QUESTION: Hi my name is Kristján i’m 17 and started swimming 2 years ago and my main events are 50m and 100m, my best is 50 free wich is 26,3 sek. I’ve been training mostly 2 times a day 6 days a week for the whole 2 years with out more than a week in […]
Tag Archives | Swimmers
Educating Swimming Parents
There are so many different topics that swimming parents need to understand to help them to support the swimmer in their family. The second edition of Swimming for Parents will assist every swimming parent to provide the necessary support to help your child to be the best swimmer that they can be. Being a parent […]

How far should a swimmer warm up?
QUESTION: Good Day Gary, Some of our swimmers ages 8yrs to 14yrs complain of fatigue, when its race time if the coach does a long warm up before the meet starts. What would you say would be basic or best warm up, prior to the start of the meet and the duration. Regards Robert ANSWER: […]

What age should swimmers begin competing in carnivals?
QUESTION: Hi, l have a 9 year old daughter who has done 2 seasons of swimming lessons. 5 weeks ago she started squad training where she has been encouraged to swim “fast”, something that she has never done. Her first 50m freestyle race she swam 59 sec. 4 weeks later she is down to 45 […]

Does a swimmers height affect how fast you can swim?
QUESTION: Dear Gary, I was wondering how much your height could affect your speed in swimming. Starting my first year of high school at 5 foot 2 inches means that I am very short for my age. Recently I have been attending more meets and have found that almost all of the top swimmers are […]
New Swimming Book Just for Children
A new swimming book written specifically for competitive swimmers aged 8 to 14 yrs will be released in October 2014. Gary Barclay has spent the last year talking to swimming parents and children in this age range to find out what information is important to include in the book. Children aged 8 to 14 years […]

Parent’s Guide to Competitive Swimming
For many parents having a “swimmer” in the family is not something they planned. Most swimmers begin in a learn-to-swim program and progress through to advanced lessons. From there they are asked to complete a couple of sessions in a junior squad and before you know it they are entrenched and absorbed by the sport […]

What to do in Break Between Prelims and Finals?
QUESTION: Hi Gary, My name is Canis. Firstly i would like to thank you for the Swimming Expert website you have. I found alot of interesting topics & tips to advance my swimming. Gary, i have a question & i hope you can give me some tips on this matter. What will be the best […]

Swimming and Rugby
QUESTION: Hi Gary, Re- swimming training: Are there any excercises that my son Liam would be doing for rugby league that would hinder his swimming development. I understand that in athletics for instance, certain coaches suggest that swimming for example may counteract against a runners development – I believe that this is regards to certain […]

Swimming Pool Too Hot?
QUESTION: Hi, The current temperature at our swim centre is about 31.5deg. There is talk about it increasing to about 33 as it also caters to hydrotherapy patients. My question is, with all of our squad swimmers (including my daughter) training for 1.5 hours at a time, and already complaining about the heat, are […]