Fear of water is the strongest predictor for no or low swimming competencies. Some individuals will never learn to swim due to their complete avoidance of water, whereas others might have difficulty with learning due to the fact that they cannot sufficiently relax their body to facilitate floating or swimming. Therefore, it is important to identify these people and to establish effective teaching strategies that can best help this specific population. Recognizing this, there is a clear need for an assessment tool which can help swim teachers and coaches identify people with a fear of water. The study aimed to first develop and then validate a fear of water assessment questionnaire (FWAQ). 2074 male and female people participated in the creation of a 40-item questionnaire. The exploratory factor showed that a 3 factor solution including 20 items was most sensible – such a solution accounted for 31.69% of explained variance and the Cronbach’s alpha α was 0.831, which makes for a reliable enough solution. A subsequent discriminant function analysis correctly classified 98.2% of participants. We concluded that the findings from this study support that the FWAQ is a valid scale that effectively identify people with fear of water.

Introduction:The present study had two objectives: 1) to investigate the effects of tumble turns on the development of inspiratory muscle fatigue (IMF) and compare this to whole swimming, and 2) to evaluate the effects of pre-induced IMF on the kinematic parameters of tumble turns. Fourteen young club-level swimmers (13 ± 2 years of ages) completed three swim trials.Methods:The first trial was used to determine the 400-m front crawl swim time at maximal effort (400FC). The other two trials consisted of a series of 15 tumble turns at the 400FC pace. In one of the turn-only trials, IMF was pre-induced (TURNS-IMF), whereas in the other turn-only trial it was not (TURNS-C).Results:Compared with baseline values, the values for maximal inspiratory mouth pressure (PImax) at the end of the swim were significantly lower at all trials. However, the magnitude of inspiratory muscle fatigue was less after TURNS-C (PImax decreased by 12%) than after 400FC (PImax decreased by 28%). The tumble turns were slower during 400FC than during TURNS-C and TURNS-IMF. In addition, compared to TURNS-C, turns in the TURNS-IMF were performed with higher rotation times and shorter apnea and swim-out times.Discussion:The results of the present study suggest that tumble turns put a strain on the inspiratory muscles and directly contribute to the IMF observed during 400FC swimming. Furthermore, pre-induced IMF resulted in significantly shorter apneas and slower rotations during tumble turns. IMF therefore has the potential to negatively affect overall swimming performance, and strategies should be sought to reduce its effects.

This study investigated the impact of different breathing patterns and stroke variations on inspiratory and expiratory muscle fatigue (IMF and EMF) in front crawl swimming. Twelve club-level swimmers (3 females) performed four maximal effort 200-m front crawl swims in a random order: breathing every two strokes (B2), every four strokes (B4), ad libitum via a snorkel (S), and legs only with a kickboard (K). Postswim maximal inspiratory mouth pressure decreased in B2 (34±26%), B4 (41±23%), S (26±16%), and K (13±15%). The only significant difference in IMF was between B4 and K. Significant EMF was observed only in S (12±11%) and K (13±15%). IMF was greater than EMF in B2 and B4. Swim time was slower in K (217 (199-231) s) compared to B2 (139 (136-156) s), B4 (142 (138-155) s), and S (142 (138-155) s), but similar among B2, B4, and S. Postswim, pH and HCO3^- levels decreased, while blood lactate levels increased in all trials. Full stroke and legs-only front crawl swimming caused IMF, regardless of breathing restrictions. However, IMF was lower when breathing was unrestricted, and the upper body was immobilized compared to full stroke and highly restricted breathing. EMF was not observed when breathing was restricted and tended to be lower than IMF. These findings suggest that the mechanisms of IMF and EMF differ during front crawl swimming.