SCHOOL DETAILS – SADHU VASWANI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

ENGLISH ALS PROJECT

INTERVIEW WITH A SWIMMER
 Acknowledgement
We would like to express our special thanks of gratitude
to our English teacher as well as our principle who gave
us the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project
where we had to interact with a swimmer.
We would also like to thank our parents who supported
and helped us access the materials needed for the
completion of the project.
 Certificate of Completion
This is to certify that xyz of class XII-C of Sadhu
Vaswani International School for Girls have completed
their project file under my guidance. They have taken
proper care and shown utmost sincerity in completing
this project. I certify that this project is up to my
expectations and as per the guidelines issued by CBSE.

Teacher’s Signature
 Objectivesfor Choosingto Interview A
Swimmer
 In term 1, we read a chapter named Deep Water where the
narrator- William Douglas unfolds his story about how he
overcame his fear of water due to many incidents that took
place in his life. Reading his story made me want to ask
swimmers who must have experienced such incidents or
been in likewise situations.
 Swimmers have hard times due to long hour practices and
coping up with their lives side by side.. They have to put
their body through difficult times as it’s a strenuous
activity.
 Looking through how William Douglas made his way from
being afraid of swimming-to-swimming miles in different
lakes made me want to ask the same questions to an
experienced swimmer.
 Interview
with Renessa

1. At what age did you start your path towards becoming a swimmer?
Do you think there's a right age to start swimming or is it okay if one
starts at a later age?
Answer: I started my journey towards swimming at the age of 5. No, I
don't think there's a specific age to start swimming you can start it
whenever you feel like. As it says 'it’s never too late to start'. As long
as you are interested in it you can start it no matter how late or early it
is. It’s never too late to start working on yourself or do what you love.

2. Who helped you start flowing towards becoming aswimmer and

how?
Answer: As a kid I never used to talk to anyone so myteacher asked
my mom to put me in some group activity or sports so I could make
friends and be a little bit more expressive. Then I was put into a lot of
different sports but swimming was something that made me the
happiest. I started swimming on my own the moment I got into the
pool that was the moment that everyone knew, this is something made
for me. From then my journey as a swimmer started. My mom always
supported me and pushed me in order to achieve my goals. If not
because of my mom I would have never gotten the confidence and
strength to push myself and to know what I was capable for.

3. How do you take care of your academics along with swimming?

Answer: To be honest I never get enough time to study or complete
my work along with swimming as I get really tired after practicing.
But I have made a routine so I try to follow it and then it gets easy to
manage both the things. And also, as I have been swimming for a long
time it has become a habit to manage a lot of things together. At first
it was difficult, but now it's normal.

4. What is your long-term goal in swimming?

Answer: I just want to hear my family and the entire country say
'We're proud of you.' nothing less nor nothing more than this.

5. When you started your journey did u feel like giving up? If yes then
how did you overcome it and move forward?
Answer: Yes, I have felt like giving up a lot of times and I still feel
like I should give up. But then all I do is I stand in front of the mirror
and tell myself that 'You are stronger than anybody else just don't give
up, remember why you started? You never started to give up, you
started to fulfil your dreams, your mothers dream. So just keep going.
Hard work always pays off.'

6. How long did it take for you to be a good swimmer?

Answer: I won't say how long it took me to be a good swimmer
because I am still not a good swimmer there are still a lot of things I
need to improve. But I won my first gold medal at the state
championship after one and a half year of my training when I just
started to swim.

7. Why did you plan to pursue swimming?

Answer: Because after I won my first medal everyone and even I
thought that I could accomplish heights in it and that it is something
which I am made for.
8. What are the long-term benefits of swimming and what would
your advice be for the people who are planning to learn swimming?
Answer: Benefits-swimming is an excellent aerobic workout for your
heart and lungs and thus improves bad cholesterol levels, helps
control blood sugar and reduces blood pressure – things that are
important for a healthy lifestyle and longevity. Advice I would give
people who are planning to learn swimming is that if you want to do it
just do it , make the best out of it,swimming is a great sport and you
will not regret learning it and if you've started just don’t give up half
way.

9. What impact did swimming have on your personal life?

Answer: It made me a great person. A person with discipline,
confidence and focus. A person who started to believe in herself.

10. Is there any other sport you have been interested in learning
excluding swimming and why ?
Answer: Yes, I am interested in short put. I once tried it and I did a
pretty much good job in it so that’s why.
 Summary Reports
Swimming is not simply a sport it’s a path that can lead you towards
your dreams and lead you out of the darkest moments of your life but
it all depends on one’s perception. From this interview and the
Chapter “Deep Water” I have learned that even though swimming is a
difficult sport and requires a lot of
patience and determination at the end
all the hard work is worth the effort,
the meaning of any sport varies from
person to person for William
Douglas swimming became the
cause of life long fear whereas for
Renessa swimming became a way to
bright future and even though for
William Douglas curbing the fear of water was an arduous journey he
learnt to conquer his gravest fear and gained self confidence in doing
so.

Fear for everyone is nothing less than a challenge than can only be
won with will and determination but in some cases fear is necessary
for example the Thanatophobia provides some people with a cause to
live whereas Glossophobia if recovered from can provide with a new
found self-confidence. I had Glossophobia and felt self-conscious
every time I was asked to do a presentation and even in family
gatherings, I curbed my fear by pushing my limits and participating in
activities involving public speaking and in doing so I became more
confident and outgoing.

I believe that everyone has the ability to recover from any fears they
may have if they start believing in themselves.
-Chavi Gogna
From this Interview and the chapter “Deep Water” by William
Douglas, I have come to know a lot about swimming and the lifestyle
of a swimmer.
Swimming is a really tough sport as it takes years and years of
practice and experience to be good swimmer and to overcome that
fear of water. You have to train your body and mind to be under water
for hours and practice on a daily basis.
Swimming each stroke requires a set of specific techniques; in
competitions, there are distinct regulations concerning the acceptable
form for each individual stroke. There are also regulations on what
types of swimsuits, caps, and injury tape that are allowed at
competitions. Although it is possible for competitive swimmers to
incur several injuries from the sport, such as tendinitis in the
shoulders or knees, there are also multiple health benefits associated
with the sport.
Being a swimmer and a student is
especially hard as you have to keep up
with your academics as well. And for
that you need focus, dedication,
discipline and believe in yourself. As
long as you have faith in your own self
and your own abilities, you can achieve
anything you desire.
Therefore, I have come to this conclusion that we should challenge
fear in the face of it and finally, it would vanish.We have to overcame
it and conquered it by all means whatsoever as “All we have to fear is
fear itself.” Any fears can be conquered if we try hard enough.Life
becomes meaningful and the desire to live grows once we conquer our
fear.
-Shraddha Kumar
We interviewed a swimmer to find out about her interestsand daily
schedules where she handles her training withher academics running
side by side.
She started swimming at the age of 5, which is an ideal age to start a
sport as when children are young, they tend to learn at a faster pace
than later. Being introverted made her try many sports and swimming
was the one that stuck in her mind out of all. Not only does learning a
sport make one communicate with others more often like with friends
or coaches which will help develop a person’s conversing skills, it
also has long term health benefits such as improvement in a person’s
heart and lung condition due to the aerobic workout routines
swimmers have. This leads to acontrol in blood sugar level, reduces
blood pressure andimproves bad cholesterol levels.
With the help of her family, especially her mom shecould get to
where she is right now. Her family’s supportand encouragement
helped her to move forward in hergame and never give up during hard
times she facedwhether it was physically or mentally.
As a student, having the burden of handling one’s time schedule with
training and studiescan get quite stressful to manage in a day. At first
it may seem to be hard as sticking to strict schedules with intensive
activities all day is not easy but in time
one learns to cope up as the days are
repeated and one can get used to it if they
have a goal in mind and set targets to
achieve.
Hard work always pays off. Its not that
one can get their desired results by just working hard for one day. Just
as in swimming, she had to work hard for one and a half years to get
her first medal and finally make herself realise that she could get
better if she worked even more hard and can reach great lengths.
Even through difficult times she hadthestrength to pull back into the
game. Trying other sports can also help you find your ideal sport in
life. It’s never too late if u do something u love whole heartedly. A
sport can make you grow as a person too through development of
your confidence and discipline.
-Jayani Gunda
________________________________________________________