300 Meter Snorkel

[Twiddles]

Yea this sorta pissed me off. When I did my "swim test" I was in at a resort in Cancuun you know the one with the 1/2 mile long pool that wound around everything and people all over the dam place. Instructor just walked along the edge following the whole way. Nothing to push off and then immediately went into the tread no stop. I was fn tired after that. FF to my wife and sons, they get to do it in a 35' foot pool and they are pushing off both sides and swimming less than a third the total distance AND they got to rest between tread and swim :shakehead .

Was kinda curious though exactly what this test is showing, I mean where we are you are in a wetsuit, with a bc, with fins. Are we checking to see how far you can go if you somehow lost all of the above? Why not just have people tread for 15 minutes and call it good?

 

[KrisB]

As an instructor, I see the swim tests showing two things:

1. a base level of physical fitness/endurance -- I had one student do a nice flip turn (the pool we used is only 10 yds across) and come back to say "there... done." -- he was sorely disappointed when I told him he was 10% done, yeah! He nearly didn't pass the swim test on endurance... he was wheezing after 18 laps, but insisted on completing it. We took a break before the tread.

2. ability to handle oneself in the water. In the case of "where we are..." -- yeah, we have BC's and wetsuits most of the time, too. But what happens when your dive boat sinks too quickly to get your BC or life preserver? Or, you fall overboard in transit? I hope my students are able to stay safe in those situations.

It also shows that the student doesn't "hate" or "fear" water...

 

[cummings66]

In the sea you have to swim that distance without a wall to push off. You dive in the sea so the test should be geared to ensuring they can swim that distance in the sea.

Exactly what I was saying, touching the bottom, pushing off, etc are just cheating yourself. Who's the one that will drown if they can't swim a distance, it's not the instructor who thinks it's fine to push off the sides and coast for 1/3 the pool length is it? It's me!

Swimming isn't that hard, it's certainly no harder than learning to dive and if you dive in open water then IMO you need to be able to swim a distance without looking for a wall to push off of every 25 feet or so.

Besides, it's fun and good exercise.

 

[KrisB]

Exactly what I was saying, touching the bottom, pushing off, etc are just cheating yourself. Who's the one that will drown if they can't swim a distance, it's not the instructor who thinks it's fine to push off the sides and coast for 1/3 the pool length is it? It's me!

By this rationalization, I should be requiring my students to do the 200 yd swim in open (salt) water, but insist on the 10-minute float/tread in fresh water.

Honestly, pushing or not, show me 200 yards. I don't think that the pushing-off *really* affects it that much.

 

[Crowley]

Honestly, pushing or not, show me 200 yards. I don't think that the pushing-off *really* affects it that much.

I agree - I don't think it has too much effect, unless you're in a really little pool! As I write this I've got a bunch of DM candidates doing their stamina tests - 400m swim, 800m mask fins and snorkel, 15 min tread and 100m tired diver tow and "pushing off" has no discernable impact on their timings.

I personally like to have my OW candidates perform the 300m mask fins and snorkel swim, as it reinforces good snorkel use and finning technique. Whilst it is desirable that all students are fit and excellent swimmers, the reality is that a lot of them aren't, and for the most part, don't need to be.

Happy swimming, I'm going to go and giggle at the DMTs doing "jazz hands" while they're floating!

 

[WillB]

My instructor had us swin the perimeter of the pool using our snorkel. Easy stuff, we just followed him around the pool for about 8 laps.

 

[FireDiver443]

I think a perimeter swim is probably the fairest, especially if the swim is being conducted in a competition pool (25yd or "olympic size" 50m). While a case can be made that there aren't push offs in the open water environment, an equally compelling case can be made that the diver on the surface is probably NOT going to swim 25yds, stop forward progress, execute a stationary 180 degree turn and swim another 25 yds in the opposite direction over and over. In your standard 6 lane pool, each "lap" would be approximately 75 yds (25 - 12.5 - 25 - 12.5) with realistic changes of direction that most closely approximate those encountered in an open water setting.

If touching the wall (flip turns) were truly a disqualifier in judging competency in a distance swim then competitive swimmers wouldn't be allowed to do them either. If I can crack off 1000 yds (40 lengths) in one shot in a 25yd pool using flip turns, I think that speaks to my ability to perform the skill and my swimming stamina in general. You're not gaining ANY kind of advantage using a flip turn as a change of direction.

I've done the swims where the instructor says "no touching the walls" and the starts and stops make it a more fatiguing experience. I can't speak to the intent of the standard, but IMHO what it seeks to avoid is the swimmer who swims 25 yds, rests hanging on the wall for 30-60 seconds before making the return trip.

 

[cummings66]

Competative swimming is different, all swimmers compete the same way so it really doesn't matter. The fastest wins, and often it's at the turn where they make headway.

In real life, IMO proving you can swim is what matters and pushing off does make a slight difference. I honestly don't care if a person pushes off or not in the swim, the OW requirements are a joke anyways and don't prove anything when it comes to swimming.

 

[freediver]

I think a perimeter swim is probably the fairest, especially if the swim is being conducted in a competition pool (25yd or "olympic size" 50m). While a case can be made that there aren't push offs in the open water environment, an equally compelling case can be made that the diver on the surface is probably NOT going to swim 25yds, stop forward progress, execute a stationary 180 degree turn and swim another 25 yds in the opposite direction over and over. In your standard 6 lane pool, each "lap" would be approximately 75 yds (25 - 12.5 - 25 - 12.5) with realistic changes of direction that most closely approximate those encountered in an open water setting.

I would agree that the perimeter swim you have described in a standard pool would be most fair.

If touching the wall (flip turns) were truly a disqualifier in judging competency in a distance swim then competitive swimmers wouldn't be allowed to do them either. If I can crack off 1000 yds (40 lengths) in one shot in a 25yd pool using flip turns, I think that speaks to my ability to perform the skill and my swimming stamina in general. You're not gaining ANY kind of advantage using a flip turn as a change of direction.

I have placed in bold your comment that I think is the key to the swim/snorkel evaluation. It's refreshing to see that someone else understands the mechanics of the swim/snorkel that is being exhibited and the proficiency this will show the observing instructor.

I've done the swims where the instructor says "no touching the walls" and the starts and stops make it a more fatiguing experience. I can't speak to the intent of the standard, but IMHO what it seeks to avoid is the swimmer who swims 25 yds, rests hanging on the wall for 30-60 seconds before making the return trip.

Once again, I fully agree. Great post FireDiver443.