Diving on the Back
The child pushes off underwater on its back at a depth of about 1.5 meters. The arms rest at the sides of the body, or in a later step are stretched out. The child then begins an alternating kick underwater and tries to dive at least 10 meters. The body stays fully extended and the chin leans back. The child breathes out evenly through the nose to prevent water from entering the nose.
Preparation Exercises
Without Kicking
The child pushes off on its back about 1.50 metres deep under water. The arms rest at the sides of the body or, in a later step, are stretched out. However, in this preparatory exercise the flutter kick is omitted and the child only glides. While doing so, it exhales steadily through the nose as in the main exercise. The flutter kick under water makes it harder for the children to stretch out. In this exercise that component is removed so that the child can fully concentrate on the extension and the breathing.
Hook In and Exhale
The child hooks its knees onto the edge of the pool (see picture). Then it lowers its upper body backward under water and leans the chin back, so that water could flow unhindered into the nose. To counteract this, the child exhales steadily through both nostrils. This exercise practises the steady exhalation in isolation.
