Commentary

The Inner Workings of a Swim Family By Jennifer Yoo Every swimmer knows the amount of time that their sport requires. As you spend countless numbers of hours in and out of the pool with the same people, they start to become your second family. Swimmers cherish their swim families and often make life...

Two Lies And A Truth: How Individuals Can View the Sport By Jamie Kolar Being in the water in swimming can be seen as a blessing because it can block out the rest of the world for a brief two-hour period. However, every blessing has its curse. The water can trap us in solitary confinement with our o...

4 Myths About Swimming By Natalia Kaczor “What sport do you play?” “I swim.” “Oh that’s fun; I swim in my pool all the time!” We have all been in a similar situation before. The frustration that builds up when hearing this is evident on our faces. Should we be offended, or just laugh it off? Swimmin...

13 Thoughts Every Swimmer Has During Practice By Isabelle Robuck Staring at a black line for two hours can be pretty grueling sometimes. With long sets, the alone time gives our mind a chance to wander far beyond just swimming. Here are 12 thoughts that every swimmer has during practice! 1. Ouch! [c...

The Golden Years of High School Swimming: Santa Clara and Mission Viejo (from September's Swimming World Magazine) Public schools Santa Clara and Mission Viejo built high school swimming dynasties from the 1960s through the early 1980s. Not only did they dominate high school swimming, but unlike tod...

8 Confessions of a Parent Officiating Their Child’s Race By Courtney Bartholomew When I was little I remember my dad telling me he was going to become an official for USA Swimming. I was excited to have him on deck because he would be able to cheer for me and DQ other kids swimming in my races. Howe...

Your favorite Olympians, Paralympians, Olympic Legends and Sports Professionals provide insights to swimmers- this week on life balance, Paralympic inclusion and mental strength. Swimming World and CG Sports Management have teamed together to create an exclusive weekly social media series on Swi...

There’s probably been several times where you’ve asked yourself “why are swimmers doing that?” I know that I’ve heard my family and even random people out in restaurants asking questions about the things swimmers do at the pool. So let’s clear some things up! Why wear goggles under the swim cap? Eve...

By Ailish Dougherty (Swimming World Archive) While every swimmer certainly has their own individual personalities, there are a few characteristics unique to competitive swimmers that have the potential to make them great spouses. Thus, here are a few reasons why it might be wonderful to spend the re...

What Makes the Perfect Swimmer's Body? Although swimmers with a wide variety of body types have found success in the sport, most at the international level tend to look similar, sporting tall and muscular bodies - typically with long torsos, long arms and short legs. This begs the question: If you c...

15 Ways To Tell You Come From a Swimming Family By J.P. Mortenson Due to the sport's all-consuming nature, swimming inevitably becomes a family affair. And once your family becomes a swimming family, the sport will affect your home life in more ways than you could have ever imagined! Here are 15 way...

5 Signs You Might Be A Swim Nerd (And that's OK!) By Cathleen Pruden (From the Archive) As I write this article in between stalking results and writing meet recaps, I already know I’m a Swim Nerd. I love this sport and I love learning more about it. I love seeing the crazy things people's bodies can...

A Look at Some Common Pre-Race Rituals; Share Your Go-To Habits By Kelsey Lynch Let's say one time, a few years ago, you jumped up and down four times before you produced your best race ever, and now before every race you must jump up and down exactly four times—no more, no less. Maybe you press you...

Labor Day Swim Tip: 4 Ways to Thank Your Body for Its Hard Work By Molly Lloyd As the saying goes, your body is a temple. So you should treat it like one, right? We work our bodies – our beautiful, chlorine-saturated bodies – in hopes of being the best swimmer or diver we can be. Our bodies have tak...

Swimming World Workouts: Six Fun Sets to Try at Practice By Kelsey Mitchell, Swimming World College Intern. For every swimmer and coach, there is that one set they always love to come back to. Whether it be for the intense speed work, high yardage, or minute attention to technique, everyone's favori...

Decisions, Decisions! By Jennifer Yoo, Swimming World College Intern. Life is full of difficult decisions. There is an inexplicable pressure to make the right one, and each decision determines a different outcome that ultimately leads to even more choices. However, whether the choice was right or wr...

What to Say to A Swimmer After A Poor Swim (From the Archive) By Abby Boone, Swimming World College Intern Every swimmer has come to the wall at the end of a race and been unhappy with their swim. Whether they are sad or mad, whether there are tears or frustration, each swimmer turns to their coach ...

Debunking 9 Swimming Myths That Have Run Rampant By Gigi Picard, Swimming World College Intern For whatever reason, myths just pop to the surface when non-competitive swimmers comment on swimmers and swimming in general. I know I’ve encountered some wild theories like swimmers shouldn’t go on land o...

Visualization Tips for the Perfect Race You step up on the blocks, ready to race. After training for this moment for months, you have confidence in your strength. But you are also prepared mentally, because you have been here before. You visualized this exact moment, and the ones that will make up t...

We've all been there. You strike up a conversation with someone and they ask what sport you play. Jokingly, you respond that you "play" swimming. Before you know it, you are bombarded with a number of well-intentioned questions and statements. It makes your head spin how much people don't understand...