Yap State Swimming Association

16/08/2024

Level 1 Training for YSSA Members held in Pohnpei. Thank you Australia for the oppourtunity for this big first step towards 2032! Let's go Team FSM!

02/04/2018

MicroGames 2018 is just around the corner. So far, it has been a great challenge to identify swimmers for the event(s).

To our current understanding, logistics are still unclear regarding the open-water swimming for MicroGames.

Registration deadline to be a member of Team Yap in the 2018 MicroGames is yet to be determined. If any swimmers are interested in participating on behalf of Team Yap, please let us know and we can help prepare the administrative and logistics aspect of your participation.

If you have any questions, you are encouraged to contact any of the Officials at Yap Sports Complex or any members of YSSA.

10/04/2017

Registration for Yap Games!!

Attention: All Municipal Teams!

Register for your sports event. Please see a Yap Sports Office representative or leave an inquiry here for details on registering for the Swimming events. Registration deadline is May 12, 2017.

The types of events has not yet been determined. Please stay tuned for updates.

04/09/2015

I know that this is not one of our usual post.
But please help to stop this..
Thank you.

This image of little Aylan lying lifeless is the tragic image of Europe's failure to respond to the crisis of our generation. Join the urgent call for our leaders to act urgently to stop the drownings!

18/06/2015

18/06/2015

Hello everyone, I know it's been a while since I have been here to post, but the YSSA is still working for the Swimmers of Yap. The long awaited mooring anchors for the platforms are finally going to be made so our floating platforms won't float away, and the lanes wont get loose. Hopefully they will be ready before the Yap Games so athletes can practice a bit before the competition.
We have also been working on the proposed Yap State Aquatics Facility plans for Micro Games 2018. The proposal was submitted to the Infrastructure Committee this week, and hopefully with enough support we can make this happen.
YSSA Municipal Coaching Applications, YSSA Athlete Registration forms, and more, can be picked up at Yap Sport Complex, or by visiting LT. Collin Heise at Public Safety, or by e-mailing [email protected]
Thank you all for your patience and support.
Collin Heise - YSSA Founder & Co-Chairman
and remember... "Just keep swimming swimming swimming"

18/02/2014

Our sincerest Thanks to Australian Aid, the Australian Government & People, and to the Australian Ambassador!

Australian Aid Grants for Sport in Yap!! - Yap Sport Council - FOX SPORTS PULSE, fixtures, results, ladders, statistics, news and events for the Yap Sport Council, on SportingPulse, the Home of Grassroots Sport

06/09/2013

Hyperventilate While Swimming

May 7, 2011 | By Barrett Barlowe

Breathing properly in swimming takes practice and patience.

Hyperventilation while swimming can be intentional or accidental, but both types of incidents can kill, even in shallow water. Caused by breathing rapidly or taking too many deep breaths in succession, hyperventilation fundamentally alters your blood chemistry and the way your body sends warning signals to your brain. Rather than enriching yourself with oxygen, hyperventilation can lead to dangerously low levels of oxygen.

Beginning swimmers might be nervous about breathing during swimming, as it can be daunting to swim facing down in the water and to regulate breathing during the stroke. You might react by breathing fast, and inadvertently reducing levels of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream. Anxiety mixed with inexpert technique causes swimmers to overexert themselves during the stroke and quickly use up oxygen supplies. Elite swimmers sometimes deliberately hyperventilate in competitive workouts whether swimming underwater or mindfully limiting breathing during lap swimming. Either way, you use up oxygen but might be unaware of the dire situation.

Mechanism

Sensors in your aorta and carotid arteries alert your brain when carbon dioxide levels rise, and trigger you to take a breath. Hyperventilating sends your cardiovascular system out of balance, diluting carbon dioxide concentration. Diminished concentration levels of carbon dioxide lull your brain into the false security. You run out of oxygen without ever feeling the urge to replenish the supply.
Dangers

Holding your breath underwater after you hyperventilate can lead to shallow-water blackout, a condition in which you become disoriented and then lose consciousness. Once unconscious, you reflexively gasp for air, taking in water and potentially drowning. Hyperventilation and resulting low air, or hypoxia alters your blood's pH levels, and levels falling below 7.2 can cause fatal heart arrhythmias and death according to Dr. Tom Griffiths and Dr. Walter Griffiths in an online article for Aquatic Safety Research Group.
Prevention

You can prevent accidental hyperventilation by learning to relax in the water. Practice drills can teach you how to regulate your breathing while swimming. The more you practice, the less anxious you will feel, and the easier you will breathe. Never engage in competitive breath-holding or extensive "no-breather" underwater training, regardless of challenges from teammates or even coaches. The American Red Cross and the YMCA work to raise public awareness about the dangers of hyperventilation while swimming.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/437154-i-hyperventilate-while-swimming/

05/09/2013

Drowning Facts and Figures

Why so much emphasis on staying safe around water? Unlike many animals that instinctively and naturally swim if suddenly dropped into the water, humans must learn how to survive in the water. Swimming and water survival skills are not difficult to learn though. As history shows, many cultures throughout the ages have recognized the value of such skills.

Lifesaving and Personal Survival

The earliest movements to help people become safer in and around the water focused on learning to swim and other survival techniques. This is often called personal survival: being able to help oneself from trouble in the water without the help of others, or being able to keep from drowning while waiting for help.
Obviously it is important to know how to swim if you find yourself in water and unable to reach safety immediately.

But even those who know how to swim might need to use personal survival skills in situations like these:

A person might not be able to swim to safety after falling out of a boat or swimming out too far.

Someone might be carried away by a strong current.

Unforeseen circumstances may develop, such as cramps or an inability to swim because of very cold water.

A pedestrian may fall from a pier or be swept from shore by a large wave.

Beyond knowing how to swim, personal survival skills include:

Survival floating including HELP (Heat Escape Lessening Position).

Treading water and sculling.

Orienting yourself underwater.

Many of these skills have evolved from training given to military personnel. As people increasingly take to the water for sport and recreation, there has been a renewed interest in such personal survival skills. Many people spend their work or free time close to or on the water, and they are realizing that if they have difficulties in the water, survival techniques can save them.

Lifesaving and Life-guarding

The terms “lifesaver” and “lifeguard” are used around the world to describe individuals with special training who are stationed to prevent accidents and to respond to life-threatening emergencies in the aquatic environment. We encourage you to pursue such training yourself, if you have not already done so, to learn the knowledge and skills that may help you save a life.

Drowning Statistics

To understand why it is so important to think about safety when in or around the water, one need only look at drowning statistics. Even with swimming and safety classes available in many countries, large numbers of people still drown every year. The best scientific evidence available has taught us that 1.2 million people around the world die by drowning every year, that is more than two persons per minute. From that more than 50 percent are children. There are perhaps eight to ten times that many who experience a drowning process but who reach safety alone or are rescued by their peers, by others or by lifesavers/lifeguards.

About one third of children who drown do so in and around the home. Even children with one or more swimming certificates may drown in emergencies. Drowning rates vary considerably around the world for a number of reasons. For example, in some countries, fewer people learn to swim. Others countries are prone to flooding, in which more people unexpectedly find themselves in water emergencies.

Who Drowns? In What Circumstances?

To better understand how and why people drown, so that more can be done to prevent drownings and to save lives, the ILS has studied more than 1,000 drowning incidents in detail and examined statistics for more than 10,000 other drownings.

The following information is based on this study.
Gender & Age
Overall, far more drowning victims are male than female. Perhaps this is so because, worldwide, more men than women participate in water sports or are near water in their work or recreation. Men may also take more and greater risks, or tend more often to overrate their swimming abilities.

Worldwide, most drownings occur to people in three age categories:
0 to 5 years old
20 to 25 years old
over 60 years old

All over the world, infants and toddlers drown more frequently than people at any other age. In this age group drowning is the leading cause of death, followed by accidents in and around the home and road traffic accidents. Inadequate supervision, an inability to swim, and lack of barriers separating toddlers from pools and other water are the main causes of drownings of small children.
Older children drown less frequently but still in large numbers. They generally drown because of their parents’ inadequate supervision. Parents may have unrealistic expectations about how well their children obey their safety rules when not directly supervised.
Frequent participation in water sports as well as a tendency to be more reckless could explain the high drowning rate among those 20 to 25 years of age.
The high drowning rate of older people may be related to difficulties managing emergency situations. Many older people have never learned to swim. They also are more likely to have health problems that can cause loss of consciousness while swimming, such as a heart attack or low blood pressure.

When and Where People Drown?

Drownings happen year round and at all hours of the day and night. However, it is clear that drownings peak in the warmer seasons as people flock to the water for recreation and relief from the heat. Prime time for drownings is mid to late afternoon. Again, this is largely predictable given that this is the hottest part of the day. By late afternoon, after several hours of water recreation – and perhaps alcohol – people are generally more tired and less able to make good judgments about risk.
The vast majority of drownings occur in open water– the sea, lakes, ponds, rivers. However, drownings occur in all water including swimming pools and bathtubs. Small children have been known to drown in just a few inches of water – in buckets and ditches for example.

Circumstances

Most drownings happen in environments and during activities unsupervised by lifeguards. And the great majority of drownings occur in circumstances where the victim has no intention of going into the water.
In terms of recreation, those involving small, and especially motorized boats rank high in the list of activities drowning victims were engaged in. Drowning is the main reason for these deaths and it often occurs after a collision with other boats or objects, capsizing or falling overboard are the main causes of these boating-related deaths. This is why the wearing of life jackets is so important aboard any boat.

One quarter of drowning victims were swimmers.
Young children 2 to 4 years of age have a higher risk of drowning than any other age group. Most of these children are alone and playing near water when they fell in and drowned. The backyard swimming pool is the riskiest site for these youngsters.
Four out of every ten drownings happen within two meters of shore or the pool side. And one-quarter happen in shallow water one meter deep or less.
One-third of water-related deaths occur after dark, including fatal boating collisions and in Canada e.g. snowmobiling drownings.
In Finland e.g. yearly over 50 accidents occur while driving over ice that is too thin to support the car.
Twenty percent of all drownings occur at private homes.
Few victims in boating deaths were wearing a life jacket – and one-quarter do not even have a life jacket in the boat.
Approximately 3,000 people world wide become partially or completely paralyzed each year as a result of breaking their necks. Most of these injuries occur while diving into shallow water.

The ILS estimates that over 1,000,000 rescues are made each year in the World by lifesavers and lifeguards certified in the member federation’s training programs.

In Conclusion

While drowning takes a large toll around the world, there is some good news: hundreds of thousands of lives are saved every year by trained lifesavers and lifeguards. And even though greater numbers of people now engage in water activities, the drowning rates have not gone up.
This means that a combination of a growing interest in water safety and better training for lifesavers and lifeguards is in some areas successfully preventing many drownings.

© 2002-2010 all rights reserved | International Life Saving Federation

The International Lifesaving Federation (ILS) is the world authority for drowning prevention, lifesaving and lifesaving sport. ILS leads, supports and collaborates with national and international organisations engaged in drowning prevention, water safety, water rescue, lifesaving, lifeguarding and l...

03/09/2013

Yap State Swimming Association
2014 MICRONESIAN GAMES - Preparation Training Program

From the very beginning of the YSSA Competitive Swimming Program, each Athlete is required to fill out and sign a YSSA
Athlete Registration Form. This will assign them a number for easy tracking, throughout the program.

The YSSA has its own dedicated Photographer who will record a forward facing head-shot photo of each athlete on the day of
registration, to be attached to the YSSA Athlete Registration Form, and both will be digitally entered into the YSSA Database.
The Photographer will be at all scheduled Trainings, Practices, and Competitions, as well as the Individual Athlete Evaluations
(IAE's) to record still pictures as well as videos of the athletes.

The Individual Athlete Evaluations (IAE's) will be done in Mid October, and Early December. These IAE's are designed with a number based performance scale in several categories, that will
record the athletes overall performance. All data will be recorded in the Athletes Database File.

The Weekly Progress Reports are also designed with a number based performance scale in several categories, that will record
the athletes general performance. All data will be recorded in the Athletes Database File.

Week #1 of the program, the athletes will be taught & tested on the YSSA Open Water Safety Code & the YSSA Whistle Commands. They will also learn in the FOUNDATIONS OF COMPETITIVE SWIMMING with Understanding Your position in the water, with topics that include; Center of Buoyancy & Neutral Position, Drag Forces & Drag Shadow, Stroke Efficiency & Technique, and Streamlining is Essential. (Note: Scores from Written Test will also be recorded in the Athletes Database File.)

Week #2 of the program, the FOUNDATIONS OF COMPETITIVE SWIMMING continues with Understanding Your Body, with topics that include; The Truth about Stretching, Proper Intensity Warm-up, Understanding Drills & Sets, Warm Down, Metabolism & Physiological Balance, and Your Fuel - Nutrition & Food.

Week #3 of the program, the FOUNDATIONS OF COMPETITIVE SWIMMING continues with Understanding Your Responsibility to the Sport, with topics that include; Dedication & Personal Drive, Attendance & Evaluations, Setting Practice Goals, Physical Conditioning, and Training Recovery Strategies.

Week #4 of the program, the TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMING begins with Stroke Development, with topics that include; The Side Stroke, The Breaststroke, The Freestyle, The Back Stroke, and The Butterfly Stroke.

Week #5 of the program, the TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMING continues with Stroke Development, with topics that include; Free/Back Combo Drills, IM Pyramids & Sprint Sets, Kicking & Pulling Drills, Resistance Drills, and (IAE's) will begin.

Week #6 of the program, the TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMING continues with Stroke Development, with topics that include; Endurance & Breathing Drills, Individual Problem Solving, Technique & Concentration, Analyzing Your Skills, and (IAE's) continue.

Week #7 of the program, the TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMING continues with Stroke Development, with topics that include; Implementing Athlete Specific Solutions to fix anomalies found during IAE's & Skills Analysis, Lap Drills, and Practicing Starts – Entry Form.

Week #8 of the program, the TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMING continues with Stroke Development, with topics that include; Implementing Athlete Specific Solutions to fix anomalies found during IAE's & Skills Analysis, and Practice Flip Turns & Lap Drills.

Week #9 of the program, the TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMING starts with Choosing Your Events, with topics that include; Customizing Individual Athlete Event Workout Plans for Maximum Power, Endurance, and Efficiency. Along with Lap Drills with Starts & Turns.

Week #10 of the program, the TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMING starts with the Creating Event Squads. Freestyle
Sprinters Squad, Breast Stroke Sprinters Squad, Back Stroke Sprinters Squad, Butterfly Sprinters Squad, and Distance / Open Water Squad. Followed by Elect Event Squad Leaders, Event Squad Meetings , and Planning Squad Strategy.

Week #11 of the program, the TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMING starts with The Makings of a TEAM, with topics that include; Mindset - Commitment, Attitude, Dedication, & Spirit!, Squad Leaders Meeting, Discussion of Strategy Goals, Open Water Drills, and Sprinter Drills. It continues with Refining Your Core, with topics that include; Balanced Strength Training, Dryland Fitness Training, Cumulative Aspect Training, Laps, Sets, & Drills.

Week #12 of the program, the TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMING continues with Refining Your Core, with topics that include; Balanced Strength Training, Dryland Fitness Training, Cumulative Aspect Training, Laps, Sets, & Drills.

Week #13 of the program, the TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMING starts with Stroke Refinement, concentrating on Free/Back Combo Drills, IM Pyramids & Sprint Sets, Kicking & Pulling Drills, Resistance Drills, and (IAE's) once again.

Week #14 of the program, YOU ARE A COMPETITIVE SWIMMER starts Looking Ahead, with the postings of the individual athletes YSSA Ranking. Nominations for Team Captain, Co-Captain, & Lieutenants will be held. Continued practice of IM Pyramids & Sprint Sets, Laps & Drills.
The YAP STATE SWIM TEAM is Born, with the Announcement of Team Captain, Co-Captain, & Lieutenants.
YAP STATE SWIM TEAM & the Y.S.S.A. Future Outlook, and Team Meeting.

Ending Week #14 the athletes will participate in the Mixed Squad – Relay Medleys, and the first ever "Pyramid of PAIN !!!" Team Competition. All data recorded on these days will be recorded in the Athletes Database File.

01/09/2013

Satellite view of the YSSA Proposed - Swimming Training Area in Colonia, Yap, FSM.

01/09/2013

Welcome to the Yap State Swimming Association new FB page.