Sport is a very interesting and health-giving activity. Many people around the world are engaged in sports. Sports could be divided into amateur and professional. There are many kinds of sports that appeared not long ago, but there are such sports that have great history, for instance, swimming has a great and long history.
There are some interesting drawings that were found in the south-western part of Egypt in "the cave of swimmers" near Libya, those pictures created in the Stone Age. These drawings seem to show dog paddle or breaststroke, but it may also be possible that the action have some other meaning, for instance a ritual meaning that has no connection to swimming.
Perhaps, someone knows that "the cave of swimmers" is also featured in the movie "The English Patient". A clay seal of Egyptian dated approximately between 3500 B.C. and 8500 B.C. indicates four swimmers who are supposed to be swimming a version of the front crawl style.
More relations to swimming are discovered in bas-reliefs of Babylonia and wall drawings of Assyria, showing a version of the breaststroke. In the Kebir desert the most famous pictures have been found and are considered to be from around 3500 B.C. Bas-relief of the Nagoda also displays swimmers in approximately 3000 B.C.
The Mohenjo Daro (Indian palace) from 2800B.C. contains a resemblance of modern swimming pool with size about 30m by 60m. The Minos of Knossos (Minoan palace) in Crete also has some interesting drawings. An Egyptian tomb dated approximately 2000 B.C. displays a version of the modern front crawl style.
Pictures of swimmers were also discovered from the Minoans, Hittites and other civilizations of the Middle East, mosaics in Pompeii and the Maya in the Teotihuacan Tepantitla House.
Nowadays there are two kinds of swimming: amateur and competitive swimming. Almost every one of us has ever swum in swimming pool or in the sea. As a rule we swim for relaxation or with the purpose of care about body shape and health. But competitive swimming is a special swimming that has a goal to maximize action, as a rule the swimming speed. Competitive swimming got popularity in the early 19th century, and of course swimming is one of the Summer Olympic Games events.
FINA is a competitive swimming international governing corporation, which includes regional sub groups such as USMS (United States Masters Swimming) and USAS (USA Swimming) in the United States; also it includes ASA (Amateur Swimming Association) and STA (Swimming Teachers Association) in the United Kingdom. Also there is WSCA (world swimming coaches association) and local swimming coaches association such as American Swimming Coaches Association, Canadian Swimming Coaches Association, British Swimming Coaches Association and other coaches associations. So, swimming coaching as like as other professional activities has its legal entity.
It's very interesting that modern swimming uses an electric timing that is called the "touch pad" and the very comfortable to register swimmer's touching the lane end and finishing. That timing tool was created by Bill Parkinson and got its use in 1957.