=παγκόσμια πρωτάθλημα Relay= σκυταλοδρομία
The crawl Stroke technique: the legs are submerged and perform flutter kicks, while the arms are alternatively lifted forward then pulled through the water. The swimmer breathes out when his head is submerged. Voc help: Submerge=βυθίζω Flutter kicks= διαδοχικά χτυπήματα των ποδιών while-= ενώ Alternatively= εναλλάξ Lift forward=σηκώνω προς τα μπρος Pull=τραβώ Through= διαμέσου, μέσω Breath out=εκπνέω
The backstroke Backward start: the hands are placed on the starting grips, and the feet, braced against the wall, must be entirely under water. At the signal, the swimmers leave the grips & use their legs to push off. Voc help: backstroke= ύπτια κίνηση Backward= προς τα πίσω Starting grips= χειρολαβές εκκίνησης Braced against the wall= ακουμπισμένα στον τοίχο Entirely=εντελώς Push off=ωθώ, σπρώχνω
Backstroke Competitions: recognized distances in the Olympics & world championships: Men: Individual: 100 & 200m (50m) Women: Individual: 100 & 200m (50m) Voc help: individual= ατομικός
The backstroke Stroke technique: The arms are lifted forward alternatively, then pulled through the water between 45 & 60 cm below the surface. At the same time, the legs flutter kick to propel the swimmer. Voc used: Below the surface=κάτω από την επιφάνεια At the same time= την ίδια στιγμή Propel=προωθώ
The breaststroke Forward start: As in the crawl: holding of breath, signal, pushing off legs, fully-stretched body. Voc help: Breaststroke= πρόσθιο Breast=στήθος Forward=προς τα μπρος Competitions: recognized distances in the Olympics & world championships: Men: Individual: 100 & 200m (50m) Women: Individual: 100 & 200m (50m)
The breaststroke Stroke technique: Thearms make three lateral movements inorder: Anoutward pull(away from the body) Downward pull(toward the bottom of the pool) Inward pull(toward the body) The breaststroke kick provides more propulsion(70%) than the kicks in the other strokes(5-10%). Voc help: Lateral= πλευρικός Outward=προς τα έξω Downward= προς τα κάτω Inward=προς τα μέσα Toward=προς
The butterfly Forward start: As in the crawl & the breaststroke: holding of breath, signal, pushing off legs, fully-stretched body. Competitions: recognized distances in the Olympics & world championships: Men: Individual: 100 & 200m (50m) Women: Individual: 100 & 200m (50m) Voc help: Butterfly=πεταλούδα Forward start:εκκίνηση προς τα μπρος
The butterfly Stroke technique: Both arms are lifted forward and pulled backward symmetrically for propulsion. The shoulders must stay horizontal & parallel to the surface. The legs move in unison in the dolphin kick, completing the undulating movement begun by the arms. Τhe swimmer breathes in at the end of the stroke, as the arms return over his head. Voc help: Propulsion=ώθηση Horizontal & parallel= οριζόντιοι & παράλληλα in unison with= όπως Undulating= κυματιστός Breathe in= εισπνέω Return over= επιστρέφω πάνω από
The Individual Medley Athletes swim each stroke for about 50 m. Ιt combines technique, speed & endurance. The 4 strokes are the breaststroke, the backstroke, the butterfly & the freestyle. The order of the strokes is fixed: butterfly backstroke breaststroke freestyle
The Team Medley : It involves teams composed of specialists in each stroke. be composed of=αποτελούμαι από The order of the strokes is fixed: backstroke breaststroke butterfly freestyle The first swimmers start from the backstroke position while the other team members use the starting block.
The Medley Competitions: recognized distances in the Olympics & world championships: Men: Individual: 200 & 400 m Men team: 4 x 100 m Women: Individual: 200 & 400 m Women team: 4 x 100 m
Swimmer s profile A swimmer should: Be strong Have endurance, because they undergo intense physical training Their hips should be narrow(less resistance) The taller the swimmer, the better the reach (both arms & legs). Voc help: Undergo intense physical training= υποβάλλονται σε έντονη σωματική άσκηση narrow hips= στενοί γοφοί
Muscles & Training Deltoids, trapezoids & back thigh muscles. (Δελτοειδείς, τραπεζοειδείς & οι πίσω μηριαίοι μύες.) Training: Many intensity splits (repetitions of shortdistances) Weight lifting, muscles building. Before the race, they reduce training but not the high intensity splits. They don t get tired; yet, they continue keeping fit Reduce=μειώνω Get tired= κουράζομαι Keep fit= κρατιέμαι σε φόρμα
Synchronized swimming It is a sport performed exclusively by women. It combines swimming, dance & gymnastics. There are four types: Solo Duet Team Combo (combination of duet & team) Voc help: It is performed= εκτελείται Exclusively= αποκλειστικά
The competition The swimmers perform two routines for the judges: the first technical, the second free. Thus, they are judged both on their technical abilities: quality, accuracy, difficulty and their artistic performance: presentation, transitions, interpretation & creativity. Οι κολυμβητές εκτελούν 2 προγράμματα για τους κριτές: το πρώτο τεχνικό & το δεύτερο ελεύθερο. Δηλαδή, κρίνονται και στις τεχνικές ικανότητες: ποιότητα, ακρίβεια, δυσκολία & στην καλλιτεχνική επίδοση: παρουσίαση, μεταβάσεις, ερμηνεία & δημιουργικότητα.
Synchronized swimming Team competition: A synchronization is required both between the swimmers and with the music. Quality, accuracy, level of difficulty, presentation, transitions, interpretation & creativity are to be beautifully interwoven(= πρέπει να ενσωματωθούν με επιτυχία)
Training It takes 7-9 hours a day, 6 hours a week.preparation is physical, technical, artistic and psychological: Physical: muscle building abdominals, neck, trapezοids, back, arm & leg muscle. (=αύξηση μυών: κοιλιακοί, λαιμός, τραπεζοειδείς, πλάτη, μύες των χεριών & των ποδιών) Cardiovascular exercise: running, swimming with weights( καρδιοαγγειακές ασκήσεις) Flexibility ( ευελιξία)
Technical: Mastery of figures, body movements, aquatic sessions Artistic: Dance training (jazz& ballet), gymnastics and choreography, development of musical sense. Psychological: Visualization (νοερή απεικόνιση) relaxation, land drills (=rehearsal outside of the pool)
Swimmer s profile S/he is at his her peak at the age of 15-16 and rarely maintains this level after 28-29 years old. Voc help: At the peak: στην κορυφή, στο τοπ της επίδοσης Rarely: σπάνια Level= επίπεδο
Diving (=Κατάδυση) It involves plunging into the water from a platform & it dates back from the 4 th century B.C. the Vikings used to practise it 12 centuries ago. It involves both physical and technical skills. Divers jump from a platform or diving board and perform a figure as perfectly as possible before touching the surface of water. Περιλαμβάνει βουτιά στο νερό από μία εξέδρα & χρονολογείται από τον 4 ο αιώνα. Οι Βίκινς το εξασκούσαν αιώνες πριν. Επίσης περιλαμβάνει και σωματικές και τεχνικές ικανότητες. Οι καταδύτες πηδάνε από το βατήρα κατάδυσης και εκτελούν μία φιγούρα όσο το δυνατόν πιο τέλεια, προτού ακουμπήσουν στην επιφάνεια του νερού.
Judges award marks for the mastery with which divers perform the figure. The least splash is intended. The dives begin at the referee s signal. Voc help: Award=απονέμω, δίνω Mastery= άρτια μάθηση Figure=φιγούρα The least splash= ο λιγότερος παφλασμός It is intended= Ο σκοπός είναι να
Diving in Olympic Competitions They consist of 3 phases: Preliminaries: From the 10 m, men perform 6 dives & women do 5. At that stage there is no difficulty limit. The top 18 divers advance to the next round. Semi-finals: men and women perform 4 dives from the 10 m platform & 5 dives from the 3 m springboard. A maximum degree of difficulty is imposed here. The scores are added to the results of the preliminaries. The best 12 go to the finals.
Finals: In the finals the results of the preliminaries are eliminated. Yet, the scores of the semi-finals are kept. They perform the same number of dives, as in the preliminaries. The degree of difficulty is open.
Synchronized Diving Two divers constitute a team and have to perform simultaneous dives. Their movements must be as identical as possible. They take off the same platform and must be at least 1 m apart at the start of the dive. Voc help: Constitute= συστήνω Simultaneous=ταυτόχρονος As identical as possible= όσο πιο ίδιες γίνεται Take off=φεύγουν Be apart= έχουν απόσταση
Judges There are 9 judges. The first set of the them observe only the first diver while the second set of judges consider only the synchronization of the divers. Voc help: Observe= παρατηρώ Consider= σκέφτομαι, παίρνουν υπόψη
Diver s profile 1. Technically impressive: graceful, expert, effortless. S/he has to present the most aesthetically pleasing & elegant silhouette possible. Τεχνικά εντυπωσιακός: με χάρη, ειδικός, άνετος. Πρέπει να έχουν μία ευχάριστη αισθητικά & όσο το δυνατόν πιο κομψή σιλουέτα. 2. Well-built: they focus on stretching & power, on flexibilityexercisesand gymnastics. 3. A top level career normally begins between ages of 14-16 and reaches its peak at the age of 21,22 and begins to drop after the age of 26-27.
Training & muscles in diving Focus is given on leg muscles, arms, back and more generally joint movements such as ankles, knees, shoulders, wrists. Training is rounded out with trampoline in order for the diver to guide his body effectively and become familiar with any new movements.
Water polo It is a ball sport played in the water between 2 teams. It combines speed,endurance,accuracy & team spirit. Each team has 13 players. 6 players + 1 goalkeeper in the pool and 6 reserves. They have to stay in the water without touching the bottom; Αdditionally, they must not hold the ball with both hands or hit it with the fists. All the above do not apply to the goalkeeper. After one team takes possession of the ball, they must throw the ball within 35 secs. If a game ends at a tie, extra 2 periods of 3 minutes are played. Fists=γροθιές Apply to=έχει εφαρμογή σε possession-=κατοχή End up at a tie= τελειώνουν σε ισοπαλία
Water polo player s profile Excellent swimmer Has high endurance & an excellent cardiorespiratory system. Muscles: The most developed muscles are those of the torso: trunk, abdominals, shoulders ball handling & of course leg muscles.
Water polo: training It has 3 stages: 1. Muscles warm-up outside the pool: calves, thighs, trunk, abdominals, arms, shoulders. (=κνήμες, μηροί, σώμα/κορμός, κοιλιακοί, χέρια, ώμοι) 2. Swimming work 3. Ball plays (passes, throws)
Comprehension questions What are the 4 swimming strokes? What happens if an athlete makes a false start? What are the recognized distances for the crawl? Do swimmers shave their bodies before major events? The past tense of swim is swum. T or F? What does the word synchronization mean? How many hours does a synchronized swimmer train? How many people take part in water polo game? What are the muscles exercised in water polo?
What are the three faces of diving in the Olympics? What is the peak age for a diver? What is a medley? Can any swimmer take part? What is a team medley? How many athletes take part? Does a swimmer in the backstroke start from the starting blocks?
Reference book: Kontopodis, P.(2002) English for sports purposes with exercises. Athens: Kontopodis
ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΙΑΣ ΤΜΗΜΑ ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΗΣ ΦΥΣΙΚΗΣ ΑΓΩΓΗΣ & ΑΘΛΗΤΙΣΜΟΥ