Swimming: Breathing.

Start in the water and hold onto the poolside or starting block with both hands about shoulder width apart. Place both feet on the wall with one foot slightly higher than the other to stop any possible slip of the feet. Pull the body into the wall or starting block by creating a tight tuck. Drive the hands and arms backwards over your head allowing the head to follow through to create an arch of the back over the water surface in order to dive through the same point of contact in the water. Never dive into shallow waters.

Backstroke kick on your side with or without a float will develop the correct depth of kick and should be no deeper than your chest. The kick should start at your hips and finish with your toes. Good kicking will develop core balance within the stroke and tone up the thighs.

Alternating circular arm action over and under the water with a straight arm recovery, brushing your ears and elbows locked straight. The hand entry into the water is controlled with the palm facing out and the little finger first to reducing resistance as it enters the water. The palm of the hand then presses down to catch position in the water. At the deepest point following hand entry and with good shoulder rotation, the elbow bends and drops to a deeper position than the hand, creating a lever to produce extra power as the hand pushes towards the feet. The arm starts to straighten as the hand presses downwards before sweeping towards the thigh; The arm then moves inline with the shoulder as the hand recovers out of the water close to the thigh with thumb first, elbow straight as the arm is taken past the head to entry point once again.