BY: Taylor Shackleton

1. BY: Taylor Shackleton Swimming is the method by which(or other animals) move themselves through swimming is a popular recreational activity, particularly in hot countries and in areas with natural watercourses. Swimming is also a competitive sport. There are many health benefits of swimming, yet basic swimming skills and safety precautions are needed to participate in water activities. “When you swim in a race, it’s you against the clock, to get that faster time.” Swimming has been around since Prehistoric times. Competitive swimming in Europe started around 1800 mostly using breaststroke. The front crawlthen called the trudgen, was introduced in 1873 by John Arthur Trudgen, copying it from Native Americans. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens. In 1902 the trudgen was improved by Richard Cavill, using the flutter kick. In 1908, the world swimming association, Federation Internationale de Natation de Amateur (FINA), was formed. Butterfly was first a variant of breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952. There are two main types of swimming; there is competitive and recreational type of swimming. Recreational swimming is being just for fun and mainly seasonal for spring and summertime. Then there is competitive swimming that is swimming with the goal to maximize performance, usually the speed of swimming. This is what I do and my passion. Competitive swimming became popular in the 19th century and is an event at the Summer Olympic Games. The competitive swimming's governing body is FINA and there are four swimming disciplines regulated by it, swum over different distances

2. There are four different strokes in swimming: freestyle (also known as crawl), backstroke, breastroke, and butterfly. Some Brief History of My Swimming Career I’ve been swimming since as far back as my memory takes me. I knew from a very young age that I was a water baby. I remember my mom being in disbelief on me learning to swim faster than me learning to walk. After that, I and the water seem to have been inseparable; I just couldn’t get enough after that. I started swimming on a summer recreational team called Scottsdale in Walnut Creek when I was six and swam with them until I was about eight or nine years old. It was in the fall when I was about nine years old that I fell in love with the Walnut Creek Aquabears. Walnut Creek Aquabears is a year-round, USA swimming program that I have participated in since that fall when I was nine. It has been my second home for all these years. Not only is it home, which is Heather Farms Pool, but it is also where my second family is. There is nothing better than swimming to me. If I’m having a hard day and want to take my stress out, it is the best reliever. Some of best and favorite memories have taken place through my swimming career. Swimming has given me the opportunity to travel and make me a more organized and determined person. I spend countless hours a week in and out of the pool training my hardest to get the less than a hundredth faster. I also as well as swimming for my club team, have been swimming on Carondelet for four years on varsity, and was honored to be chosen captain my last year. I was privileged enough last year to be on the 1st place team to win NCS. Next year, I’m lucky enough to swim on University of Nevada Reno’s division one swim team. My best stoke from the beginning has been backstroke, even though it had been my hardest. The stoke I love the most, even though it’s the hardest, is butterfly. My best events are 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly and 200 fly.