Swimmer training paddle

A swimmer's hand paddle comprising:

• a planar member having a mitten-shaped surface wider than a human hand,
• said surface having a proximal edge curved to accommodate a user's wrist and first and second lateral edges respectively defining, by the orientation of the user's hand palm side down on said surface area, a thumb side of said surface area and a little finger side of said surface area larger than said thumb side,
• a first portion of said first lateral edge extending from a first end of said proximal edge to a point beyond the tip of the user's thumb and a second portion curving inwardly from said point and extending toward and merging with a first end of a sharp curve which defines a distal edge,
• said second lateral edge having a flared curvature and extending from a second end of said sharp curve to a second end of said proximal edge and providing a foil area in said little finger side,
• said planar member having an irregularly-shaped aperture positioned generally centrally on said surface area,
• wherein a first portion of the area of said aperture is crescent-shaped and has a width approaching the width of the user's hand, and
• a second portion of circular shape interconnected with said first portion by a third rectangular-shaped portion;
• and
• means for releasably attaching a user's hand palm side down on said surface area of said planar member and positioning the most sensitive area of the user's palm over said first portion of the area of said aperture for enabling the palm to feel the flow of water through said aperture and to sense subtle changes in water pressure that occur during the routine of a stroke of the hand and attached planar member through the water.

A paddle for use by a swimmer in a body of water comprising:

• a planar member having a mitten-shaped surface area wider than a user's hand having a proximal wrist edge and first and second lateral edges respectively defining, by the orientation of a user's hand palm side down on said surface area, a thumb side of said area and a little finger side of said area, wherein said first lateral edge is curved and extends from a first end of said proximal edge and merges with a sharply curved distal edge, and said second lateral edge extends with outwardly flared curvature from said sharply curved distal edge to a second end of said proximal edge, said planar member having an irregularly-shaped aperture positioned substantially centrally of said surface area, a first portion of the area of said aperture having a width approaching the width of the user's hand and being located to be positioned under the palm of a user's hand attached to said planar member and interconnected with a second area portion located to be positioned under a finger of a user's hand attached to said planar member;
• and
• means for releasably attaching the user's hand to said planar member palm side down and for positioning the most sensitive area of the palm over said first portion of said aperture for enabling the palm to sense subtle changes in pressure of water flowing through said aperture during the routine of a stroke of the hand and planar member through the water.