Leg exercises for choreographic preparation in artistic

swimming for sports initiation

Abstract

The sports preparation of the Artistic Swimming at present is aimed at perfecting the

specificities of performance in this sport. In this context, a task to be solved immediately

is related to the difficulty of the coaches to face the choreographic preparation, which

constitutes a fundamental part of the training process. For this reason, the objective of

this research was to select exercises that, due to their characteristics, allow coaches to

choreographically prepare their athletes, taking into account their feasibility to conceive

execution routines in the sports initiation stage. Different methods were used such as

document review, analysis and synthesis, interviews and techniques such as the

methodological workshop. The investigative process allowed to establish as part of the

choreographic preparation, a proposal of leg exercises to be carried out in the Dance

Barre, which could improve the execution in this segment of the body during the

performance of the routines. The proposal was valued as very suitable for its purposes

by specialists, so it means a useful tool to minimize a problem for coaches, in order to

achieve successful presentations of their athletes in the competition.

Keywords: choreographic preparation, artistic swimming, sports initiation

Introduction

Sports practice at an early age is of great importance for the physical, cognitive and

affective development of children, especially in competitive art sports such as Artistic

Swimming (Fons and Ruiz, 2021; Romero, et. al., 2022). This modality is also known as

Synchronized Swimming or Synchronized Swimming and is distinguished by its

technical requirements that make it a unique sport, since it is a discipline that combines

Swimming, Gymnastics and Dance (Podrihalo, et. al., 2021; Hernández, Brito and

Wanton, 2021). To this we can add that, according to the Federation Internationale de

Gymnastique (FIG), in its Development and High Competition Program for age groups

in Acrobatic Gymnastics (2021), the rapid increase in the degree of difficulty of acrobatic

performances, It has been the result of increasing the volume and intensity of training at

ever younger ages.

The protagonists, swimmers, perform in the modalities of solos, duos, teams or combined.

The latter are also called combos, which perform a series of elaborate movements in the

water, to the rhythm of the music. Although currently the discipline of mixed duos has

been added, due to the demand of men interested in competing (ISF, 2021).

Sports training is a pedagogical, complex and specialized process that requires an

integrating scientific direction of each of the components of the teaching-learning process

to obtain sports results (Burt, Naughton, Higham & Landeo, 2020; Romero, et. al., 2022).

This is an aspect that must be treated with great precision due to the complexity of the

executions, hence the importance of carrying out a good choreographic preparation (ChP)

of the athletes.

In this sport, as part of the ChP, the work of the legs is essential in carrying out adequate

presentation routines. The athletes must demonstrate continuous movements, developing

their performance with elements of a high degree of technical difficulty. The practice of

this discipline contains various peculiarities closely related to the character and typology

of other disciplines such as Dance (Afre, Ganda and Noda, 2016). The power and potency

in sport is manifested in the work of routines and choreography. They are designed with

a harmonious character, where different arm and leg movements and combinations of

these are performed with a high degree of complexity (Carro, 2000; Navarro, 2006).

One of the aspects that brings the most beauty to this sport is undoubtedly the majesty of

the work with the legs carried out by the athletes when they stand out from the water

surface. During the execution of the routines, the athletes must reflect that there is no

effort in their demonstration, where different angles are formed between the legs and

between them and the trunk (Cortés, 2013 and 2014). As in other sports, technical

preparation is of great importance and requires work in accordance with the requirements

from the base to the High Performance pyramid (Solana, et. al., 2019).

The practice begins from an early age between 5 and 6 years of age, although the base of

the pyramid falls on the categories 7 - 8 years and 9 - 10 years, where work is done by

Teaching Programs. All this means that when planning the preparation process, coaches

take into account what is indicated in the Comprehensive Athlete Preparation Program

(ISMPP) for these categories (Simón, et. al., 2016).

An aspect to consider in the sports initiation of this sport is the leg work during the

execution of the routines carried out by the athletes, which usually last three to four

minutes. The athletes hold their breath for long periods of time, up to 30 seconds,

however, in the content proposed in the current Comprehensive Athlete Preparation

Program (ISMPP) of Artistic Swimming, no reference is made to leg exercises that allow

the trainers, the development of the PC in the classes. Therefore, in the opinion of the

authors, it still lacks exercises for choreographic preparation. It has been possible to verify

through the Methodological Preparations of this sport in the province of Villa Clara and

the visits to training sessions of the Artistic Swimming coaches for sports initiation, that

many of the exercises applied do not allow to specify adequate routines to solve the

deficiencies of the athletes regarding the quality and beauty of footwork.

The choreographers and trainers, in their desire to solve their problems, transfer the

content of the ISMPP of Rhythmic Gymnastics or another related sport to their training.

In this sense, they take exercises that they consider basic for the CP, which they apply to

the athletes three times a week, although to a certain extent decontextualized with respect

to the characteristics of the competitive activity. From the above, it can be deduced that

this preparation is carried out empirically, since these exercises are extrapolated without

taking into account their contextualization to the inherent needs of this sport. To this it

can be added that the trainers set up the routines using exercises based on their criteria

and personal appreciations, without a solid foundation or simply taking exercises from

other related modalities.

The investigations in this sense are scarce in comparison with other sports, despite the

fact that the National Commission of this sport in Cuba guides working the Ch P three

times a week. Although for some years there have been studies on Artistic Swimming

such as those developed by Hernández, Brito, and Wanton (2021) that propose historical

background of the training process of the figures, as well as that of Fons and Ruiz (2021)

that It provides a preparation system to develop explosive strength in the lower limbs,

these do not include the contents for the ChP in training, which include the difficulty and

virtuosity demanded by the competition. Taking into account the above, the objective of

this work was to select exercises that, due to their characteristics, allow coaches to

choreographically prepare their athletes, taking into account their feasibility to conceive

execution routines in the sports initiation stage.

Materials and methods

The research is descriptive and for its development we worked with three populations.

The first made up of four Artistic Swimming coaches at the School of Sports Initiation

School (SIS) of Villa Clara, directly linked to the training of this sport in said center. This

group had the characteristics that one had a degree in Physical Culture and the rest

graduated from intermediate level, with an average of three years of work in sports.

A second population made up of five Provincial Methodologists of this sport, in the

central region of Cuba (provinces of Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de

Ávila and Camagüey) who accompanied their delegations, during a Preparatory

Competition held at the SIS from Villa Clara in March 2018. All of them graduated in

Physical Culture, ages between 28 and 40 years old and three with a Master's degree in

Sports Training. With these two populations we worked to diagnose the deficiencies and

needs of the trainers regarding the ChP. We also worked with a third population made up

of the 16 coaches who participated with their athletes in the Artistic Swimming

competition of the High Performance National School Games in its 2019 edition. All

provinces were represented and all of them were characteristic. they had more than 5

years of experience as trainers or judges. They were used in the research to establish

exercises for the ChP of Artistic Swimming athletes and the characteristics that they

should have.

We also worked with an intentional sample of 8 specialists with special characteristics,

which were used to determine the relevance of the exercise proposal. The specialist

criterion was considered, considering as such people who met the following

characteristics:

✓ Have at least 8 years of experience as an Artistic Swimming coach.

✓ Hold the scientific category of Specialist, Master or Doctor in Physical Culture

Sciences.

✓ Possess experience and category of Judge.

✓ Having worked in Artistic Swimming for sports initiation or linked to it in some

way for at least 5 years.

✓ To have worked in the sport initiation of this modality.

Different methods and techniques were used such as: analysis and synthesis and

inductive-deductive, document analysis, interview and specialist criteria. Methodological

workshops and brainstorming were used as research techniques. The research went

through three phases, the first had the objective of diagnosing the needs of the Artistic

Swimming coaches to develop the ChP in the sports initiation of this sport and to establish

the characteristics that leg exercises should have to develop adequate routines in this type

of preparation in sports initiation stage.

The second phase had the objective of selecting leg exercises for Artistic Swimming and

with this, adequately conceiving the ChP of the routines. Within the framework of the

High Performance National School Games 2019, two sessions of methodological

workshops were held with the aforementioned trainers. In the first, a specialized