Upsala Simsällskap
Encyclopedia
Upsala Simsällskap, the "Uppsala Swimming Society" (but using the old spelling of the city name with one p), was founded in Uppsala
in 1796. It is the oldest existing sports club in Sweden
and claims to be the oldest swimming club in the world.
The Society was founded by the mathematician and astronomer Jöns Svanberg (1771-1851) together with some colleagues at the university
as a way to remedy the general lack of swimming skills. The same year the society was founded, Svanberg arranged a mock "graduation ceremony" (promotion), modelled after the academic ceremony, where he and some of his colleagues awarded themselves the master's degree (magister) and their pupils the degree of bachelor (kandidat) in swimming. The simpromotion and these "degrees" were taken over by other Swedish swimming clubs and are still used in Swedish swimming schools.
After Svanberg had temporarily left Uppsala for Stockholm
, Gabriel Marklin, otherwise remembered as an excentric scientific collector, briefly took care of the swimming school, to be succeeded for a few years by Carl Gustaf Grahl, the first professional swimming instructor in Sweden. By this time Svanberg had returned to Uppsala as professor of mathematics.
In the middle of the 19th century a bath house was built and later a springboard
for diving. The Isander dive (or half gainer), one of the most common dives in springboard diving, was named after Lars Fredrik Isander (1828-1893), active in the Society and later lecturer at the Gymnasium in Linköping, and the Mollberg dive (full gainer) was named after Anders Fredrik Mollberg, swimming instructor for the Society 1878-1879, who supposedly invented it by accident when he was actually intending to do an Isander dive. It actually appears to be considerably older and is described already in Underrättelser i simkonsten, a Swedish instruction book in swimming from 1839. Anecdotes describe Mollberg's extraordinary gymnastic ability and how he once made two consecutive "Mollberg" dives while slightly tipsy, leaving spectators wondering how he came out of the water alive.
Although the original intent for the Society was elementary swimming instruction, it entered competitive swimming in 1910 and is one of the most successful swimming clubs in Sweden.
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
in 1796. It is the oldest existing sports club in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and claims to be the oldest swimming club in the world.
The Society was founded by the mathematician and astronomer Jöns Svanberg (1771-1851) together with some colleagues at the university
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
as a way to remedy the general lack of swimming skills. The same year the society was founded, Svanberg arranged a mock "graduation ceremony" (promotion), modelled after the academic ceremony, where he and some of his colleagues awarded themselves the master's degree (magister) and their pupils the degree of bachelor (kandidat) in swimming. The simpromotion and these "degrees" were taken over by other Swedish swimming clubs and are still used in Swedish swimming schools.
After Svanberg had temporarily left Uppsala for Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Gabriel Marklin, otherwise remembered as an excentric scientific collector, briefly took care of the swimming school, to be succeeded for a few years by Carl Gustaf Grahl, the first professional swimming instructor in Sweden. By this time Svanberg had returned to Uppsala as professor of mathematics.
In the middle of the 19th century a bath house was built and later a springboard
Springboard
A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type....
for diving. The Isander dive (or half gainer), one of the most common dives in springboard diving, was named after Lars Fredrik Isander (1828-1893), active in the Society and later lecturer at the Gymnasium in Linköping, and the Mollberg dive (full gainer) was named after Anders Fredrik Mollberg, swimming instructor for the Society 1878-1879, who supposedly invented it by accident when he was actually intending to do an Isander dive. It actually appears to be considerably older and is described already in Underrättelser i simkonsten, a Swedish instruction book in swimming from 1839. Anecdotes describe Mollberg's extraordinary gymnastic ability and how he once made two consecutive "Mollberg" dives while slightly tipsy, leaving spectators wondering how he came out of the water alive.
Although the original intent for the Society was elementary swimming instruction, it entered competitive swimming in 1910 and is one of the most successful swimming clubs in Sweden.
Swimmers
- Richard MiltonRichard Milton (swimmer)Jack Richard Milton is a former Swedish swimmer from Uppsala, representing Upsala SS. He represented Sweden in two Summer Olympics, 1984 and 1988. He won a bronze medal on 4x100 m Freestyle 1984, even if he only swam in the prelims....
- Sebastian WikströmSebastian WikströmSebastian Wikström is a Swedish swimmer from Borlänge, representing Upsala SS. Both his parents and his brother Christoffer Wikström have represented Sweden.-References:...
- Christoffer WikströmChristoffer WikströmChristoffer Wikström is an Olympic swimmer from Sweden. He swam for Sweden at the 2008 Olympics.Both his parents and his brother Sebastian Wisktröm have represented Sweden. He holds the Swedish Junior Record in 100m Freestyle.-References:...
External links
- Upsala Simsällskap, main page