The Benefits of Aquatics
Swimming is one of the most popular sports in world. Unlike other sports, swimming is a life skill that is taught, first, to ensure safety and, secondly, for sports and competition purposes. This coaching guide will assist the coach in teaching skills and strategy that will allow the Special Olympics athlete to become a successful swimmer and competitor.
This Aquatics Coaching Guide can best be used to teach aquatic technique; develop athletes' coordination, physical fitness and sense of accomplishment; and promote aquatics as a lifetime skill for sport and fitness. Special Olympics continually stresses the well-being of the athlete as well as fairness in competition. This guide offers suggestions on how to progress through the four competitive strokes and the individual medley event; how to arrange a basic training program for maximum efficiency; how to design a training program to obtain an advanced level of fitness for each athlete; and encourage athletes to have an attitude of success through personal achievement.
The best way to get athletes interested in aquatics is to get them to the pool. This guide is organized to instruct coaches in developing the nonskilled or low-skilled swimmer from an observer to a competitor. Skills are presented in an order that ensures the athlete immediate and tangible results. Skills progress as the athlete's interest grows to those that require greater attention to detail. However, the coach should always teach and coach those skills that best suit the individual's needs.
The official distances for all Special Olympics events will be conducted in a meters pool. Local competitions may be conducted over any distance. However, official times from meter pools will be seeded in first priority for international competition over any distance. Swimming events range from 25-meter to 1500-meter events in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Special Olympics also offers swimming events for low-ability level athletes.
Events Offering Meaningful Inclusion for Low-Ability Level Athletes
- 25-Meter Freestyle
- 25-Meter Backstroke
- 25-Meter Breaststroke
- 25-Meter Butterfly
- 15-Meter Walk
- 15-Meter Floatation Race
- 25-Meter Floatation Race
- 10-Meter Assisted Swim
- 15-Meter Unassisted Swim
Special Olympics also offers Unified Sports® relays in our aquatics program. Unified Sports brings together athletes with and without an intellectual disabilities to compete as teammates.
