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Swimming is rhythm

The Swim'n'Swing project was created in Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy. Here, Dario Giuseppe Masala, musician, swim coach and music therapist, had the simple yet genial idea that swimming is rhythm. The Swim’n’Swing project combines the unique properties of rhythm and water to promote motor performance and rehabilitation.

The Swim'n'Swing method integrates classical biomechanics with rhythms to generate sensory-motor patterns applicable to both sport and rehabilitation. The overarching goal is to improve motor awareness and performance while promoting the wellbeing of each participant.

The aquatic environment is the perfect setting to combine unique rhythms and music with movements in the absence of gravity. The strength and originality of Swim'n'Swing approach lies in combining these fundamental elements and offering a holistic experience for mind and body together.

Water, rhythm, and social inclusion are the core of our method

Music elicits deep emotions while rhythm guides precise movements, together increasing their accuracy and fluidity.

Water removes the physical barriers that the force of gravity imposes on our body, and therefore facilitates movements. Furthermore, the constant tactile stimulation by the water promotes proprioception and bodily awareness while having relaxing effects and facilitating psychological well-being.

Social inclusion is critical to the Swim'n'Swing concept. The subject is an essential element in the creation and execution of the intervention and not just a passive recipient. The goal is not only to facilitate proper movements, but to actively engage him/her emotionally in connection with the entire team. This promotes the establishment of new friendships and emotional connections which in turn increase the efficacy of the intervention.

Currently our method is successfully applied to competitive swimmers and individuals with motor or intellectual disabilities. The new rhythm-integrated training scheme aims to improve the precision of each stroke and as a consequence the performance of the athlete. In the case of individuals with motor or intellectual disabilities, the training is able to facilitate regaining of motor control while providing significant emotional support and general wellbeing.

Our team is composed of national and international specialists with highly complementary backgrounds: music, science, sport, medicine, psychology, clinical pedagogy, music therapy. Each member contributes to the creation of a multifaceted intervention that has movement, rhythm and water at its core.

The Swim'n'Swing project has several testimonials: Olympic athletes and their coaches, such as Filippo Magnini (twice olympic gold medalist) and Claudio Rossetto (coach of the Italian swim team); Harvard Medical School scholars and the Berklee School of Music; eminent Italian neuroscientists including Professor Lamberto Maffei (writer, former director of the Institute of Neuroscience of the CNR and president of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei); world-renowned musicians including Saturnino Celani (bassist and composer for Battiato and Jovanotti) and Massimo Moriconi (bassist who counts Mina and Chet Baker among his collaborations); and associations such as AIRETT (Italian Rett Syndrome Association). The original project was supported by EndasForm Sardegna onlus and financed by the Sardinia Region for the period 2020-2023.