Swimming 101 - For Rookies & Freshmen
                                FREESTYLE
In the freestyle, the competitor may swim any stroke he or she wishes.The usual
stroke used is front crawl. This stroke is characterized by the alternate over-
hand motion of the arms and a flutter kick.
                                BACKSTROKE
In the backstroke, the swimmer must stay on his or her back, except during  the
turns. The stroke is an alternating motion of the arms. During  the  turn,  the
shoulders may be turned over the vertical to the breast and a single or  double
arm pull may be used to make the turn. On the turn, there must be  a  touch  of
the wall with some part of the swimmer's body.
                               BREASTSTROKE
Perhaps one of the most difficult strokes to master, the breaststroke  requires
simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. The hands  are
pushed forward from the breast on or under the surface of the water and brought
backward in the propulsive stage of the stroke simultaneously. The  kick  is  a
simultaneous thrust of the legs called a frog or breaststroke kick. No  flutter
or dolphin kicking is allowed except for a single downward dolphin kick at  the
start and turns.
                                BUTTERFLY
The most physically demanding stroke, the butterfly features the  simultaneous
overhead stroke of the arms combined with the dolphin kick. The  dolphin  kick
features both legs moving up and down together. No flutter kicking is allowed.