Aquatics Coaching Guide - Special Olympics

Special Olympics Aquatics Coaching Guide
The Benefits of Aquatics
The Benefits of Aquatics
Swimming is one of the most popular sports in world. Unlike other sports, swimming is a life skill that is taught, first, to
ensure safety and, secondly, for sports and competition purposes. This coaching guide will assist the coach in teaching
skills and strategy that will allow the Special Olympics athlete to become a successful swimmer and competitor.
This Aquatics Coaching Guide can best be used to teach aquatic technique; develop athletes’ coordination, physical
fitness and sense of accomplishment; and promote aquatics as a lifetime skill for sport and fitness. Special Olympics
continually stresses the well-being of the athlete as well as fairness in competition. This guide offers suggestions on
how to progress through the four competitive strokes and the individual medley event; how to arrange a basic training
program for maximum efficiency; how to design a training program to obtain an advanced level of fitness for each
athlete; and encourage athletes to have an attitude of success through personal achievement.
The best way to get athletes interested in aquatics is to get them to the pool. This guide is organized to instruct
coaches in developing the nonskilled or low-skilled swimmer from an observer to a competitor. Skills are presented in
an order that ensures the athlete immediate and tangible results. Skills progress as the athlete’s interest grows to those
that require greater attention to detail. However, the coach should always teach and coach those skills that best suit the
individual’s needs.
Swimming Events
The official distances for all Special Olympics events will be conducted in a meters pool. Local competitions may be
conducted over any distance. However, official times from meter pools will be seeded in first priority for international
competition over any distance. Swimming events range from 25-meter to 1500-meter events in freestyle, backstroke,
breaststroke and butterfly. Special Olympics also offers swimming events for low-ability level athletes.
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Events Offering Meaningful Inclusion for Low-Ability Level Athletes
25-Meter Freestyle
25-Meter Backstroke
25-Meter Breaststroke
25-Meter Butterfly
15-Meter Walk
15-Meter Floatation Race
25-Meter Floatation Race
10-Meter Assisted Swim
15-Meter Unassisted Swim
Special Olympics also offers Unified Sports ® relays in our aquatics program. Unified Sports brings together athletes
with and without intellectual disabilities to compete as teammates.
Special Olympics Aquatics Coaching Guide
Created: February 2004