Swimming is a physical skill that involves the ability of a person to stay on the surface of the water and move in a given direction without assistance.

Swimming is a unique type of physical exercise and is one of the most popular sports both in our country and abroad. The specific features of swimming are associated with physical activity in the aquatic environment. In this case, the human body is subjected to a double effect: on the one hand, it is affected by physical exercises, on the other hand, by the aquatic environment.

Swimming is one of the most effective means of promoting health and physical development of a person from the first months of life to old age.

There are various ways of swimming, but only a few of them are of practical importance. The most famous and widely used are four sports swimming methods: crawl on the chest, crawl on the back, dolphin (butterfly) and breaststroke. Other ways of swimming have by now lost their sporting significance. When learning and training in swimming, a variety of swimming exercises are used, which, in essence, are also ways of swimming.

As a subject, swimming is a field of knowledge that studies the laws of interaction between the human body and water.

The SPbGASU swimming team was formed in 2000. Currently, it consists of 22 athletes. Two competitions are traditionally held every year: the Freshman Spartakiad and the St Petersburg Championship among higher educational institutions. The university championship is the most important competition for the university team. It is held in the spring for three days, each of which participants swim at least two distances. Selection for the swimming team takes place in September. Athletes with a sports category are included in the team.

Training sessions are held twice a week at the Volna sports complex (Moskovsky pr., 150, building 2) under the guidance of the national team coach.

• At the St Petersburg Championship 2023, the SPbGASU swimmers team took 23rd place among 32 teams.