Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that results in directional motion. Humans can hold their breath underwater and undertake rudimentary locomotive swimming within weeks of birth, as a survival response. Swimming requires stamina, skills, and proper technique.
Treading water or water treading is what a swimmer can do while in a vertical position to keep their head above the surface of the water, while not providing sufficient directional thrust to overcome inertia and propel the swimmer in any specific direction. As it expends less energy than traditional strokes, it is often used by swimmers to rest in between periods of exertion without having to leave the water.
Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incident. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer assistance. After successful resuscitation, drowning victims may experience breathing problems, vomiting, confusion, or unconsciousness. Occasionally, victims may not begin experiencing these symptoms until several hours after they are rescued. An incident of drowning can also cause further complications for victims due to low body temperature, aspiration of vomit, or acute respiratory distress syndrome.
A rip current is a specific type of water current that can occur near beaches where waves break. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water that moves directly away from the shore by cutting through the lines of breaking waves, like a river flowing out to sea. The force of the current in a rip is strongest and fastest next to the surface of the water.
A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/AED first aid, certified in water rescue using a variety of aids and equipment depending on requirements of their particular venue. In some areas, lifeguards are part of the emergency services system to incidents and in some communities, lifeguards may function as the primary EMS provider.
The German Life Saving Association is a relief organization for life saving in Germany. The DLRG is the largest voluntary lifesaving organization in the world.
Human swimming typically consists of repeating a specific body motion or swimming stroke to propel the body forward. There are many kinds of strokes, each defining a different swimming style or crawl.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ) is the national association representing 74 Surf Life Saving Clubs in New Zealand. The organisation's motto is 'In it for Life'. This refers to both the long relationship many members have with the organisation, as well as to the organisation's purpose of preventing drowning and injury, thereby saving lives.
Freediving blackout, breath-hold blackout, or apnea blackout is a class of hypoxic blackout, a loss of consciousness caused by cerebral hypoxia towards the end of a breath-hold dive, when the swimmer does not necessarily experience an urgent need to breathe and has no other obvious medical condition that might have caused it. It can be provoked by hyperventilating just before a dive, or as a consequence of the pressure reduction on ascent, or a combination of these. Victims are often established practitioners of breath-hold diving, are fit, strong swimmers and have not experienced problems before. Blackout may also be referred to as a syncope or fainting.
Swimming lessons are the process of learning to swim. In most countries there is a definition of a number of swimming levels that are reached in the process of the curriculum. The respective certificates of swimming tests are required for further training in aquatic abilities. Many countries have defined a minimum swimming level that children should reach by the end of primary education, in most cases with the help of school swimming classes being part of the normal curriculum.
The International Life Saving Federation (ILS) is an organisation for drowning prevention, water safety, lifesaving and lifesaving sports.
The Royal Life Saving Society Canada, commonly known as the Lifesaving Society or LSS, is a Canadian registered charity that works to prevent water-related injuries through various programs across Canada. The Lifesaving Society is an independent organization that is composed of ten provincial/territorial branches, tens of thousands of individual members, and over 4,000 affiliated swimming pools, waterfronts, schools and clubs. The Society helps prevent drowning and aquatic injury through its training programs, public education, drowning-prevention research, safety management and overseeing the sport of lifesaving. They are one of five nationally recognized first aid training organizations in Canada, alongside the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, and the Canadian Ski Patrol.
Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue; however, it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical services. Lifesaving also refers to sport where lifesavers compete based on skills, technique, speed and teamwork. Lifesaving activities specialized in oceanic environment is called surf lifesaving or coastal lifesaving.
A rescue buoy or rescue tube or torpedo buoy is a piece of lifesaving equipment used in water rescue. This flotation device can help support the victim's and rescuer's weight to make a rescue easier and safer for the rescuer. It is an essential part of the equipment that must be carried by lifeguards. It further can act as a mark of identification, identifying an individual as a lifeguard.
Distressed swimmer or distressed non-swimmer (DNS) is a term used by the Life Saving Society of Canada to describe a particular swimming victim type.
The drowning chain is a series of conditions that on their own, or together can lead to a person being drowned. Each link in the chain can lead on to another link, or directly to a fatal or non-fatal drowning. The chain is used by lifeguards as a basis for targeting their activity at preventing, rather than reacting to, drowning or other incidents.
National Water Life Saving Association (NWLSA), also known as Chinese Taipei Water Life Saving Association (CTWLSA), is the major lifesaving organization in Taiwan. The organization's members are mainly volunteer lifesavers, police officers, firefighters and civilians who are enthusiastic about water sports, water safety awareness and water rescue events.
The instinctive drowning response is an instinctive reaction that occurs in humans, particularly in non-swimmers, when close to drowning. It is focused on attempting to keep the mouth above water to the exclusion of useful effort to attract help or self rescue, and is often not recognized by onlookers. The reaction is characterized by lateral arm movements, a vertical posture, tilting back the head, and inability to keep the mouth above the water or talk. The suppression of rational behavior by panic can also endanger swimmers attempting to rescue the victim.
Water safety refers to the procedures, precautions and policies associated with safety in, on, and around bodies of water, where there is a risk of injury or drowning. It has applications in several occupations, sports and recreational activities.
The International Surf Lifesaving Association (ISLA) is a nonprofit organization that advances professional lifesaving development to areas in need around the globe. ISLA uses latest technology to identify areas in need. ISLA advances development through lifeguard training programs and aquatic rescue operation consults, lifeguard exchanges, equipment donations, and by integrating with drowning prevention organizations to share information, techniques, stories, and culture.
