From friendly races at local community pools to official races at the Olympic Games, swimming is one of the most popular summer activities around the world. While some people view swimming as just a great form of exercise or entertainment, professional swimmers dedicate every free moment to their chosen sport.
In Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club, swimming is depicted as a competitive sport that is both technically and physically demanding. The series does a good job at accurately presenting what it is like to be a competitive swimmer, from the training and equipment involved to the costs of swimming year-round.
Using Goggles In Open Water
Swimming in the open water is very different from swimming in a pool. Seeing and sighting in the ocean is more difficult than in a pool where the water is clear and there are few obstructions. To help manage this, some swimmers opt to use special open water goggles.
However, many swimmers choose to instead swim without goggles, as seen during the swim club's summer swim training camp from hell. By swimming without goggles, swimmers avoid the problem of foggy goggles, but swimmers must constantly check to see if they're staying on course.
Building Endurance Is Important
Swimming is a total-body workout and requires a tremendous amount of energy. To compete in a race, swimmers need to be fast, and one of the best ways to build speed in the pool is to work on endurance.
Fatigue will cause determination in stroke speed and efficiency and slow a swimmer down, so it's important for swimmers to build strength and endurance through long-distance training so they can handle swimming quickly for short bursts. A typical swimming training should include both short and long-distance swims for the best results.
Good Fitting Swimsuits Improve Performance
Haruka is teased by the other swim club for buying a similar swimsuit to one he already owned, to which Haruka responded that the new suit fit better. He reinforced an accepted fact in competitive swimming that a well-fitting swimsuit can improve performance in the pool.
A well-fit suit controls the shape of the wearer's body in the water, making them more hydrodynamic and faster. Even a few milliseconds cut from a swimmer's lap time can mean the difference between finishing in first or second place in a race.
The Butterfly Requires Flexibility And Strength
Unlike most beginners, Rei masters the butterfly stroke before learning the easier strokes first. The butterfly is considered one of the hardest strokes in swimming because it requires solid and consistent technique, as well as quite a lot of stamina. It is the most taxing stroke, and, to be done effectively, swimmers need to flexible and coordinated as well as extremely strong.
Luckily for Rei, years of training on the track team meant he already had a lot of strength and endurance prior to learning to swim, and he always made sure to stretch well before swimming.
Many Japanese Schools Have Rooftop Pools
Many schools across Japan have pools on campus, and many of those pools were built on rooftops in order to conserve space. The scenes involving the of the Iwatobi Swim Club swimming outside on their school's rooftop pool would be a common one across Japan, especially a few years ago.
Unfortunately, a number of schools in Japan have opted to close their pools due to rising maintenance costs and aging facilities. It remains to be seen whether the rooftop pool will remain a facet of anime series in years to come.
Swimming Is A Club Sport
If a student wants to compete in a sport in Japan, then their only option is to their school's club team or a private league. Most schools feature both culture clubs and sports clubs that students may outside of their normal class studies.
Swimming is a club sport in Japan, but, if a school lacks swimming facilities, then students may be forced to practice at private pools or pick a different activity entirely. The of the Iwatobi Swim Club were able to restart their school's swim club thanks to their hard work, but it's not guaranteed that the club will continue after they've all graduated without from junior classmates.
Swimming Clubs Practice Year-Round
As shown in the anime, swimming clubs practice swimming not only in the summer months but year-round. Unlike most American sports, which are seasonal, it's common for Japanese clubs to hold events and practice throughout the entire school year and even over holiday breaks.
The amount of time devoted to club activities like swimming requires to be extremely dedicated or risk burning out due to overwork and stress. Thankfully, the of the Iwatobi Swim Club all each other and help each other to get through grueling training sessions, as well as classwork.
Most Swimmers Choose Front Crawl For Freestyle
Haruka makes it very well known to his friends in the Iwatobi Swim Club that he only swims freestyle. Freestyle is a swimming event where swimmers get to choose their preferred stroke method rather than swimming a specific stroke.
Even though freestyle swimmers get to choose their preferred stroke, the most common stroke is the front crawl, which is often mislabeled as the freestyle stroke due to its ubiquitous use in the event. The front crawl is widely considered to be the fastest stroke, as Haruka demonstrates with his blistering event times, hence its frequent use in the event.
Swim Caps Are Required
Swim caps are designed to help swimmers be more streamlined in the water by reducing drag from their hair. Much like a good swimsuit causes a body's shape to be more hydrodynamic, a swim cap can help someone swim faster in the water.
However, swim caps are not only designed for speed, but also for personal hygiene. Many pools in Japan require that swimmers wear a swim cap in order to reduce the amount of hair in the pool, which reduces cleaning times and protects swimmers. The of the Iwatobi Swim Club always wear their swim caps, though it's uncertain whether they do so for speed or hygiene reasons.
Swimming Incurs Many Costs
Considering that swimmers only need a suit, goggles, and cap to get started, swimming seems like it would be an inexpensive sport, but the truth couldn't be more different. Aside from paying for apparel, the main cost incurred by swimmers is the hip fees charged by swimming clubs.
hip fees can vary wildly depending on the price and level of the swimmer, ranging from several hundred to a few thousand dollars each year. It's no wonder that the of the Iwatobi Swim Club couldn't afford to pay to use an indoor pool during their summer training camp, as the fees would likely have bankrupted each of them.
