Swimming requires a set of skills which can only be built over time by different practices. A swimmer who swims with correct technique can travel in water with his/her body as close as possible to the surface of water. Swimmers need to do variety of drills and practices to learn the correct technique of different strokes.
Some skills (we call them ‘fundamentals’), should be taught correctly and practiced regularly at every session to make sure more complex skills could be learnt properly. Without learning the fundamentals correctly, learning four competitive strokes (Front crawl, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly) and performing important aquatic skills like sculling and treading would be a great challenge (if not impossible).
Good swim teachers pay a great deal of attention to teaching the fundamentals of swimming.
In swimming you want to keep the body as close to the surface of water as possible. Swimming is all about keeping the whole body in balanced position on the top of water as you travel forwards or backwards. So, everyone has to learn how to have a streamlined body in order to swim with a good technique. Streamlining and gliding are the basic skills of swimming but, so fundamental and important that have to be practiced regularly.
It simply means a swimmer learns how to stay as flat and compact as possible in a horizontal position (like a pancake) AND as close as possible to the water surface.
It means travelling through the water without any movements from arms, legs, torso or head (i.e, no kicking or no paddling). Streamlining and gliding should to be taught correctly from the beginning stages of a learn-to-swim programme and they need to be practised regularly at all levels. This helps swimmers with their efficiency.
Not doing enough of streamlining and gliding practices, specially when learners are at the early stages of learning to swim, can result into inefficient stroke development and bad swimming habits. Bad habits that swimming teachers get to see very often are lifting up the head out of the water (rather than turning head to the side) during side breathing when swimming front crawl or taking a breath when swimming breaststroke in an uncoordinated fashion and out of synch with arms and legs.
Because we are so keen in teaching our swimmers to swim with correct technique, right from the beginning, in our swimming lessons, we regularly do drills which work on streamlining and gliding.
In our lessons, we include pushing-off (using the wall or the bottom of the pool) and gliding practices regularly and spend a great deal of time on improving and correcting every swimmer’s body position during practices.
If you are interested, you can now see how we do ‘Push and Glide’ (using a hoop) in our lessons:
Learning to swim: Push & Glide Practice from Blue Wave Swim School
A good swim school with professional staff
My girls have been going to Blue Wave Swim School for over 2 years, they have been looking forward to each lesson and keep practicing the swimming tricks even in a bath. All teachers and an owner of the school has been friendly, very professional. They found unique approach and made kids happy, but most importantly show them how to swim and have fun. Thank you very much from our family to Blue Wave Swim School.
April 19, 2021, www.yell.com
Easter 2021 Crash Course
Various lockdowns have held back my daughter’s swimming development so we opted for a crash 4 day course over Easter and she has come away from it much more confident and with a recognisable stroke as opposed to doggy paddle!
April 19, 2021, www.yell.com
Although I have only attended two lessons, Marjan’s bubbly personality makes you feel instantly at ease. During the lessons, the pool was not very busy which is a good thing (as opposed to public pools) for those who are anxious.
I would strongly recommend to adults who have experienced trauma with water at a certain time in their lives.
November 24, 2020, www.yell.com
My son has been going to swimming lessons at Blue Wave in Wimbledon for a few years now and thoroughly enjoys it. The teaching is great and the lessons well run. Helps to prepare him for when we finally get to go on holiday again!
September 26, 2020, www.yell.com
Highly Recommended
My son went to improve his swimming technique and found his instructor very helpful, very kind and patient. The school itself is very welcoming and feels safe for all the children who go there. I would highly recommend it.
August 23, 2019, www.yell.com
Excellent results
My son is 4 years-old and we were looking for weekend swimming classes in a nice environment that could bring good results. After some research we chose Blue Wave Swim. Our son has been having private lessons since the end of 2018 and he is progressing very well. We believe the professionalism of the team, the clean and tidy infrastructure, and the good care of the management are contributing for his development and confidence in the water. Thank you very much Blue Wave Swim!
August 23, 2019, www.yell.com
Awesome!
I am grateful to Marjan and her team at Blue Wave Swim for their hard work and for promoting happiness and enjoyment in swimming. It is amazing to watch the lessons, see the attention, the encouragement and the support the children receive. I have been impressed with my daughters’ progress and the fact that they love attending their classes and learning a vital life skill. Thank you very much. Great job!
August 23, 2019, www.yell.com
Superb Swimming School in Wimbledon
My daughter, who is now 7 years old, started with blue wave two years back and we have been very happy with her progress at the school. Initially we started with group lessons but once she got comfortable in water we moved her to semi private lessons, which made a lot of difference in her ability to learn swimming. As part of the smaller group she is better bonded with other children in the group and gets more attention from the swimming instructor, which is helping her advance her swimming skills. During her 2 years with blue wave, swimming instructors for my daughter have changed and while continuity in learning was maintained, I think this could have been managed better. Needless to say, she still goes and enjoys her time here and looks forward to her class every week. Overall we are very pleased with Blue Wave and would recommend them without any hesitation.
August 23, 2019, www.yell.com
Highly recommend
Highly recommend this swimming school. My daughter has been attending since she was 1 years old and she loves it. The teachers are very good with children and my daughter, who is now 4 years old is very confident in the water.
August 23, 2019, www.yell.com
