Our Underwater Camera

The underwater video is a fantastic teaching tool for any swimming student regardless of their capabilities under water.

I have found that (myself included) it is difficult to understand exactly what a persons body is doing under water especially when trying to learn a technique.

For a fearful beginner this is an invaluable tool to help the person to see that what they fear (mostly falling into the water never to be seen again) is not happening.

A person with anxieties about being in the water feels that there is this huge space and they are going to be stuck there not being able to get up. The video playback gives the person a correct view of height and depth allowing them to keep this picture in mind as they enter the water again after the initial period in the water. Also when being towed across the pool, once learning how to put their head in and breathing out, the feeling is that they are rocking from side to side and they are going to flip over any minute. This is a very real sensation and all my nervous pupils had felt this.

No matter how many times that I have explained that this feeling is exaggerated simply because they cannot see what they are doing, there is nothing that can explain more than seeing themselves under water and knowing that the sensation is not real and the rocking from side to side instead of feeling they are moving huge amounts is in actual fact just an inch or so movement from side to side.

When demonstrating the kick breast stroke or front crawl I can bring the camera up close to see the position of my feet and with this picture in their minds they can copy easily.

When a person finds they cannot get a particular technique instead of going through a long complicated explanation I can show them recorded footage of what they are doing under water. Without exception everyone is surprised at their interpretation of the technique, but they then go on to make progress after seeing what they are doing under water.

The camera is also a good tool for triathletes and improvers. Triathletes have developed strong leg muscles in order to bike and run this impedes the ability to be fluid in the water. After seeing the amount of wasted energy spent during the swim they can then adapt easily to learning how to use their bodies to balance and make their strokes more efficient thereby not wasting energy.