page_title: Swimming
section_title: Recreation
hierarchical_section_title: Swimming / Purpose / Recreation
caption_attribution_description: English: From the University of Maryland Digital Collections website: "A police officer holds a crowd of people back from the water as a group of children play in the water, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1905. Postcard number: 9642."
context_page_description: Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs, the body, or both. Humans can hold their breath underwater and undertake rudimentary locomotive swimming within weeks of birth, as a survival response.
  Swimming is consistently among the top public recreational activities, and in some countries, swimming lessons are a compulsory part of the educational curriculum. As a formalized sport, swimming features in a range of local, national, and international competitions, including every modern Summer Olympics.
context_section_description: Many swimmers swim for recreation, with swimming consistently ranking as one of the physical activities people are most likely to take part in.  Recreational swimming can also be used for exercise, relaxation or rehabilitation.  The support of the water, and the reduction in impact, make swimming accessible for people who are unable to undertake activities such as running. Swimming is one of the most relaxing activities, water is known to calm us and can help reduce stress.
caption: Children's bathing beach, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 1905
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