A book of activities for your mind, body and soul - Oomph! Wellness

A book of activities for your
mind, body and soul.

Did you know?
Swimming has been part of the Olympic
schedule since the very first modern
Olympic Games in 1896.

It’s one of only four disciplines to have been
retained, appearing in every summer Olympics
since – the others being athletics, artistic
gymnastics and fencing.

Pictured below is the British women’s Olympic
swimming team, London, 1948.

Origins of the sport
While humans have likely       London in 1837.
been swimming ever since
they dipped their toe in the   Inevitably, things soon
water, it’s believed that      became competitive and,
swimming as a practice         in 1846, the first
dates back as early as         swimming championship
2500 BC.                       was held in Australia. The
                               race became an annual
The Ancient Egyptians          event, and it was an early
were said to swim in the       indicator for the future
Nile for pleasure, while the   success of competitive
Greeks and Romans used it      swimming.
as a means of training
prospective soldiers.          Swimming has been part
                               of the Olympic schedule
But how did it become          since the very first modern
an Olympic staple?             Olympic Games in 1896.
                               Swimming at the Olympics
Swimming started its           has changed a lot since
sporting journey in the        then – in 1896 there were
mid-19th century, when         just four men’s races, all
the world’s first swimming     held in the Mediterranean
organisation was formed in     Sea!

A Splash-tastic Swimming
  Word Search

    FREESTYLE           OLYMPICS           SWIMMER
    DIVINGBOARD         RACE               BREASTSTROKE
    OCEAN               FRONTCRAWL         LANES
    BUTTERFLY           RELAY              WATER
    BACKSTROKE          POOL               DIVER
    WHISTLE             SWIMMING

You can also play this wordsearch digitally at:
https://tinyurl.com/oomphswimming

Precarious
beginnings…
Experimental beginnings
brought some rather
unique events to those
early Games.

At the inaugural modern
Olympics in Athens,
swimming events included
the 100m freestyle for      After being exposed to
sailors, which only         temperatures of 13°C in
members of the Greek        the Mediterranean (a
navy could compete in.      modern Olympic pool is
                            around 25-28°C) during
Until the London 1908       the 1,200m freestyle race
Games, Olympic swimming     – in which he won gold –
events took place in open   Alfréd Hajós said: “My will
water. This left the        to live completely
swimmers at the mercy of    overcame my desire to
the elements, contending    win”, illustrating the
with the weather and        precarious nature of the
waves.                      early swimming events.

I’m relay fast in the pool!
Creative Colouring Page.

Strange
Swimming Facts
1. Paintings found in Egypt    6. Breaststroke is the

depict people swimming         slowest Olympic stroke.

back in 2500 BCE.
                               7. Swimmers are actually

2. 65% of Americans can’t      still sweating while

swim!                          swimming in the pool –
                               remember to hydrate!

3. The biggest pool in the
world is 7 times bigger        8. The first ever swimming

than a football field and      goggles were crafted from

you can find it in             tortoise shells.

Casablanca, Morocco.
                               9. In 2007, an amazing

4. The Titanic was the first   swimmer called Martin Strel

ocean liner to have a          swam the 5,268km length

swimming pool.                 of the Amazon River in a
                               record-breaking 66 days.

5. Swimmers’ ankles are so
flexible, they can touch the   10. Swimming is a full body

ground with their toes         exercise. You name the

while laying down on their     muscle, swimming probably

backs.                         uses it.

A Swimmer’s Sudoku
Fill in the letters on the grid so that each row
contains the numbers 1-9 and each 3x3 grid
contains the numbers 1-9.

Cool in the pool!
Creative Colouring Page

Shape Sudoku
Fill in the empty boxes on the grid with the
shapes so that each row contains one of the
4 shapes with each 4x4 grid containing all of
the 4 different shapes.

A Swimming
Crossword

Clues on the next page…

Crossword Clues...
Across                       Down
4. Both arms to move in a    1. When a swimmer is
synchronised way             removed from an event
underwater?                  2. Swimmers compete in
5. Sport or activity of      these at the Olympics?
propelling oneself through   3. Another term for your
water?                       swimming stroke?
6. Swim from one end of      7. When swimming,
the pool to the other?       someone might assign
8. Triangular banners?       you to a specific…
10. A set of international   9. In head first?
sports that happen every 4
years?

Puzzle Solution Page
Word Search

Sudoku

Crossword
Across: 4. Breaststroke, 5. Swimming 6. Lap, 8. Flags,
10. Olympics
Down: 1. Disqualification, 2. Events, 3. Technique, 7.
Lane, 9. Dive