The effect of breath retention of swimming skills in pre-school children
LE3 .A278 2005
2005
Kruisselbrink, Darren
Acadia University
Bachelor of Kinesiology
Honours
Kinesiology
Little research has examined breathing strategies for preschool aged swimmers. The standard Canadian swim program focuses on exhaling while performing skills; however, alternate programs teach breath retention. Skill development and overall comfort in the water were examined in four level 2 swim classes (N = 16, M = 4.8, SD = 1.52 years); two classes were taught to exhale while performing front glides, back glides, front floats, and back floats, while two classes were taught to hold their breath. The skills were rated on the first and last week of an eight-week program by three swim instructors. Inter-rater reliability was high. Performance of the front (p<.01) and back (p=.03) glides and back float (p=.05) showed greater improvement for the breath retention groups. Performing front float showed trends towards greater change for the breath retention groups, but this difference was not significant at conventional levels (p~.07). The groups did not differ substantially on overall comfort in the water.
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