Great video on how to swim front crawl properly, at least how to get your arms working efficiently. It’s been produced by specialist triathlon swim site Swim For Tri for people who want to improve their crawl for triathlons. But really it’s relevant for any swimmers, either in open water or indoors.

What’s good about it is that it’s filmed mostly from underneath so you can see exactly what’s going on and shows alternative, less efficient strokes. It’s also filmed from different angles so you can see the swimmer head on, from the side and, briefly, from above.

Mostly the video deals with arm movement, in particular the ‘pivot’ point which should be at the elbow rather than at the shoulder (too much strain) or at the wrist (too little momentum). Good stuff.

For more information about Swim for Tri go to its website here.

The elegant Bon Accord Baths in Aberdeen. Closed in council spending cuts, now for sale. What a waste!

Want to buy a gorgeous 1937 art deco swimming pool? Well the Bon Accord Baths is up for grabs.

Despite a major campaign to save it, the pool was closed by Aberdeen City Council in 2008 and property consultants Ryden are now handling the sale of the B-listed building.

Suggestions include a concert venue, gallery space, conference centre, theatrical venue, shopping venue or dining area. But not it seems a swimming pool which seems a great shame to me at a time when we should be doing everything we can to tackle obesity.

Gordon McIntosh, the council’s director of enterprise, planning and infrastructure, said: “Exposing the site to the market gives others the opportunity to identify a viable future for the building which will bring it back into economic use.” Roughly translated: ‘we want the best price possible and don’t give a damn about people’s health.’

The two-storey building extends to 50,000sq ft and sits on a 0.85-acre site.

Read more: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1651318?UserKey=#ixzz0iYRqQh3A

Put your questions to Michael Scott at Swimming.org

To celebrate the British Gas Swimming Championships 2010, the biggest domestic swimming event of the year, Swimming.org is offering you the chance to question Michael Scott, National Performance Director of British Swimming.

Want to know how we’re training the country’s swimmers or how Great Britain is performing in the pool? Michael will be on hand to answer your queries.

All you need to do is simply email your question by 5pm on Friday 19th March to webadmin@swimming.org along with your name, age, where you’re from and your involvement in swimming.

The web-chat will be posted on the Swimming.org website from Monday 29th March, and during the six days of the Championships (29th March – 3rd April). Visitors will also be able to watch daily recorded highlights of the competition, which will feature all the big names in the sport trying to secure their spot at the Commonwealth Games.

One lucky entry will win top signed swimming goodies, including a Joanne Jackson autographed shirt, and an ASA duck!

For more details visit swimming.org

Arts manager Bain Burdett hopes to swim 100 miles in a month

An arts manager is spending March swimming 100 miles – the distance between her childhood home of Jamaica and the devastated island of Haiti.

Jeanette Bain-Burnett has been swimming morning, noon and night in a bid to raise £3,000 for Unicef’s earthquake appeal.  The 31-year-old director of the Association of Dance of the African Diaspora was moved by the disaster.

Ms Bain-Burdett, who was born in London but grew up in Jamaica, is swimming three miles or more a day. Her day job running a dance organisation means she is no stranger to raising funds, and she is determined to complete her latest challenge.

“I try to work out at the gym as much as I can,” she told The Islington Gazette. “But I’ve never done anything like this before.

“I swim morning and evening most days and I have a few all-dayers ahead of me, if I’m going to meet my 100-mile target by March 31.

“It’s a huge mental and physical challenge for me and I will probably be permanently looking like a prune, but I wanted to do something extraordinary for this cause.”

Ms Bain-Burdett also hopes her efforts will inspire others.

To sponsor Ms Bain-Burdett go to www.justgiving.com/swimhaiti.

Via Islington Gazette

Swimming World Championships, Rome, 2009. Fina is now retesting samples from the championships for evidence of blood doping

Swimming’s governing body Fina is to retest blood samples taken from swimmers at last year’s Rome world championships for evidence of doping.

It is looking for traces of “plasticisers” – particles of plastic left over from blood bags.

Fina took the decision at a meeting in Bangkok following the 391 blood samples taken from the July and August meeting, though none of these were positive.

There were also 162 samples screened for the blood-boosting hormone EPO at the same event.

The governing body is contemplating storing blood samples for eight years after competition and using ‘biological passports’ to monitor swimmers’ blood profiles for evidence of doping. This has recently been introduced by cycling’s governing body.

Do your bit to raise money for Marie Curie cancer care by signing up to one of the British Gas Great Swims

Seems there’s no shortage of charity swims this year in Britain, ensuring you keep fit and do your bit for a good cause.

As well as The Swimathon which we’ve already written extensively about and The World Swim Against Malaria on June 25th there are also four 1 mile open water swims sponsored by British Gas.

* Great East Swim, June 19 – Alton Water, Suffolk
* Great London Swim, July 3 – Royal Victoria Dock, London
* Great Scottish Swim, August 21 – Strathyclyde Country Park
* Great North Swim, September 4 and 5 – Windermere, Cumbria

Money raised from the British Gas Great Swims will go to Marie Curie to help provide nursing care and support to terminally ill patients and their famililes, in their own homes, completely free of charge. Every £20 you raise will fund an hour of Marie Curie Nursing Care.

Those taking part in the swim will receive an online fundraising pack full of useful hints and tips and a daffodil T-Shirt.

To secure your place click here. Once you have done so, email greatswims@mariecurie.org.uk or call 08700 340 040 to get a fundraising pack.

Find out more here.