Passing the Swim Test

[MichaelMc]

In terms of other strokes, we had a gal do a side scissor crawl combination for a snorkeling class test. After researching, it was the combat side stroke recommended for the SEAL entrance test. It has endurance, sprint, and fin versions. Not much help for a crawl stroke test, but NAUI has any stroke tests, and ‘swim to a beach with fins’ and ‘jump in with fins to reach the shore or that diver’ have similar requirements, though the Navy cares about not splashing. Fins only side stroke is fairly useful with full gear on. Their swim test is 500 yds breast or side with sub 9:30 being optimal (sub 8:25 for officers).

50 yds clip of non-swimmer 45 second pace

3 steps of CSS

NAVY SWCC COMBAT SIDE STROKE GUIDE covers every minutia of the stroke. The site’s forum also covers how to safely train for their underwater swim test (Don’t do 50 yds unless you have safety divers, oxygen, and MD/EMT on the pool deck.)

I found it after my DM tests, but intend to explore it more. Not something to tell your OW candidates to do, but for rescue or DM, worth a look.

(edit)
A refinement, that argues that, with fins, you really want a modified CSS with dolphin kick and one arm out of water recovery; that that is even faster than free style with fins. And that CSS without fins is only a training step toward CSS with fins. A lot of Navy selection and mentoring specific stuff in the video, but an interesting take on open water surface swimming, with videos.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Funny. Just before I logged into ScubaBoard, I was reading an article by Stew Smith about taking 2 minutes off a mile run. Today, my 1/2 mile run time sucked. First attempt was 4:12. Second attempt was 5:59. I need to finish it in 4 minutes. My mile run was 9:26 yesterday which needs to be a sub 10:00 for USLA cert. Stew Smith's article was how to get a 10 minute mile down to an 8 minute mile.

I tried that combat swimmer stroke several times in the past. It's funky. I can pat my head and rub my tummy. I can helicopter turn with two feet. I can turn valves on doubles with both hands. I can't do the combat swimmer stroke mix. Ha!

 

[tarponchik]

we all know that panic kills more divers than poor gas planning.

This seems like a questionable statement to me. I've seen a report on >500 rec scuba fatalities up to 2012 (if I remember the year correctly), and of those 213 cases for which the cause of death was known, the highest number (>100) came from "drowning".

 

[rongoodman]

This seems like a questionable statement to me. I've seen a report on >500 rec scuba fatalities up to 2012 (if I remember the year correctly), and of those 213 cases for which the cause of death was known, the highest number (>100) came from "drowning".

Which is like saying somebody died of "cardiac arrest". If you don't die of a medical event or a critter attack in the water, you're pretty much guaranteed to have died by drowning. It doesn't really speak to what the cause was.

 

[tarponchik]

Which is like saying somebody died of "cardiac arrest". If you don't die of a medical event or a critter attack in the water, you're pretty much guaranteed to have died by drowning. It doesn't really speak to what the cause of was.

Here, I found it. They list cardiovascular separately.

 

[Bob DBF]

This seems like a questionable statement to me. I've seen a report on >500 rec scuba fatalities up to 2012 (if I remember the year correctly), and of those 213 cases for which the cause of death was known, the highest number (

The easiest way to drown, whether on SCUBA or swimming, is to panic.

I notice that running out of air is not on the list at all. Running out of is an annoyance, when I started to dive it was how you knew you were out of air (no SPG), unless you panic. A number of other casulties in SCUBA are in the same neighborhood, and panic could precipitate a cardiac event or just show as a drowning.

Training can reduce the tendency to panic as one has procedures to extricate oneself from problems, but for it is only as good as the training, ones ongoing practice, and belief in ones abilities.

Panic will never make the list because it is a state of mind and cannot be tested for after a death, but from those that have seen others panic there is no doubt one can die if they panic.


Bob

 

[tarponchik]

The easiest way to drown, whether on SCUBA or swimming, is to panic.

I notice that running out of air is not on the list at all. Running out of is an annoyance, when I started to dive it was how you knew you were out of air (no SPG), unless you panic. A number of other casulties in SCUBA are in the same neighborhood, and panic could precipitate a cardiac event or just show as a drowning.

Training can reduce the tendency to panic as one has procedures to extricate oneself from problems, but for it is only as good as the training, ones ongoing practice, and belief in ones abilities.

Panic will never make the list because it is a state of mind and cannot be tested for after a death, but from those that have seen others panic there is no doubt one can die if they panic.


Bob

Well, running out of air results in drowning, right? Maybe panic also can result in drowning, at least sometimes, but wouldn't rapid ascending/embolism be more likely?

 

[Neilwood]

This all reminds me that I need to do some work on my crawl - I learned breaststroke and backstroke as a young kid but I never took to crawl as a stroke.

Now as a diver, I think it would be an advantage to swim it as it would help build the endurance in my legs for flutter. I understand and can do all the bits but putting them together in some form that actually works is a bit of a problem.

Just need to find some coaching to take me from the mess I have to something resembling a working stroke.

 

[GlassGuy808]

The most intimidating and daunting part of learning to dive for some students is simply passing the swim test. Agencies belonging to the RSTC (Recreational Scuba Training Council) or those agencies that use RSTC standards usually require a student to demonstrate a minimum watermanship ability by performing a 200 yard/183 meter swim and a 10 minute water tread/survival float. Alternatively, a 300 yard/275 meter snorkel swim might be allowed in place of the regular swim.

While there are always exceptions, I normally encourage students to strive for the regular surface swim using the crawl technique. The reason is that it is part of a building-block approach to the snorkeling and scuba skills they will learn in open water class. My students start with nothing and we build the scuba unit one piece of gear at a time. It is a less stressful way of learning to dive and by the time the rig is complete to go to open water training the student has already learned to compensate for lost equipment. For example, they learn to breathe through the snorkel before getting a mask making breathing through a regulator during mask removal exercises much easier. They learn to use one fin before using two which means they've learned how to swim with a lost fin before we've worked on normal kick techniques. They learn to buddy breathe, sharing a regulator, before using an additional second stage (octopus) regulator.

Following this methodology, it makes sense for me to test watermanship by employing the standard swim test rather than allow the "snorkel cheat" in most cases. I was at the Venetian Pool in Miami one day with a friend of mine who was a high school phys ed teacher. We were watching a guy do a multitude of rapid push-ups with poor form. My friend commented, "When you cheat, you only cheat yourself." But, like I said, there are exceptions. As an instructor, my job is to help make people's underwater dreams come true, while encouraging them to perform at the best of their abilities, set their own high standards, and to ensure that students who've earned a C-card have demonstrated the maturity, confidence, and skill set to be worthy of being called a scuba diver.

Another reason I prefer to get students swimming the crawl is that I hope it will get them swimming. Not only is swimming a great form of exercise, but it is also an important rescue tool. Most diving emergencies find their way to the surface and often we are not kitted up like in rescue class when the call for "Help!" comes. Lastly, if we develop strokes like the crawl and breast stroke early in a diver's career, those divers who would make excellent divemasters some day, but who might be apprehensive about swimming on day 1 of a scuba class, may become comfortable with swimming long before they have to swim 400 yards or more in a DM course. In other words, we might be losing out on awesome future pros because we don't instill confidence from day one.

For students who might be timid swimmers, rusty swimmers, or who want a little coaching, or for instructors who wish to help with the basics, I came across a very nice building-block presentation of the crawl stroke on YouTube by Christian Anseaume, a French triathlete.

Great Post!
I can swim, I have been swimming my whole life, but I am not very buoyant at all.
At the time of my OW training I had about 12% body fat (now I’m about 35% or more!) and staying on top of the water was so exhausting and hard. I passed the swim test but it seriously was my hardest and most uncomfortable hurdle. Now that I’m older and a bit wider I have an easier time floating.
Most of the men I’ve gone diving with in the past wore between 8-12lbs on their weight belt.
I wore 2lbs......yes two pounds. I’m not sure what I’ll be wearing now because I stopped diving for a few years due to a disability, gained way too much weight but I’m ready to get back into it and excited
I have a salt water pool dive planned with a diving buddy after Christmas and I will adjust my weights accordingly and practice all the safety skills I learned many years ago. I’ve watched every video I can find and am very excited to participate in diving life again.
Anyway I guess the reason I wanted to comment on this was to give another reason some people don’t do well in the “swim” portion of the OW training..
Thanks for this amazing topic!
Aloha, Alan

 

[Kevrumbo]

That's a workout designed by a USLA trainer I posted. I often modify it. I posted to Facebook yesterday that my workout of the day was: Easy 200 swim, 200 kick, 2 x 50's catch-up drill, 2 x 50's finger tip drag, 2 x 50's pull, 200 easy swim, 1 x 500 yards in 7 minutes 15 seconds, 1 x 550 yards (500m) in 7 minutes 44 seconds, 3 x 50's rescue breaststroke, 4 x 25's rescue crawl sprints, 4 x 25's inverted scissors rescue kicks, 200 cool down followed by 1 mile run in 9 minutes 29 seconds.

In open water, I normally swim 200 yards on each side of rescue kicks and 400 yards IM stroke. I used to hate butterfly, but watching the Olympics made me decide to do it a lot and I now like it. I used to hate squats in the gym but like those too now.

I'm considering returning to a full-time lifeguard career at age 49. I have a test in FL after Christmas with Okaloosa County Beach Safety. I need to run 1/2 mile in 4 minutes, run 1 mile in 10 minutes, and swim 500 meters in 10 minutes (ocean) for the USLA lifeguard certification. To begin the two-week, 88 hour lifeguard academy in February (season starts in March) the times need to be 1/2 mile in 5 minutes, 1 mile in 11 minutes, 500m in 12 minutes, but must meet USLA standards by the end of training or the lifeguard will be terminated.

In L.A. County, which has the largest professional lifeguard service in the world, it's recommended that those interested in becoming an ocean lifeguard train about six months prior to the exam. Swimming three to five days a week – preferably in the ocean – is also advised.

Lifeguard Recruitment

Our Lifeguard Try-Out Competitive Tests just to apply and put in rank order on a list of eligible candidates for the professional Lifeguard Training Academy:

For Los Angeles City Lifeguard Parks & Recreation Pools:
Requirements:

• Swim a 200 meter lifeguard medley (breaststroke, backstroke, sidestroke and front crawl) with proper form in 4 minutes and 18 seconds or less. (3 minutes and 52 seconds in yards)
  
  
•  Perform the L.A. City Dummy Tow Swim under 1 minute and 18 seconds.
  
  
•  Retrieve a 10-pound diving brick off the bottom of a 10 foot deep pool.
  
  
•  Swim 25 yards in 18 seconds or less.
  
  
•  Tread water with a 10-pound diving brick for 1 minute.

For Los Angeles County Fire Dept Ocean Lifeguard (mainland beaches and offshore Catalina Island):

Candidates compete in a 1,000 meter ocean swim. All applicants line up at the starting line and are started all together. They enter the water, swim out 100 meters, make a quarter turn around a floating marker and continue swimming parallel to shore for 800 meters, then around another marker and 100 meters in to a finish line in the sand. There is no set cut-off time for the swim. Times vary year to year depending on ocean conditions. In years that there is a large swell or very cold water, times will generally be slower than years with no surf and warm water. Previous standard times for an ocean swim of this length have been as short as 12 minutes and as long as 30 minutes. The specific number each year will be relayed to prospective candidates prior to the exam.