SurfGirl Magazine 125■ Common front crawl mistakes:
- Bent knees while kicking – this error increases resistance
and takes more eff ort, so instead kick from the hips and
keep legs straight with small, fast kicks. - Swimming fl at (with belly button facing the fl oor) – you
should be rotating slightly from side to side as you swim,
to reduce the strain on your shoulders and improve
momentum through the water. This technique also crosses
over to paddling a surfboard. - Pulling crooked – make sure you pull straight with
fi ngertips facing the bottom of the pool, to maximise water
displacement. - Looking forward – unlike in surfi ng, in swimming you
want to be looking down to the line on the bottom of the
pool, this will make sure your hips don’t sink too low and
improve how steam lined you are.
■ Sea swimming safety:
- Check the local weather conditions, sea state and tide
implications. - Understand the swimming zones at your local beach.
- Try to swim with a buddy, but if not tell somebody you
are sea swimming and the time you expect to return. - Swim with a safety buoy so other water users such as
jet skis and boats can clearly see you. The safety buoy
doubles up as a dry bag and it’s useful for on a long swim
to bring along snacks!
TILDA SHIELDS