Measuring the level of impact of educational tools on developing the turning skill and achievement in 200-meter freestyle swimming for young swimmers aged 15-17 years.

Abstract

The aim of the research was to: prepare skill exercises using educational tools along with exercises to improve the turning skill in 200-meter freestyle swimming for juniors aged 15-17 years, and to identify the effect of these skills using exercises with educational tools in improving the turning skill in 200-meter freestyle swimming for the youth category aged 15-17 years. The researcher adopted the experimental method with experimental and control groups, as it suits the nature of the research. The research population was determined as swimmers from Al-Adhamiya Sports Club for the 2024-2025 season, totaling 12 swimmers, and the research sample was formed from the same population, i.e., 100% of the original population. The researchers divided the sample into: 4 swimmers for the exploratory experiment and 10 swimmers for the main experiment. The researchers also ensured the homogeneity of the research sample in research variables that might cause extreme results in the tests. The tests used in the research were determined as follows (turning skill test in freestyle swimming and 200-meter freestyle swimming performance test). The researchers conducted a mini and similar experiment to the real experiment on a sample of 4 swimmers selected from Al-Adhamiya Club swimmers who practice freestyle swimming on 15/7/2024, and different observations about the tests and instructions were recorded, and obstacles, difficulties, and errors that might occur during the main experiment were identified to avoid them, know the appropriate timing for each timer, and the positions of referees and timers, and know the time required to conduct the tests. Pre-tests were conducted for the research sample members by the assistant team, and the researchers fixed the conditions and methods of conducting the tests to achieve the same conditions as much as possible when conducting the post-tests. Therefore, the pre-tests were conducted at exactly eleven o’clock in the morning on 20/7/2024, where a 25-meter freestyle swimming test and a 200-meter freestyle swimming performance test were conducted. After that, the main experiment was conducted with a number of units reaching 32 units, at a rate of 3 training units per week, training duration of 15 weeks, and the intensities used ranged between 80%-90% with a 4:1 progression method. The researcher concluded that the results showed that the use of innovative educational tools significantly contributes to improving the turning skill among young swimmers. The exercises using educational tools contributed to reducing the total time required to complete the 200-meter freestyle race. The study showed that targeted exercises that focus on technical skills such as turning lead to a noticeable improvement in sports performance. The exercises also helped improve basic swimming skills, qualifying swimmers for higher-level competitions.