Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming XI

Figure 2. Experimental setting for the evaluation of the coordination.
The Hildreth index (Cilia et al., 1996) was employed in order to evaluate
the laterality of the subjects (hand dominance). According to the
protocol, twelve actions for each part (e.g. hand, foot, eye) are selected
and the preferred side employed during the test is recorded. The index
was calculated as follows: (nr of trials executed on the right – nr of trials
executed on the left) · 12 -1 . Based on the results (-100 to 100) it is
possible to define the side and the degree of the laterality. In our study
the twelve actions using the hands were selected and the frequency of
employment in the action requested was surveyed.
The ability to “feel the water” strictly depends on sensory-perceptive
skills, hence the “dive and glide” test was applied to evaluate it (Cazorla,
1993; Invernizzi et al., 2007). The distance reached by the swimmers
after gliding was measured. Neither movements nor propulsive actions
were allowed during the gliding phase.
The relationships observed were: blind swimming and swimming
style, blind swimming and coordination, blind swimming and gliding.
Results were also discussed with respect to the swimmers laterality.
Statistical analyses were carried out by SPSS 13.0® software, using
p