The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-07-23

or Bath Beach-A Lesson for Begtn-
 ner-why somo Women Can't swim
 WeII-An Exhibition on the Float.
 ''Yes. sir. right along this shore from
 here to Fort Hamilton is the greatest
 place in the world for developing strong
 swimmers. Why, even the babies
 swim.
 T have studied this subject and
 know what I'm talking about when I
 say that you won't find anywhere else in this country strip of beach of like length that has produced so many ex- perts in the water, especially women experts.
 It was one of the many aquatic au- thorities of Bath Beach. who spoke.
 The reasons are plain enough" he went on. There is big and prosper ous population down here all the year round, and from May until October the center of things is on the water
 The girls don't have much to do but amuse themselves. About the time they begin to learn to walk they begin to paddle, and from this it is only a step to swimming.
 This is why almost all the champion women swimmers of this part of the country have lived at Bath Beach or Fort Hamilton. There IS one of them down here in front of usn ow.
 ''See her? She's teaching that little girl her first strokes. She's never been beaten by a woman, and stands ready to swim against any in the world.
 The Bath Beacher pointed to a finely formed, auburn-hair young woman waist-deep in the water in front of the pavilion. A move down to the sand brought the sound of her voice across the little ripping waves.
 Now, Minnie, don't hold your head so high. What if you do get it under? It won't hurt you Now swim toward me.
 That's right; come on. But keep your fingers together and your chin down more. {
 That's better; but, oh, dear don't swim so fast. You're not in race. Take it easy; there's no hurry. Spread your legs out more--aWay out
 The little girl swan a few jerky strokes and then, to keep her head from going under, schambled, panting, to her feet. 8 That was pretty good, but you are. out of breath, aren't you, Minnie? Try to breathe more deeply and slowly. Every time you reach out your arms take a long breath and don't take an other till you begin the next stroke. Now, again.
 5 In a few minutes the lesson was over and the young woman stood on the beach.
 Isn't the little girl rather young to be learning to swim?', { Young? Why, no: she's at least six.''
 You wouldn't say six was young for swimming, tllen?"
 1Of course not. I learned when I was three and won my first medal when was five. The younger one learns the better. but any fairly healthy woman under fifty can learn. She makes a if she thinks she's too old
 You see swimming is not at all a violent exercise, if you go about it in the right way. Most women can float on their backs without any effort, and only slight motions of the arms and legs are neeedd for the leisurely breast stroke.
 Yes, of course, the point is to make the right motions, and because the l right muscles aren't developed in the average woman she finds the move- ments strange at first. She's very like l ly to try to swim by bending just her knees. She finds this don't do and then she says, Oh, dear, can never learn to swim! My head goes down and my feet come up.
 "Of course her feet are apt to come 1 up unless she spreads them as wide apart as possible when she begins the stroke and then brings them together with a motion something like that of a pair of scissors closing, except that :, there is little corkscrew twist about I 1t. The muscles of her lower back and sides are the ones that are chiefly called l into play. l
 And then she must remember to breathe deeply. Full lungs will keep the whole body afoat. The proper way | Is to inhale when you are reaching out | your arms and drawing up your legs Tor the stroke. and to exhale the air | lust after the stroke is gnished and the l body is moving along under it's momen- l .ur1l. Swimming is mainly a matter of | with the chest as what might | De called the. pivot.
 What keeps a good many women | rom ever amounting to anything in the water is vanity. There are usually men 1 lbout, you know, and a great many of | he girls some of them girls who are pretty well along-don't like to come ut with the water trickling down their aces and their hair hanking in wet ;trings.
 Even when wearing an oil skin or ubber cap, the majority try to be very 'areful not to get their heads under These are the ones that don't learn to win1.
 They think it detracts from their ooks, and for the time being, perhaps does.
 Salt water and the sun will give igtht hair a sort of bleached out ap- ,earance- It is a very good plan to wash it with soap in fresh water after he swim.
 If this is done my experience has , 'een that swimming doesn't hurt the air a bit. What if it does have two or hree colors? You might almost say