Swimming, p.1
Swimming!, page 1
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
‘Okay, everyone,’ said Emma’s swimming teacher, Kylie. ‘I’d like you to dive into the water one at a time. Let’s start with Ben. Then Jessica, Oliver and Emma can have a try. Okay, go!’
Ben dived.
Jessica dived.
Oliver dived.
And Emma went . . .
WHACK!
Emma’s dive was more of a belly-whacker than an actual dive.
‘Well done, everyone,’ said Kylie. ‘Let’s do it again.’
Everyone went back to the starting blocks at the deep end of the pool.
‘Emma, are you okay?’ Kylie asked.
Emma nodded, even though her stomach was stinging.
Ben dived.
Jessica dived.
Oliver dived.
And Emma went . . .
WHAAAAAAACK!
Emma’s stomach smacked against the water louder and harder than before.
It was the belly-whacker of all belly-whackers!
Emma was not enjoying this swimming lesson. Not one little bit.
In the next class, Kylie said, ‘Today I want you to push off from the wall and see how far you can glide through the water. I don’t want to see any kicking or stroking. Just gliding. Try to keep your face down, arms out ahead and your body straight. Jessica, can you go first?’
‘I’m so going to beat everyone at gliding,’ said Oliver to Emma.
‘It’s not a competition,’ she said.
‘You’re only saying that because you know you can’t beat me,’ said Oliver.
Jessica pushed off the wall and glided for a few metres.
Ben followed. He glided past Jessica – but only just.
‘You’re next, Oliver,’ said Kylie.
Oliver pushed off the wall as hard as he could.
He stretched out his arms. His head was face down in the water and he didn’t look up to breathe once.
He glided right past Jessica and Ben – almost halfway across the pool.
‘YES!’ he said when he saw how far he’d swum. He punched his fist in the air. ‘I’m the champion!’
‘Well done, Oliver,’ said Kylie. ‘Emma, it’s your go.’
Emma took a deep breath. I wish I were a crocodile, she thought. Crocodiles can glide really fast and can hold their breath for a long time.
A crocodile could beat Oliver. Suddenly she knew exactly what to do.
Emma put on her goggles. Oliver always wins, she thought. This time it’s going to be me. Emma pushed off the wall.
She imagined she was in the great Nile River in Egypt.
She was a crocodile gliding across the surface of the water. She was sleek and streamlined and super fast.
The crocodile glided right past Oliver.
Jessica and Ben clapped and cheered.
Emma had beaten Oliver by a whole metre.
‘No way,’ said Oliver. ‘I saw you kick your feet. You cheated.’
‘I did not,’ said Emma. ‘I couldn’t kick my feet because I had a long scaly tail.’
‘Huh?’ said Oliver.
‘This week we’re going to dive for rings,’ Kylie called out, holding up four coloured sinker rings.
She threw them into the deep end.
Oliver grinned at Emma. ‘Crocodiles might be good at gliding, but they stink at everything else,’ he said.
‘It’s lucky I’m not a crocodile any more,’ said Emma. ‘I’m an awesome dolphin instead.’
She dipped her head and ducked underwater. She put her feet together and kicked them both at once – just like a dolphin’s tail.
With her arms in front, Emma darted through the water towards the bottom of the pool.
She scooped up her sinker ring and headed for the surface.
‘Got it!’ she called out.
‘Good job,’ said Kylie.
They watched as Jessica, Ben and Oliver came up with their rings.
‘Whatever,’ Oliver muttered.
Emma just smiled.
Swimming lessons aren’t so bad, she thought. All I have to do is keep pretending.
‘Okay, everyone follow me, please,’ said Kylie, pushing off from the edge of the pool.
Emma, Oliver, Ben and Jessica paddled to the shallow end of the pool.
‘I want you to pair up,’ said Kylie. ‘One of you will run through the water and the other will swim and try to catch them.’
‘Ben!’ said Jessica quickly.
‘Jess!’ said Ben at exactly the same time.
‘Looks like you’re with Emma, Oliver,’ said Kylie.
‘NO!’ they both moaned.
‘Oliver, you can be the runner,’ said Kylie.
‘Eat my dust, Em,’ Oliver said. ‘Or should that be eat my waves?’
Emma just rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what animal she needed to be this time.
‘Runners, GO!’ called Kylie.
Oliver took off running, pushing through the shallow water.
‘And swimmers, GO!’
Emma pushed off the wall and started swimming after him.
I’m a shark, a great white shark, she thought. And I’m very very huuuuuungry!
Emma swam the fastest she had ever swum in her entire life.
CHOMP! CHOMP!
The great white shark had seen its dinner. Nothing could stop her!
She was getting closer and closer to Oliver. She was going to catch him!
Emma grabbed the back of Oliver’s shorts . . .a little too hard!
Oliver’s face turned bright pink.
‘Oops! Sorry,’ said Emma.
Oliver quickly pulled his shorts back up.
But Jessica and Ben couldn’t stop laughing. Even Kylie giggled a little.
Oliver was speechless for the first time ever.
‘Pay attention, everyone,’ said Kylie. It was the last class before the holidays. ‘Today let’s try one more dive.’
Oh no, thought Emma.
‘I can’t wait to see you do another belly-whacker,’ Oliver said. ‘That was soooo funny.’
Emma frowned at him.
‘I totally did that on purpose,’ she said. ‘I was just pretending to be a plane landing on the water.’
‘Yeah, right,’ said Oliver. ‘Why don’t you try pretending to be someone who can dive? Ha-ha!’
‘I wasn’t planning to be a plane this time,’ said Emma, making a face at him.
But she felt worried. What if she couldn’t dive? What if she did another belly-whacker?
‘Okay, let’s go,’ Kylie called.
Ben dived.
Jessica dived.
Oliver dived.
And all three of them shot to the bottom of the pool.
They came back to the surface cheering.
Emma felt nervous. ‘No belly-whacker, no belly-whacker,’ she said under her breath.
The side of the pool seemed a long way from the water.
Be like a penguin, she thought. A penguin diving off a chunk of floating ice.
Emma shuffled her feet and waddled as if she were a penguin from Antarctica.
‘What’s she doing?’ asked Ben.
Jessica shrugged.
Emma could hear Oliver laughing at her. But she ignored him.
She took a deep breath, and held her arms straight above her head with one hand over the other. She looked down and . . .
Splash!
It was the perfect dive!
No belly-whackers this time. The bubbles rushed past her face.
She whooshed to the bottom of the pool and then floated back to the surface. It felt awesome!
Emma grinned. She turned back to look at Oliver. He was poking out his tongue at her.
Kylie grinned. ‘Well done! I’ve loved teaching you all this term, but I’ve especially loved meeting the crocodile, the dolphin, the shark and, my absolute favourite, the penguin!’
Sometimes learning something new is a real challenge. And the more we want to get it right, the harder it becomes.
Learning to dive can be difficult, even scary. When you’re falling into the water, you really want to put your head up and your arms out – and that’s a belly-flop!
But diving is an important skill in the pool and Emma uses her imagination to teach herself the right technique.
Here’s how to dive into a pool:
Stand at the edge of the pool with one foot slightly forward.
Hold your arms over your head and place one hand over the other – tuck your chin in slightly.
Start by curling yourself forwards into the water, arms and head first.
Once you’ve practised, you can add a little jump and straighten your legs behind you.
Other swimming skills include gliding, dolphin kicks and diving for rings. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get in the pool!
Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Les
Les who?
Les go for a swim!
Why did the teacher jump in the pool?
So she could test the water.
In which direction does a chicken swim?
Cluck-wise!
What did the tree wear to the pool party?
Swimming trunks!
What race is never run?
A swimming race.
What did the ocean say to the beach?
Nothing. It just waved.
What’s a whale’s f
Blubber-fly.
Where do ghosts go swimming?
In the Dead Sea.
Did you know?
The sailfish is the fastest swimming animal. It could swim a 200-metre race in less than 10 seconds. The human world record for that distance is 1 minute 42 seconds.
Rats are some of the best animal swimmers and can tread water for up to three days.
Men’s swimming has been a part of the Olympics since 1896. Women began competing in 1912.
Water is about 800 times denser than air.
The fastest swimming stroke is freestyle. It’s sometimes called the crawl.
It’s easier to float in saltwater than in freshwater.
Australia has won more Olympic gold medals in swimming than any country other than the US.
Famous Australian swimmers include Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould, Grant Hackett, Murray Rose, Ian Thorpe and Kieren Perkins.
Swimming pools have been built on cruise ships since 1907 – even the Titanic had one.
The oldest surviving pool in Australia is the Dawn Fraser Baths in Balmain. It was opened in 1882.
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First published by Penguin group (Australia), 2015
Text copyright © Red Wolf Entertainment Pty Ltd, 2015
Illustrations copyright © Tom Jellett, 2015
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Design by Tony Palmer © Penguin Group (Australia)
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ISBN: 978-1-74348-511-8
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