Lifeguards engage in a continuous process of deciding whether swimmers are in danger or not. The variety of behaviours that distressed swimmers show makes it difficult to impart declarative knowledge to this effect during lifeguard training. As an alternative, we propose a novel training tool that requires novice participants to rapidly categorise…

Swimming is a profound source of joy in life. The impact of swimming competence extends beyond leisure, encompassing aquatic skills crucial for the prevention of drowning incidents. The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly advocates for the proactive initiative of teaching basic swimming and water safety skills to school-aged children, which…

Surf therapy is a structured intervention which utilizes surfing as a vehicle to achieve therapeutic benefit (International Surf Therapy Organization [ISTO], 2019). Surf therapy is presently delivered internationally within a diverse array of contexts and populations. Despite the publication of many internal evaluation studies, little research has…

Sail training is described as an educational endeavour where participants are required to adapt to an unfamiliar physical and social environment, acquire new skills (maritime and domestic), and confront personal challenges (e.g. going aloft, dealing with seasickness). It shares many of the philosophical underpinnings of adventure education, where…

Lifeguard drowning detection in swimming pools and beach settings is influenced by experience. The current experiment explores the cognitive skills that might underlie this experience effect. Lifeguard and non-lifeguard performance in a domain-free multiple object avoidance (MOA) task and a partially domain-free functional field of view (FFOV)…

The aim of this study was to examine the trends in Olympic Games (OLY) and World Long Course Championships (WLC) across three performance categories (1st-3rd, 4th-8th and 9th-16th), and to make predictions for the 2024 OLY. Top 16 rankings were obtained for all OLY and WLC competitions between 2011 and 2019. Linear regression and forecasting…

This paper provides an alternative lens of viewing digital technologies and networked spaces in outdoor intercultural learning, by introducing the Taoist philosophy of Ziran (nature) and Wuwei (inaction). The application of digital technology to outdoor learning has become prevailing and triggered critical debates and discussions among scholars…

The aim of this study was to investigation of the relationship between knee and ankle angles and squat/countermovement jump heights at the age group of 15-17 swimmers. 10 girls (mean age 15.30±0.48yrs, mean height 165.00±5.33cm, mean mass 49.60±5.10kg) and 13 boys (mean age 16.00±1.00yrs, mean height 178.00±7.32cm, mean mass 64.31±7.35kg) were…

The importance of nutrition is known in swimming as in other sports branches. Knowing the right strategies for nutrition will enable swimmers to improve their recovery time as well as increase their performance. This study aims to investigate the effects of with and without diet training programs on the performance and recovery times of male…

In this paper, findings from an investigation into the gender imbalance in swim coaching in Australia, particularly at the higher levels of accreditation, are reported. Stories of the experience of two elite female swim coaches were analysed with reference to the concept of hegemonic masculinity. Analysis found that some male coaches and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the social benefits whitewater paddlers derive from a city whitewater park. Many communities are investing great sums of time and money in the development of whitewater parks, with the expectation that these parks will generate social benefits for park users and their surrounding communities (Moorman et…

In the context of the increased frustration and anxiety around managerialism of universities, this article explores how a group of 11 academics, from three different universities, diverse disciplines and levels are responding collectively outside of their work. Moreover, it tracks the enactment of the 'Slow Swimming Club', initiated by the author…

Do lifeguards monitor events according to the level of danger they pose to the patron? This study examined this question by displaying 40 min of video of natural swimming activity to three lifeguards while an eye-tracker recorded their eye position. In a separate session, those same lifeguards viewed 100 short video clips of some of the incidents…

Anaerobic capacity is an important determinant of swimming performance, and a feasible land-based test for measuring swim-specific anaerobic capacity is lacking. This study assessed the test-retest reliability of a swim-specific modification of the Wingate anaerobic capacity test: the WAnT-Swim. Ten competitive and fitness swimmers from the local…

Water safety skills are vital for the safety and well-being of all individuals but especially for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research regarding on-deck water safety behaviors and water safety skills for individuals with ASD levels 2 and 3 is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of behavior…