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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Water sports & recreations > Swimming & diving > General
As long as already five thousand years ago, the allure of the sea
inspired humans to recreate its essence in miniature, artistic
forms, as public baths where ancient rituals would take place.
Since then, it has become quite normal to immerse ourselves in
cooling waters, in the privacy of our homes and without religious
incentives. Swimming pools have rapidly become status symbols and
the source for many diverse experiences: leisure-time athletics,
relaxation, or the simple pleasure of just being in water. It is no
wonder then that filmmakers and photographers constantly return to
the swimming pool as a subject and setting. Reflections of water
and light are captured in countless, unique ways in the more than
two hundred compelling images that comprise this catalogue. Also
included of course are the images of those who animate it. With
works by: Abbas Attar, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Peter Marlow, Martin
Parr, Alec Scoth, Alex Webb, and others.
The Dive Atlas of the World offers a global tour of dive sites,
described and photographed by experts. From well-known classics to
sites that have only recently been discovered, this global
selection offers the discerning diver a feast of locations to
choose from, including an expanded selection of Caribbean dive
sites.Whether you favour muck diving and macro photography, wrecks,
walls, reefs, caves, blue holes or the adrenaline rush of
high-speed drift dive in a strong current (or all of these), you
will find well-written, clearly mapped accounts of the top places
where you can enjoy these dives.This book features contributions
from local experts, leading writers and award-winning photographers
such as Jack Jackson and Lawson Wood.
The Science of Sport - Swimming is a complete guide for swimming
training through the application of physiological, biomechanical,
psychological, strength and conditioning, nutritional and injury
management methods that can be used to optimize performance.
Practical examples are included on the components of swimming
conditioning, technical and mental training, and how they relate to
the various swimming speciality events. The text provides details
on mental and strength conditioning training exercises and racing
day preparation methods for various abilities, including speciality
swimmers who seek performance improvement constantly. The book
includes contributions from leading coaches and sport scientists,
sport psychologists, sports medical practitioners and Olympic,
world and national champion swimmers.
Literary Nonfiction. Memoir. WOBBLES spans the physical,
psychological and spiritual growth of an athlete from childhood
into her stature as a fierce, Olympic competitor. When Nadine
Neumann decides that she wants to be an Olympic swimmer at age
eight, she trades a normal life of school friends and parties for
the rigors of elite sports training. With acute honesty, wisdom and
humour, Nadine spins readers through the heartaches and loneliness
of a different kind of adolescence. Enduring and overcoming Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome, a life-threatening accident and imposed breaks
from her passion, Nadine pursues her dream as only an Olympian
can--with the rarest of intensity and focus. Sweeping from Perth to
Germany, India to Sydney, Brisbane to Hong Kong, the reader is
invited along this journey of a remarkable young woman who stops at
nothing to achieve her goals.
Open Water Swimming: A Complete Guide for Swimmers and Triathletes
is aimed at all levels of open water swimmer, from beginners right
through to competing professionals. It covers all aspects of the
sport: its history and health benefits; a through introduction to
getting started; a full discussion on training equipment and how it
should be used; the safety and legal aspects of choosing a suitable
location for swimming; acclimatization for both the beginner and
the experienced swimmer. The author then goes on to explain in
detail all technical aspects of open water swimming; sighting;
drafting; turning around buoys; entraces, exits and transitions.
One Breath is a gripping and powerful exploration of the strange
and fascinating sport of freediving, and of the tragic, untimely
death of America's greatest freediver Competitive freediving-a
sport built on diving as deep as possible on a single breath-tests
the limits of human ability in the most hostile environment on
earth. The unique and eclectic breed of individuals who freedive at
the highest level regularly dive hundreds of feet below the ocean's
surface, reaching such depths that their organs compress, light
disappears, and one mistake could kill them. Even among freedivers,
few have ever gone as deep as Nicholas Mevoli. A handsome young
American with an unmatched talent for the sport, Nick was among
freediving's brightest stars. He was also an extraordinary
individual, one who rebelled against the vapid and commoditized
society around him by relentlessly questing for something more
meaningful and authentic, whatever the risks. So when Nick Mevoli
arrived at Vertical Blue in 2013, the world's premier freediving
competition, he was widely expected to challenge records and
continue his meteoric rise to stardom. Instead, before the end of
that fateful competition Nick Mevoli had died, a victim of the
sport that had made him a star, and the very future of free diving
was called into question. With unparalleled access and masterfully
crafted prose, One Breath tells his unforgettable story, and of the
sport which shaped and ultimately destroyed him.
Undressed Toronto looks at the life of the swimming hole and
considers how Toronto turned boys skinny dipping into comforting
anti-modernist folk figures. By digging into the vibrant social
life of these spaces, Barbour challenges narratives that pollution
and industrialization in the nineteenth century destroyed the
relationship between Torontonians and their rivers and waterfront.
Instead, we find that these areas were co-opted and transformed
into recreation spaces: often with the acceptance of indulgent city
officials.While we take the beach for granted today, it was a novel
form of public space in the nineteenth century and Torontonians had
to decide how it would work in their city. To create a public
beach, bathing needed to be transformed from the predominantly nude
male privilege that it had been in the mid-nineteenth century into
an activity that women and men could participate in together. That
transformation required negotiating and establishing rules for how
people would dress and behave when they bathed and setting aside or
creating distinct environments for bathing. Undressed Toronto
challenges assumptions about class, the urban environment, and the
presentation of the naked body. It explores anxieties about
modernity and masculinity and the weight of nostalgia in public
perceptions and municipal regulation of public bathing in five
Toronto environments that showcase distinct moments in the
transition from vernacular bathing to the public beach: the city's
central waterfront, Toronto Island, the Don River, the Humber
River, and Sunnyside Beach on Toronto's western shoreline.
Crowood Sports Guides provide sound, practical advice that will
help make you a better sportsperson whether you are learning the
basic skills, discovering more advanced techniques or reviewing the
fundamentals of your sport. Featured in Swimming - Crowood Sports
Guides are information boxes containing Key Points and Top Tips;
sequence photographs and detailed diagrams in colour. There is a
thorough analysis of the four strokes (Butterfly, Backstroke,
Breaststroke and Freestyle). Starts and turns analysis, including
the individual Medley are covered and valuable advice on
techniques, coaching, drills, training, tapering, nutrition and
competition psychology is given. There is also an introduction to
rules and equipment.
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