Swimming Journal

Fisherman Saves Swimming Dog

Posted by shawn on Jan 12, 2012 in Latest News | 0 comments

Before getting into the full story, here’s the video taken by the fisherman himself, to relate the story.

This actually happened in the Gulf of Mexico. As you can see from the video, there is no land that can be seen. Even the fisherman had to kayak to where he was. This shows how far the poor dog had been swimming. Thankfully, the dog found his saviour if not it would have probably drowned.

The truth is that dogs don’t usually frequent the open waters. Furthermore, they would never have swum so far out! This dog swum approximately half a mile according to the video. That is equivalent to about 800 metres, which is 16 laps of your Olympic pool. Let’s not forget that it took place in the open waters where waves and current play a huge factor. Let’s also not forget that the poor guy is a dog. So what actually happened?

There are many sources with regards to the story, but ultimately it all boils down to one issue, which is drink driving. What actually happened was that a 53 year old Sarasota woman was walking her dog when she met with a tragic hit and run accident. The lady was killed and found on the side of the road. The dog was injured too, but it survived the accident. It took off and ran till there was no land remaining. That was how it ended up swimming. Even after the fisherman rescued it, the dog was still shivering with fear rather than cold.

Since the video was uploaded on youtube, the dog has returned to its owners and the drunk driver has been found. The driver now faces charges including DUI manslaughter, DUI property damage and personal injury. Click to read more about the Sarasota DUI crash and the fisherman rescuing the dog.

As Chinese New Year is approaching in less than 2 weeks, Happy Fish Swim School would like to remind all readers not to drink and drive. Always remember that there are other lives at stake too. Also, like we mentioned above, the open waters differ vastly from that of the public swimming complexes. Therefore, why not arm yourself with open water swim skills? You should always take extra precautions as you’ll never know when it may come in handy.

If A 95-Year Old Can Do It, So Can You!

Posted by shawn on Jan 9, 2012 in Swimming Articles | 0 comments

Mary (Tom) MacDonald, a 95 year old grandmother from Sydney, Australia, frequents the pool three times a week! So how does she do it?

“I’m scared to death to stop unless I don’t get started again,” she says with a laugh. “No, really I love life and I love people and that’s what keeps me going.”

This proves that no matter how old you are, as long as you have the drive to succeed, you can still do it no matter what. It doesn’t matter what others say like, “oh it’s too dangerous for your age”. If you believe in yourself, you’ll be able to achieve whatever you set out to do. Therefore, if you truly want to learn to swim, go for it! Don’t be afraid of failure because noone is perfect. When you fall, just get back on your feet and try again, don’t give up!

http://www.capebretonpost.com

MacDonald (second from the left) also stated “To me, my age is just a number. My grandkids are already talking about my reaching 100, but as far as I’m concerned, I take it a day at a time.” For the full article, you can click HERE to check it out.

Remember, you only get to live once, so why not live life to the fullest? Swimming not only keeps you in good shape, it also retains your youth. Would you have guessed that she was 95 years old? If you’re able to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle, you’ll realise a change in yourself. This change is not just in your fitness level, but in your attitude too. Swimming does help to give you a more positive outlook in life and makes you more driven. With these characteristics, you’ll be able to achieve greater things!

However, if you do decide on taking up swimming lessons, ensure that you do it with a certified swimming instructor. It is definitely not wise to learn it from someone who isn’t a professional. You might end up learning the wrong techniques or picking up bad habits instead. If you’re looking to look radiant and remain young at heart, visit our adult swimming lessons section! We offer swimming lessons for all ages. Furthermore, if you do not feel comfortable learning in a group, you can always opt for the private lessons. Don’t procrastinate anymore, make a change in your life today!

Tampines Swimming Complex

Posted by shawn on Jan 6, 2012 in Swimming Articles | 0 comments

Tampines Swimming Complex opened its doors to the public on 16th December 1989. It is a simple 10 minutes walk from Tampines MRT station. Although the complex has been around for quite some time already, it doesn’t lack in its facilities. It has a total of 4 pools available. They are a wading pool, a learners’ pool, a teaching pool and a competition pool. Lessons for beginners are normally conducted in the teaching pool and sometimes even the learners’ pool. For the intermediate and advanced students, they are normally trained in the competition pool, which resembles a 50m Olympic size pool.

For parents who are waiting for their child’s lesson to end, you might want to consider visiting Eastlink Mall. It’s a relatively small place with a couple of shops and a food court.

Tampines Swimming Complex is one of the more popular swimming complexes in the east area of Singapore. As there are 4 pools available, it is assumed that the complex is capable of holding more swimmers. The peak period, like any other swimming complex, is during the weekends, where it can be packed with lessons. Hence, if you are only free on the weekends, we suggest that you head over at night after dinner time. However, if you can make it on the weekdays, then it would be the ideal situation. For Tuesdays, remember to take note that the complex only starts operation from 2.30pm.

Address: 505 Tampines Ave 5 (529652)

Operating Hours: 8.00am – 9.30pm (Mon, Wed – Sun), 2.30pm – 9.30pm (Tue)

Opening Date: 16 Dec 1989

Facilities Type: 1 Competition Pool, 1 Teaching pool, 1 Learner Pool, 1 Wading pool

Seating Capacity: 400

Entrance Fee:

What’s Nearby:
Tampines MRT Station (0.58 km)
Darul Ghufran Mosque (B75129) Bus Stop (0.12km)
Tampines Plaza (0.38 km)
Eastlink Mall (0.51 km)

How to register swimming lessons? First, choose your type of swimming lessons
Baby Swimming Lessons (6 - 23 months)		Toddler Swimming Lessons (2 - 4 years)
Kid Swimming Lessons (5 years - 13 years)		Adults Swimming Lessons (14 years above)
Female/Ladies Swimming Lessons (Ladies only)		Holiday Swim Lessons (For School Kids Only)
Premier Swimming Lessons (*Highly Recommended Programme For All Ages*)
	For Family & Organization Family Swimming Lessons Organization Swim Clinic		Advance Programme Open Water SwimSafer Competitive Swimming LifeSaving Course

Free Swimming Lessons!?

Posted by shawn on Jan 5, 2012 in Swimming Journal | 0 comments

This is what 120 lucky residents will be getting in Cardiff, United Kingdom according to this article. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer this in Singapore!

http://femaleimagination.wordpress.com/

So apart from getting absolutely free swimming lessons, what else do these residents benefit from?

Firstly, the lessons will be delivered by fully qualified experienced Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), Level 2 swimming teachers and will follow the ASA Adult Learn to Swim framework. It is always recommended to learn from certified instructors and follow a syllabus. In Singapore, swimming instructors have to be certified by the Singapore Sports Council and either Swimming Teacher’s Association or Austswim. The SwimSafer syllabus is the one that is recommended by the Singapore Sports Council to be used.

Secondly, they get to enjoy eight weeks worth of lessons, which is equivalent to 8 lessons. What’s there to complain? They not just get a single lesson free, they get eight! However, the truth is that eight lessons can’t really cover the entire syllabus. It will probably allow one to build water confidence and learn very basic techniques such as breathing, floating and kicking. If one is looking to pick up various strokes, they should consider learning for a longer period. In Singapore, it is suggested to sign up for lessons on a term basis of usually 3 months.

Thirdly, they will be split into groups of no more than 12 in a class. This enables the attention of the instructor to be divided accordingly between the students, so that each of them will have an equal opportunity to learn. In Singapore, the group size for adults is usually between 8 to 12 students.

http://www.eagerbeaverswimschool.com/

So why offer free swimming lessons?

Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Nigel Howells explained the two significant reasons. Firstly, “Swimming is a low impact sport which can improve health and wellbeing and is accessible to everyone.” Secondly, “This will give those who have not had the opportunity to learn in the past, those who have a fear of water or are embarrassed about learning to swim the prospect of participating and enjoying a new skill which they will benefit from for the rest of their lives.”

At Happy Fish, we do agree with Mr Howells on the essential need to pick up swimming. In whichever way that you see it, you’ll still benefit from it. Although we are unable to offer free swimming lessons at the moment, it is still obvious that the benefits will outweigh the cost. Therefore, if you’re looking for swimming lessons, make sure to drop by our Swimming Lessons website! Swimming offers you countless benefits and we definitely hope to see you embrace it together with us.

Yio Chu Kang Swimming Complex

Posted by shawn on Jan 4, 2012 in Swimming Articles | 0 comments

Yio Chu Kang Swimming Complex opened its doors to the public on 1st July 1986. It is a simple 5 minutes walk from Yio Chu Kang MRT station and Nanyang Polytechnic. Although it may not be the newest or most modern swimming complex in Singapore, Yio Chu Kang Swimming Complex is still considered to be one of the more popular complex. It has the 3 usual pools that you can find in other swimming complexes as well. They are a wading pool, a teaching pool and a competition pool. The wading pool is usually used by toddlers to have fun and to get used to the water. The teaching pool is catered to children from 6 years and above to have their beginners lesson. As for the competition pool, it resembles a 50m Olympic size pool and is used for intermediate and advanced students.

For parents who are waiting for their child’s lesson to end, you might want to consider visiting Ang Mo Kio (AMK) Hub, which is situated beside the bus interchange. It is one of the largest heartland malls in Singapore that consisting of many eateries ranging from fast food to food courts to restaurants. Aside from that, you can catch a movie at the cinema or stay in shape at Fitness First. Let’s not forget about the many retail outlets and the NTUC Fairprice Xtra supermarket. For more information on the stores, you can check them out from here.

As mentioned, Yio Chu Kang Swimming Complex is one of the more popular swimming complex in Singapore. Hence, more lessons are being conducted here and therefore, there are more students as well. The peak period are during the weekends as there are many ongoing lessons, especially for children. Therefore, the best timing for you to go is on weekdays before 5pm. This will allow you to swim freely and also allow you to have a lane of your own. With this in mind, do take note that the swimming complex opens at 2.30pm every Thursdays, so you might want to plan your schedule accordingly.

Address: 202 Ang Mo Kio Ave 9 (569771)

Operating Hours: 8.00am – 9.30pm (Mon – Wed, Fri – Sun), 2.30pm – 9.30pm (Thur)

Opening Date: 1 Jul 1986

Facilities Type: 1 Competition Pool, 1 Teaching Pool, 1 Wading Pool

Seating Capacity: 650

Parking Facilities: 225 (Car), 2 (Reserved), 74 (Motorcycle)

Entrance Fee:

What’s Nearby:

Yio Chu Kang MRT Station (0.29 km)
Yio Chu Kang Stadium (B55319) Bus Stop (0.23km)
Ang Mo Kio (AMK) Hub (1.41 km)
Bishan North Shopping Mall (2.68 km)

How to register swimming lessons? First, choose your type of swimming lessons
Baby Swimming Lessons (6 - 23 months)		Toddler Swimming Lessons (2 - 4 years)
Kid Swimming Lessons (5 years - 13 years)		Adults Swimming Lessons (14 years above)
Female/Ladies Swimming Lessons (Ladies only)		Holiday Swim Lessons (For School Kids Only)
Premier Swimming Lessons (*Highly Recommended Programme For All Ages*)
	For Family & Organization Family Swimming Lessons Organization Swim Clinic		Advance Programme Open Water SwimSafer Competitive Swimming LifeSaving Course

Swimming Aids – Kick Boards

Posted by shawn on Jan 2, 2012 in Swimming Articles | 0 comments

Kick boards can come in extremely handy when you want to learn a new swim stroke or improve on your swimming technique. This article focuses on the ways in which a kick board can be of help to you.

Design

A kick board, or float board, can be found at all of the public swimming complexes in Singapore. You can see instructors using kick boards to teach their students almost all the time. Float boards are normally rectangular in shape and comes in different colours. They are made of EVA foam.

Usages

Frog Kick: The kick board is most useful when you practice it with the frog kick. Simply grab on to one of the narrow ends of the kick board with your hands and ensure that the other narrow end points away from you. After that, push yourself off the ground of the pool and get your body into a horizontal position. Then, you can start doing the frog kick motion. You won’t have to worry about sinking in as the kick board provides sufficient buoyancy to your upper body for you to stay afloat. However, do short repetitions to ensure that you have time to catch your breath in between.

Flutter Kick: Aside from learning the frog kick, you can also learn the flutter kick, which is used in the freestyle or backstroke. Just like the frog kick, position your hands on one of the narrow ends of the kick board and ensure that the other narrow end points away from you. After that, push yourself off the ground of the pool and get your body into a horizontal position. Then, you can begin doing the flutter kick motion. Remember to practice short repetitions again. However, it is recommended to use short swim fins instead for a better workout.

Freestyle Arm Motion: Another usage of a kick board is to help you practice on your arm motion for the freestyle. To do that, place the kick board between your thighs to support your legs. This gives you freedom to focus on the arm movements. Some people prefer using a pull buoy instead. There is nothing wrong with that, but a pull buoy doesn’t offer as much buoyancy like a kick board does.

Conclusion

Kick boards are an asset when it comes to learning to swim. It plays an extremely significant role especially for beginners who wish to learn new strokes. However, once you have achieved what you set out to with a kick board, it is advisable to explore other options to further progress in your swimming techniques.