DISCIPLINES – SWIMMING
Swimming
From life-skill to racing, swimming is not only a popular form of exercise but also one of the most accessible and beneficial sports for wide variety of participants.
As prehistoric evidence confirms, swimming has an ancient lineage — dating back to Stone Age. It became a competitive sport in early 19th century, featuring men’s events in the Olympic Games since 1896 with women joining in 1912.
A Life-Saving Skill
Quite literarily — swimming saves lives. Introducing children to water-safety and swimming from a very young age, indisputably makes them less likely to fall a victim of an accidental drowning. Even if your child does not aspire to become a competitive swimmer, teaching them to be safe and confident in the water is indisputably valuable.
Learn to Swim
Swimming is a great way to keep children occupied in the afternoons all year round. This structured activity in a safe environment provides an ideal channel for excess energy, promotes concentration, and balances academic pressures. It fosters resilience, determination, and discipline, but perhaps most importantly, it gives children a sense of belonging and purpose.
Competitive Swimming
Swimming on a competitive level is demanding and exhilarating in equal parts. Training programmes have rigorous schedules with swimming practice sessions often taking place in both mornings and afternoons. Fitting training seamlessly into one’s daily routine can be a tricky balancing act and certainly, requires a sound time management strategy. Participating in swim meets, however, makes it all worth the effort. The sheer excitement of racing is highly prized amongst the competitive swimmers who cherish the opportunity to showcase their skills, improve their personal best times, post records and to “score for the team”.
You are never too old to swim
Swimming has many obvious benefits — it builds up endurance, increases muscle tone and flexibility, boosts heart rate and lung capacity, helps to maintain healthy weight and has a positive effect on mental health. But, unlike other sports, swimming is a low-impact, non-weight bearing exercise which provides full body workout without undue stress. For this reason, swimming is often recommended to those who suffer from arthritis or other chronic joint ailments. It is also a perfect exercise for seniors, some of whom chose to remain active on the competitive level, under Masters’ programs.
Swimming for All – Swimming for Life
As advocated by FINA, swimming should be made accessible to individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and capacities. NASFED affiliated clubs across Namibia offer instruction in Water Safety, Learn to Swim, Competitive and Masters programs. We also support a variety of Open Water events.
If you want to learn more about swimming activities in Namibia, you can contact any of our affiliated clubs listed on this website.