Telecasts are scheduled daily on WMAQ-TV (Ch. 5) from 6:30-11 p.m. Swimming and diving will be included on the following days:
– Diving: Sept. 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25
– Swimming: Sept. 17, 18, 19, 20, 22
– Synchronized swimming: Sept. 29, 30
– Additional telecasts: Sept. 16, 7-11 p.m.; Sept. 17, 18, 24, 25, Oct. 1, 3-6 p.m.; Sept. 17-Oct. 1, 11:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m.; Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2, 7-11 a.m.; Sept. 19-25 and 26-30, 6-9 a.m., 3-4 p.m.; Sept. 24, Oct. 1, 11 a.m.-noon; Oct. 2, 6-10 p.m.
WHAT IT MEANS
– Deckwork: In synchronized swimming routines, the moves done out of the water beside the pool before entering the water.
– Hole-man: In water polo, he is like the center in basketball, centered about two meters in front of the goal.
– Split: A swimmer`s time at a partial point in a race. During races, splits are registered every 50 meters on the scoreboard.
– Touchpad: Area at the end of each lane in the pool where a swimmer`s time is registered and sent electronically to the timing system and then the scoreboard. The swimmer must touch the touchpad at each turn and the finish.
SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING
This event is an exacting and rigorous sport that demands athletic skills and years of training. Technical perfection of every movement is the goal of every participant. Judges carefully observe and evaluate every part of the figures and routines, and score them on a scale of zero to ten. Other elements upon which scores are based are time spent under water, vertical extension of the body above the water and general style.
– Technique: Swimmers use a rotary ”eggbeater” kick borrowed from water polo, to tread water. Hands are used for propulsion.
– Pool: It must be at least 12 meters square and at least three meters deep. The bottom of the pool to be vsible.
– Scoring: Seven judges score the swimmers on a scale of 0-10.
– Equipment: One-piece suits, nose clips; hair is pulled back and smoothed with gelatin.
– Swimmers may not deliberatly touch sides or bottom of pool.
STROKES AND RELAYS
Each country may enter no more than two swimmers per event and one team per relay. A good swimmer needs superior strength, particularly in the upper body and endurance. Training involves swimming tens of thousands of yards per day and work in weight rooms. Swimmers experiment constantly with stroke technique, trying to find a more efficient method of moving them through the water. Swimmers also experiment with starting techniques such as a jackknife, diving deep off the blocks, and a crouching start, like track runners.
– Butterfly: Arms are brought forward at the same time to enter the water at some point in front of the shoulders and are then pulled backward under the water. Arm action must be simultaneous with both moving forward or back together. Up and down movements of the feet in the vertical plane are permitted. Feet also must move simultaneously with no flutter-kicking. Both hands must touch the wall at the same time on turns and at the finish. The butterfly is considered the most difficult and exhausting of the strokes.
– Breaststroke: The body must be kept on the breast with both shoulders parallel to the water`s surface. Hands are pushed forward together from the breast and then brought back on or under the surface of the water. In the leg kick, feet must be turned out in the backward movement. All arm movement and leg movement must be simultaneous, no alternating movement is permitted with the extremities. Part of the head must break the water throughout the race. Both hands must touch the wall at the same time on turns and the finish.
– Backstroke: This is the only stroke that swimmers start in the pool, pushing off of the wall with feet while thrusting the arms back over the head. The stroke is done entirely on the back, with alternate arm strokes and flutter kicks. A backward somersault turn is used. The swimmer must touch the wall before going into a turn. After the turn, the swimmer must return to a position on the back before the feet leave the wall. At the finish, the swimmer must touch the wall with the head, shoulder, hand or arm before leaving the position on the back.
– Freestyle: In freestyle events, competitors may swim any stroke they choose, but the crawl is the most efficient so it is always used. Done on the stomach, the swimmer uses alternate arm strokes with each arm reaching out in front of the head and then circling down. The legs and feet perform flutter kicks. The face is in the water except when the swimmer breathes, by turning the head to one side while raising that arm out of the water. A front somersault is used to turn. Swimmers may touch the wall with any part of their bodies on turns and the finish.
– Relays: Relays are raced by four-member teams, with each member swimming one-fourth of the distance. The first swimmer must touch the wall before the second swimmer can leave the starting platform, likewise for third and fourth swimmers.
– Platform start: Upon the referee`s signal, swimmers step onto the back of the platform. At ”Take your marks,” they step to the front of the platform and assume a starting poiton, bent forward at the waist. When swimmers are stationary, the starter fires the gun. Swimmers dive straight out, attempting to cover as much water as possible with the body fully extended.
WATER POLO
This event polo combines the elements of soccer and basketball, the skills of swimming and the strength of football. Offensive play centers around the hole man, whose objective is to either shoot the ball or draw a foul. Most good teams rely on a strong hole man with a good arm, quickness
and constant movement.
– The goalkeeper may touch the ball with two hands, other players can use only one hand at a time.
– Ball: Round, waterproof, 68-71 cm. in circumference, 400-450 grams in weight.
– Cap:Tied under chin, fitted with ear protectors.
– Playing area: Maximum of 30 meters long and 20 meters wide, minimum of 1.80 meter deep
2-meter line: Two meters from goal line.
4-meter line: Four meters from goal line.
– Signalling: A referee signals with a whistle and two flags on a single stick.
– Fouls
Holding ball under water when tackled
Splashing water in opponent`s face
Touching ball with two hands
Kicking or striking an opponent
DIVING
A dive is scored by awards from seven judges, and range from 10 for perfect execution to zero for a failed one. The highest and lowest award are eliminated to prevent partiality. The remaining five scores are totalled and multiplied by three-fifths. That total is then multiplied by the degree of dificulty of the particular dive, ranging from 1.3 for a simple inward tuck to 3.5 for a four and one-half somersault tuck from a platform. The highset possible score for the most difficult dive is 105 points. Judges consider the approach, takeoff, height and arc of dive, execution through the air and entry into the water.
– Takeoff: Bold, confident; reasonably high; must leave from both feet simultaneously.
– Execution: Performed crisply with flair and control; legs together;
fingers, toes pointed.
– Entry: Vertical; body straight; feet together; arms stretched beyond head;
hands close together.
EQUIPMENT
– Goggles: Protects swimmers eyes from effects of chlorine in water.
– Nose clip
– Cap: Lessen water fricton around head.
– Starting platform: Raised 30 inches above water; numbered on all sides.
– Lane markers: Discs and fins control wave action; extend length of pool.
– Touchpad: Electronic timing pad; sensitive to fingertip touch, but not water turbulence.
– Shot clock: 35-second shot clock used in water polo.
– Flip turn: A flip turn is executed in a continuous fluid motion while still in the race stroke. It is actually a three-quarter somersault with a one-quarter twist that is followed by strong kick off the wall, then coming up slightly sideways and continuing into the race stroke as soon as breaking water. A cross-hatch line, on the bottom of the pool, about six feet from the end walls, is used as a reference point for swimmers to begin their turn.
OBJECTS OF THE GAMES
Diving
– Competition: Forward, back, inward, reverse and twisting are the five categories of required dives that make up the first half of this event. Participants must execute one dive from each of these categories on the springboard and four of the five on platform. Men must also execute a handstand dive from platform. In springboard, men execute eleven dives, women ten; in platform, men execute ten, women eight. The total degree of difficulty cannot exceed 9.5 for springboard dives, and 7.6 for platform dives. Optional dives (diver`s choice), with no limits on degree of difficulty, comprise the second half of the event. After the preliminary round, the top 12 divers compete in the finals round.
Swimming
– Competition: Participants compete in races and the first swimmer or relay team of swimmers to cover a predetermined distance using a specified stroke or strokes wins. Individual Olympic races are men`s and women`s freestyle at distances of 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 (women only) and 1,500 (men only) meters; backstroke, 100 and 200 meters; breastroke, 100 and 200 meters; butterfly, 100 and 200 meters; and individual medley, 200 and 400 meters. Relays are men`s and women`s 4×100-meter freestyle, 4×200-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley.
Synchronized swimming
– Competition: Women compete in solo and duet events, with one entrant per country allowed for each. Swimmers perform compulsory figures, which account for 55 percent of their score, and routines, which account for 45 percent of their score. From 36 figures, six are selected to be used in the competition. The routines are composed by the swimmers and must be no longer than 3 1/2 minutes for soloists and four minutes for duets.
Water polo
– Competition: Played in a swimming pool by teams of 13 men, only seven of which may be in the water at a time. Teams try to score by putting the ball in the opponent`s goal. A match consists of four seven-minute periods with two-minute intervals between periods to change ends. Teams play round-robin, earning two points for a victory, one for a tie.
