Rock Pride E-Newsletter

Underwater cameras improve
swimmers' strokes, add efficiency

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - With his snorkel in place and an underwater camera in hand, Adam Katcmarchi motions for the swimmer to push off the side of the Morrow Field House pool. The Slippery Rock University physical education major is videotaping swimmers so they can research stroke technique, improve their swimming and become better aquatics teachers.

"The cameras allow us to tape a student's stroke and give them a mental image to work with and fix," Katchmarchi said. "I have used the cameras to help many students improve their strokes, and I have used it to improve my own."

Technology has opened up many new research opportunities in higher education, including SRU's physical education course "Aquatic Fundamentals" taught by Robert Ogoreuc and Istavan Kovacs, assistant professors of physical education.

Students are using underwater cameras to videotape and take pictures of each other's freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke and backstroke. Each student then receives a videotape and digital photos on a portable drive so that they can analyze their own stroke and make improvements. They research proper swimming techniques, watch videos of Olympians such as Michael Phelps and then write a technique reflection paper summarizing their findings.

"I can stand on the deck and tell someone what is wrong with their stroke until I am blue in face. Letting the swimmer see it for themselves can lead to a better understanding of skills and a better-looking stroke," Katchmarchi said. "You have to watch from a multitude of different angles and levels to find out what is really going on with a swimmer's stroke and skills, including from under the water."

Ogoreuc said the eight SeaLife cameras were purchased through SRU's Technology Fee. They work like conventional digital cameras but come with a waterproof casing. Students use them in aquatic fundamentals and a scuba class.

Katchmarchi said using a camera has made a huge impact on his own swimming.

"I have been swimming recreationally since I was a young child and for the past four years as an instructor," he said. "When I was first filmed, I noticed that my front crawl stroke kick had flaws in it. Had it not been for this underwater filming, I would never have been aware of the flaws. This allowed me to figure out how to fix the problem by thinking about the errors when swimming."

Katchmarchi said he volunteers to work with SRU students in the pool during common Tuesday and Thursday common hour. "I run a 'help period' with other students who need help with their swimming skills," he said. "I can tell students how to fix their skills."

He has also used the cameras to make a video for SRU's "Technology in Physical Education" class. "In the video, I filmed the front crawl while I did a voiceover explaining the important parts and skills of the stroke and how everything flows together," he said. "I plan to do more research and writing about the use of cameras in the water."

Ogoreuc said the aquatics class, a requirement for physical education majors, covers many of science's fundamental principles of physics, including the Bernoulli's Principle. The principle shows that as the velocity of fluid increases, the pressure exerted by that fluid decreases. Students also study hydrodynamics and "action and reaction."

"We even talk about how Newton's Law come into effect," Ogoreuc said.

Under water observation of stroke is not new. The field house pool has an underground observation deck, which has enabled coaches to observe swimmers' technique from a distance since the pool opened in 1960. The underwater cameras, though, enable students to easily have themselves videotaped for the first time and learn from what the see.

"One of the things we talk about is evaluating swimmers through the three dimensional aspect, including the length of the stroke, the width of the stroke and the depth of the stroke," Ogoreuc said. "So essentially, what we're able to do is move through those different dimensions and take video clips, so that students can see what they're doing as far as their arm movements, their body positions, their leg movements and the timing of their strokes. They are doing a self-analysis and taking a little more ownership on the performance of their stroke."

Breaking down stroke helps swimmers correct stroke errors they may not be aware of, he said. "In many athletic events, especially with swimming, what they perceive that they're doing and what they're actually doing can be two different things," Ogoreuc said.

Since most of the students in the class plan to become physical education teachers, stroke analysis teaches them lessons that they will be able to share with their future students. "We're working on their performance, but we also need to start developing their eyes as far as becoming future teachers," Ogoreuc said. "The digital camera is helping them to develop their eyes, so that they can transfer to other students in a few years what they are learning here."

Jason Johnson, a physical education major from Titusville, videotaped swimmers for the first time Wednesday. He stood in the shallow end of the pool and taped swimmers using freestyle for one lap.

"Being part of the aquatics program at Slippery Rock University has prepared me to be a better teacher," he said. "I was uncomfortable in the water before beginning this program, but I am now just as comfortable teaching in the water as I am teaching in the gym. The program has provided me with knowledge that will make me much more marketable in the future."

Johnson videotaped 25 students, including Jayme Ryan, a physical education major from Clearfield, who said after swimming a lap, "I like the class. The camera is going to let me see what I am doing wrong."

Katchmarchi said he appreciates the program as well. "I feel extremely privileged to be a student at SRU in the physical education and aquatics program," he said. "The opportunities I have as a student are in my mind extraordinary. Being a part of the program will lead to me being the most successful aquatic professional I can be in the near future."

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