Swimming Requirements at the USNA

corvette

5-Year Member
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Oct 15, 2011
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Hello, I am a female and where i grew up, I didn't get to swim. My parents were poor so we didn't go to beaches or anything like that nor i was able to be on a school swim team because my parents didn't let me participate in extracurricular activities. Now I am trying my best when I have time to learn how to swim because I know i need it for the Naval Academy. I really want to attend the academy and I don't want swimming to stop me in any way. What are the requirements for swimming? Would I have time at the academy to learn how to swim? Who would coach me? I am really worried! Anyone who can answer, I appreciate it!
 
In regards to the application, there is no swimming test/requirement. When I attended NASS I remember hearing Mids talk about this. They said there are people that come the Academy that are poor swimmers. There are swim requirements that Mids must meet, but instruction is provided. They will make sure that you know how to swim. As said, there are Mids with a wide range of swimming abilities.



J.
 
I've worried about the same thing, but the Academy will make sure you're up to par. And I doubt we're the only two prospective Mids that are poor swimmers!
 
corvette, good for you, working on your swimming. Anything you can do to get more comfortable and more skilled in the water now gives that much more time back to you later on, when you will have pressures and requirements coming at you from multiple directions. Keep working at it, gain confidence and be more prepared.
 
I'm not completely sure of the accuracy of this information, but like jhornet, i also heard mids talking about the swimming at NASS and they were saying that they had different levels of classes depending on ability. also, there was something like "remediation" if you really need the extra instruction.
 
thank you! I love water so much though but the weird thing is i am a poor swimmer. i can hold for a only a bit and do some other swimming parts but i cant hold on in the water it just doesnt work but im trying. hopefully ill get a swimming coach in my school to help me out but if not i will do my best to try to swim as much as possible or at least be in the water to be comfortable with it.
 
USNA told us there was no swimming experience/test required for admission. They tested each mid and placed them according to ability. However, by graduation, a mid had to be able to swim a half mile (I think) in less than 30 minutes (clothed) as that was the estimated distance/time needed to get away safely from a sinking ship. A mid must also be able to jump from a 40 meter (or some ungodly height) platform into water - again, because you might have to abandon a sinking ship.
 
Hurricane,

Can you confirm what pkelly posted IRT to the tower jump...I heard it went away, but that could have been a rumor?
 
It has been discontinued. A few in the Class of 2011 did it, but then it was determined unsafe, I believe because of some physical malfunction/problem with the tower.

40 year swim prevails though.
 
WP,

I heard a swim exists...but it isn't 40 years anymore. What I have heard is something along the lines of what pkelly posted. Someone confirm?
 
Ok, so here's the deal.

The tower got shut down for a while due to safety concerns, but it's renovated now and back up and running. My class missed it during plebe summer (because it was shut down), but that was back for 2014 and 2015 at least. Not sure about 2013. So, plebes now do it during plebe summer and 3/C swimming.

Class by class, the requirements are:

4/C: 200m swim for time (final test, 100%=2:45), 40 foot underwater swim (swimgear), various form tests (cross the 25m under a certain number of strokes in a particular form).

3/C: 400m swim for time (final test, 100%=6:10), 50 foot underwater swim (cammies), various form tests, float test, making a flotation device out of cammie pants, and the tower jump. Where things are different is that the tower jump used to be 10m and pass/fail. Now, it's on a graded scale: jumping off the 10m platform is a 100%, the 7.5m=80%, 5m=70%.
But the instructors will guilt your entire section (and your section will peer pressure you) into jumping off of the ten anyway, so don't worry about the other grades.

2/C: "Thirty year." You have thirty minutes to swim, in khakis, a certain number of laps without touching the wall. The minimum to pass is 700m, a perfect score is 1500m. This may not sound bad, but it's a lot harder with 5+ people a lane and getting choked/drowned by your khakis. 2/C Swimming is only 8 weeks long and the rest of that semester you take a physical conditioning class (which is academic, not really a PE, and has a written test at the end).

Swimming isn't really something to worry about. I had never swam for time in my life before USNA and was not super comfortable in the water. I still passed, and managed to not do horribly.
 
Would someone with more recent experience than I please chime in here. Subsquad used to be a royal pain in the butt. Not only did it affect your afternoons, not doing well in PT also affected one's OOM/class rank/service selection, the whole bit. It was solely responsible for me not wearing stars the entire four years I was there. Definitely not a good way to spend your USNA career if there is absolutely anything one can do about it prior to arrival. And once you get on it, the following year is much more difficult, so you will be on it again. And again. And again.
 
jumping the board

Where things are different is that the tower jump used to be 10m and pass/fail. Now, it's on a graded scale: jumping off the 10m platform is a 100%, the 7.5m=80%, 5m=70%.
But the instructors will guilt your entire section (and your section will peer pressure you) into jumping off of the ten anyway, so don't worry about the other grades.
DS is a plebe and I was told that over the summer when he had to jump the ten metre board, the plebes were standing around anxious at the daunting hike up to the top and jumping. The instructor explained/demonstrated how it was done. Then, the instructors two young children (three and four years old, I believe) came out, climbed to the top and flung themselves off. How is that for peer pressure. I do believe that every plebe jumped and passed that day. LOL
 
Since the 10m tower jump is suppose to simulate abandoning ship, I propose that an irreversible turnstile be placed at the top of the ladder (so once you go through, you can't go back) and then the platform gradually catches on fire (starting from the ladderwell all the way to the edge), thus forcing off the MIDN. Since instructors can't "force [push]" anyone off the platform, this would accomplish the objective (simulating abandoning ship for a fire) and without someone pushing the MIDN off. Once airborne, reset the scenario for the next MIDN. Thoughts?
 
breathe!

In regards to the application, there is no swimming test/requirement. When I attended NASS I remember hearing Mids talk about this. They said there are people that come the Academy that are poor swimmers. There are swim requirements that Mids must meet, but instruction is provided. They will make sure that you know how to swim. As said, there are Mids with a wide range of swimming abilities.



J.

just a few resources to help you out:
try your local YMCA. i work at one as a lifeguard and they offer courses there both for kids and adults, from beginner to advanced. even if you don't have much time, it might help to get comfortable in the water. if money is an issue, i know that my Y and many across the country offer major financial assistance and may even pay for your membership completely.
try a swim coach for your school, as he might offer you some coaching or know where you can get it
ask maybe one of your classmates who swims. they might belong to a pool and be able to teach you
lastly, DONT GIVE UP!!!!!:smile: i started competitively swimming my freshman year of high school and it was the hardest, but most rewarding thing ive ever done. i almost quit, but decided to stick with it and am still on the team in junior year. IT WILL BE HARD, IT MIGHT BE SCARY! but its one of those things where the longer you do it, the easier it becomes.
and a few pointers: use goggles, learn to float first (the more air you have in your lungs, the easier it will be), stay in the shallow end, and dont tense your muscles-youll sink, and thats no fun at all hahaha best of luck! hope this helped!!!:smile:
 
Since the 10m tower jump is suppose to simulate abandoning ship, I propose that an irreversible turnstile be placed at the top of the ladder (so once you go through, you can't go back) and then the platform gradually catches on fire (starting from the ladderwell all the way to the edge), thus forcing off the MIDN. Since instructors can't "force [push]" anyone off the platform, this would accomplish the objective (simulating abandoning ship for a fire) and without someone pushing the MIDN off. Once airborne, reset the scenario for the next MIDN. Thoughts?

Hilarious! This has my vote for the Post-of-the-Week.

The swimming drills done during flight school are a lot "scarier" than anything done at the Naval Academy. The Dilbert Dunker, the Helo Dunker ... [shudder] I don't even want to think about it.

I remember them taking us out to Pensacola Bay, in the WINTER, and dragging us behind a boat, simulating landing in the water in a parachute on a very windy day. The parachute can drag you along the water and you can drown unless you can figure out how to detach yourself. We froze our butts off!
 
Since the 10m tower jump is suppose to simulate abandoning ship, I propose that an irreversible turnstile be placed at the top of the ladder (so once you go through, you can't go back) and then the platform gradually catches on fire (starting from the ladderwell all the way to the edge), thus forcing off the MIDN. Since instructors can't "force [push]" anyone off the platform, this would accomplish the objective (simulating abandoning ship for a fire) and without someone pushing the MIDN off. Once airborne, reset the scenario for the next MIDN. Thoughts?

HAHA, this is kind of like the "Motivator" for the Big Balls on "Wipe Out" only with a real navy senario :thumb:
 
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