By Susana Soares, Afonso Simões Tenreiro da Cruz, Diogo Martins Lousa Veiga dos Santos, Rúben Frère Carvalho Sá Castro
I CAN propel myself in the water in the ventral and dorsal position;
I KNOW how to interact with people in the water and be cooperative in the exercises with more than one element;
The objectives were concluded with success when the students were able to make a swimming lap(12,5m) in each position without splitting in the ventral and dorsal position;
The space can be in the swimming pool with lane separators, in the sea parallel to the sand or in the river parallel to the sand; For the group there should be always a responsible person in the water in the river or in the sea and on the swimming pool also; In the swimming pull a pullbuoy could also be used for the success of everyone doing this exercise;
It can be done with only pairs or even with more than one group making a large worm with pairs in cooperation; The students must understand the techniques of freestyle and backstroke for the optimal movement of the superior and inferior limbs; The instructor can be in the water in the first tries to help the resolution of the exercise and should be always in the water for any error in the trajectories of the students for example;
For pairs to do the activity with the realization of the full exercise, 5 minutes. For full cooperation between diverse groups, 10 minutes. This exercise should be at the beginning of the class as an introduction of the mechanics of the freestyle and backstroke.
Ventral and dorsal position;
Front crawl technique;
Backstroke technique;
The students are positioned vertically along the lane separators, spaced 6 meters apart. The student at the front of the “worm” propels themselves in a ventral or dorsal position using both their upper and lower limbs. Upon reaching the next student, who is already in a ventral or dorsal position, they cooperate by linking their arms to the other student’s feet.
In each pair, one student focuses on the movement of the upper limbs while the other focuses on the lower limbs during the link. To ensure proper execution for all students, a pull buoy can be used to help elevate the pelvis.
For progression and inclusion of the whole class, the exercise can be performed by multiple groups simultaneously. However, between “worms,” students may use only their upper limbs for propulsion.
