The level of swimming ability of students at FCHPT STU for the last 30 years

• Main Authors: Lucia Ondrušová, Andrea Koláriková
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: PPHU Projack 2016-11-01
• Series: Physical Activity Review
• Subjects: swimming ability; the higher the population; swimmers; non-swimmers; students
• Online Access: http://www.physactiv.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2016_22.pdf
• ISSN: 2300-5076; 2300-5076

Introduction:Purpose of swimming lessons is to teach non swimmers how to swimm and remove their fear from water, with swimmers we are improving individual swimming styles. The aim of the study is to monitor the level of the swimming abilities at FCHPT and compare it with the swimming standards.Methods.The experimental sample consisted of 1160 respondents (494 boys and 666 girls) from the Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak Univerzity of Technology in Bratislava.. Measurement was carried out in the 25 meter indoorpools in Bratislava. We have tested the swimming ability by 100 meters free style. This kind of test is normally used in educational practice. Thechoice of swimming style is not critical in terms of the achieved time as in competitive swimming, because many times students have achieved better times when they were swimming breaststroke than free style with many technical mistakes.Men and women of competence we compared with standards from the year 2000. The results:Based on our results, we found that the number of non-swimmers decreased compare to the year 1985. Since 1995 it is basically at the same level. In 1995 it was around 27%, in recent years, the number of non-swimmers have already dropped to a level of around 10%. In 1985 females non swimmers were almost 38%, in the following years the value stabilized between 15-20%. When comparing the changes in the level of competence in a range of 30 years we basically have not found out any abnormalities besides years 1995-1996. In all years the average measured time has been almost at the same level. Comparing to standards, men on level 136.7 s, women on level 172,4, (Macejková, 2008), our students swamaround these levels. Only years 1995-1996 differs significantly because our students swam better than listed standards.. Summary:Since 1979, it is the duty of the school to provide a swimming course for its students. We assume that the main cause of thehigh number of non-swimmers in 1985 was that university students did not have the opportunity to learn how to swim when they were younger. In 1995 on the other hand started to study at the university students who had already completed this training and itis reflected in the number of non-swimmers. Nowadays, these swimming courses depend on the financial situation of schools and parents, because they support it. As these days swimming is not a mandatory course at primary and secondary schools, we are trying to remove illiteracy by including swimming as a compulsory subject in the first year at our faculty.