How well can you swim?

[zaphod]

i was at the pool today and it seemed like nobody was in the deep end. I guess people there didnt like to swim. I dunno.

Im not a very good swimmer, i can dog paddle and thats it. When i was 13 i went on a school trip to the lake and almost drowned, so my freind taught me how to swim better.

I guess a lot of people cant swim but everyone says they can so im confused.

[celestialcharm]

Maybe most people are embaressed that they connot swim, but I'm not!

Dude, I work at a waterpark...but, I cannot swim at all!!! :animeswea I can float, front float and backfloat, but I guess my parents never thought that it was important to put me in swimming lessons. But, if anything, I could get my brother's friend who's a lifegaurd to teach me...

[Sara]

[color=#6699cc]I passed Polliwog level at the local YMCA. That counts, right?

I'm a very poor swimmer. I can scoot around in water five feet deep, and I'm fine. I'll swim, splash, try to do backflips, and all sorts of things. If the water's deeper than I am tall, though, I won't get in, because I know that I panic.

Which is really too bad, because I love the water.[/color]

[Art Master]

I rule at swimming. I'm skilled enough to be a lifeguard. I took a class so I could. I never became a lifeguard though. Oh well. I love the water and swimmng. Right now I'm teaching my friend to swim. So yes some people can swim.

Art Master :D

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=#F84E20][SIZE=1]I'm actually quite a good swimmer, too, but that comes from being a beach bunny throughout my life in South Africa and Thailand. It was kind of mandatory to learn how to swim.

I've been in swimming squads since I was about seven and from when I was eight onwards we lived in a house that had a rather big swimming pool. I also took up body boarding so it was essential that I could swim because my mum and dad can't. Which wouldn't have been good if I was caught under a wave...which happened a couple of times, actually.

I've taught quite a few of my friends how to swim and body board over the years, and I took I life guard course when I lived in South Africa.

But when you life in a country like that it's part of the syllabus, so it isn't surprising I picked it up.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Ryan]

[size=1][color=Navy]My parents always tried to take me to swim lessons, but I never wanted to, and I guess they thought it would be easier to just not take me so they wouldn't have to listen to me complain about going. I don't know how to swim, but it doesn't matter considering I have a phobia of large bodies of water (lakes, ocean etc.) and even though a pool is much larger, I would prefer not going in.[/color][/size]

[Amity]

[font=times new roman][size=2]Oh gosh... I was ten when I learned how to swim. I asked my dad if he could teach me how to swim in the "deep end" of the pool. So he took me, and tossed me in the deeper portion of the pool. Knowing, I had no knowledge of how to actually swim. He made me learn on my own. Ugh. I hated that. Almost drowned that day. Now I know how to swim, and I'm an assistant teacher at the Y., for swimming class. So I love swimming. I can swim pretty well.[/size][/font]

[Latharix_sama]

Wow...."How well can you swim?" Hah!
I can swim just enough to keep me from drowning. And that swimming is VERY VERY awkward. I swim like a three-legged dog. I can float pretty well, though.
Despite all this, though, I LOVE swimming in the deep end! I just can't get enough of it! You're free to do so much more there!

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.

Well I've been swimming for as long as I can remember, I used to do it two or three times a week when I was younger but after we moved out the countryside I couldn't get into town and thus couldn't keep it up. I still go swimming when on holiday or if someone wants to head into the town pool but I wouldn't spontaneously decide that I'd go swimming.

How good am I at swimming ? Very, I took lessons every summer from about ten to fourteen and got very proficient in the water, lucky in the fact I grew up with great upper body strength and powerful legs. I find swimming to be very relaxing although with some of the heated pools the humidity gives me a headache afterwards. Anyone else get that, headache after a swim ? [/SIZE]

[Mitch]

I don't like swimming. I used to enjoy it when I was little, but at this point I can't stand the chlorine smell and it's just gotten boring for me.

I'd much rather play DDR or go jogging or lift weights, which is what I do.

[zaphod]

It feels good to know im not the only one here who cant swim well.

I was always embarrased and never said anything. But when my junior high class went to the lake i went out too far and couldnt make it back to the shallow end and started to panic and couldnt keep my head above the water but my friend gave me a funoodle thing and i was fine. nobody really noticed so neither of us said anything about it. But he taught me how to do the front crawl and even though im not as good at it im better and what happened wont happen again.

[Delta]

[COLOR=FireBrick][SIZE=1]^ Front crawl was the first stroke I learned.The teacher said it was [i]the[/i] stroke to use if you wanna get out of trouble fast. Pretty tiring but it's my favorite.

I think I swim well enough to last long enough to pull a couple of people to safety and wait for rescue to arrive at the boat wreck. Survival swimming, yeah?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Lafleur]

[COLOR=DarkRed]I'm a bit of a natural swimmer, though not exactly a preformance one. I can more or less swim in any depth (I've swam across the deepest, coldest lake in the Province. Took me two hours and I had almost got hit by a boat. Twice.) and I love it. It sort of runs in my family. My sister is on the provincial team and is one of the fastest swimmers in the Country, so that's pretty impressive. I don't really ever swim in competitions... I just play around in pools or deep rivers or things like that.[/COLOR]

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=trebuchet ms]I think I can swim fairly decent. I was on a swim team in fourth grade, which is too long ago for me to remember, but I have a few trophies for it, so I guess I did ok.

I'm well trained at every stroke, but I suck at the breast stroke. Who doesn't? I can swim to the bottom of the 14 foot deep end with out diving into the water or anything. I tend to not make many public appearences in swim trunks anymore since the difference between me in fourth grade and me now is about 150 pounds. :([/font]

[Sage Kaley]

I'm a ok swimmer...I can swim good enough to get me through the deep end anyway. I love to swim but I'm lucky if I get to go anymore. I've gone once this year and maybe twice last year.

I love the water though, swimming is so relaxing and just being in the pool can make everything feel better. My college has a free pool, so I might luck out on that ^^ Ohhh swimming between classes...XD

But I used to be a great swimmer. I'd spend all my time in the summers at the YMCA swimming. Then we moved up to nowhere land and there's lake but um...it's kinda icky. There's other places but nothing really good...

[MarkAnthony]

Ive nearly drown a few times, I once remember swimming out at sea at about 15, next thing i remember i was on a beach spitting up water, apparently having been picked up by a passing boat.

i nearly drowned at age 2 after falling/jumping in a pond

At age 17 I nearly drowned after being attacked by some mad creature that stung me, I managed through sheer adreneline and agression to get to shore and home ok though. (Two days later i was in hospital on a drip)

But I have all my swimming cirtificates and what not, basic lifeguard training too.
These things just happen.

[AlishaKitten]

At lease you guys can swim. I can't. x_x

[Lafleur]

[COLOR=DarkRed]I don't understand how people can't swim... Is it a pschological thing? It should come natural to human beings, at least being able to float anyway. I'm just asking a question here, what is it about swimming that some people find difficult? (This is aimed generally at people who, well, can't swim.) [/COLOR]

[MirielleChan]

I can swim fairly well. Not enough to be in contests or anything, but enough to get plenty of enjoyment from going swiming.

[Panda]

I am not much of a swimmer. I almost drowned when I was little. I knew it was bad that I didn't know how to swim and even though I was totally freaked out by the idea I took swimming lessons. I made it through the swimming lessons to where you learn all the different types of swim strokes and started into diving. I didn't stick with it but many of my friends did and went on to become lifeguards and/or join the swim team.

I only go swimming with others who are very strong swimmers. If there is something I can do and do really well, it's floating on my back. I could do that all day long and not sink. It's funny, my hubby can't float if he stops moving. He's exactly like Osaka in Azumanga Daioh. He can swim, just not float. :animesmil

[Sandy]

[quote name='Panda']If there is something I can do and do really well, it's floating on my back. I could do that all day long and not sink. [/quote]


I'm the same way! I'm not much of a swimmer, I get tired pretty easily, but I love water, splashing it like a little child and diving and also floating. I'm light as a feather (that weights 55 kilos), so I find it sometimes hard to sink even if I wanted to. :/

There's this huge lake in the city I live in, and one of it's best beaches is practically next to the house I live in, but I have gone swimming there only twice this summer. Don't know why... Oh wait, I do! I [I]hate[/I] to go swim alone (although there's always dozens of people in the beach, especially in hot days), and my boyfriend isn't much into swimming, so I haven't had much chances.

Seriously, swimming and horseplaying in the water isn't much fun if you do it alone... And especially the latter looks extremely insane to outsiders if done alone. ;P

[celestialcharm]

[quote name='Ilium][COLOR=DarkRed']I don't understand how people can't swim... Is it a pschological thing? It should come natural to human beings, at least being able to float anyway. I'm just asking a question here, what is it about swimming that some people find difficult? (This is aimed generally at people who, well, can't swim.) [/COLOR][/quote]


I think for some people it may be psycological because they might of nearly drowned.
But for me, as I said before, I can float, but I have a hard time paddling because it uses too much of my energy. Swimming is just too exhausting! But, I think I could swim with some exercise. It's kind of funny, because the doctor told me I'm sapossed to exercise anyways :animeswea

[Elk]

I can swim very little. Yeah, just throw me in the 6 foot end and i'll drown. :animeswea well... i can kinda float

[mechaconneko]

I'll sink to the bottom, but I'll at least try :animeswea

[sakurasuka]

[quote name='Ilium][COLOR=DarkRed']I don't understand how people can't swim... Is it a pschological thing? It should come natural to human beings, at least being able to float anyway. I'm just asking a question here, what is it about swimming that some people find difficult? (This is aimed generally at people who, well, can't swim.) [/COLOR][/quote]

[CENTER][SIZE=1]Answer to your question- Yes, it is mostly psycological (For most people) There are some aspects, though, that are purely physical.

It becomes dificult to swim if you lack muscule. I, being one of those unfortunate people, do. I cannot pull myself foreward in the water, and therefore sink like a rock.

A few people blame it on weight, but that doesn't seem to be a factor, since most people I know vary both in wieght and in ability to swim, in no discernable order.

Swimming, to some degee, it a TALENT, not an ability people are born with. Being able to float is mostly psycological, but being able to [I]swim[/I] is an entirely different thing.

I myself have absolutely no clue why I cannot float or swim, since I am in no way afraid of water =/[/SIZE][/CENTER]