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No more boring lengths. Using games and water sports to improve water confidence and swimming ability.Teaching swimming can be a challenge in the PE class. As we are limited on time it is unrealistic to expect the PE teacher to be developing stoke technique to the same level as a coach. Our focus should be on developing confidence in the water and enjoyment o being active in the water. Skill development should focus on essential skills required for safety or for future enjoyment of water sports.Students enjoy the thrill of playing games and are more likely to attempt skills in a semi competitive environment where there is a distraction from the uncertainty of the water environment.Many land-based games can be modified for the water, students are usually familiar with the games and can be involved in modifying rules. Some of the games described in the next session, I have learned from trial and error, been taught by colleagues or taken from resources such as ASCA Drills and Games (Potts, 1996).Below I have attempted to place games into sections based on type of game. If they are recommended for a particular age group I have also listed that beside them.Sprinting gamesChase downsA fast paced game to teach students how to run down and/or hold off an opponent.How to play:1. Set your games up in groups of four swimmers equal in speed. Using one lane put two swimmers at one end and the other two swimmers at the opposite end. For the sake of explanation we will call the swimmers A, B, C and D. 2. Each swimmer swims a 50and when the swimmer is in the Chase Down position he or she can score. If the swimmer who is chasing beats his or her opponent to the first 25, he or she scores 5 points and if they tie their opponent to the first 25, they score three points. Each swimmer should keep track of their own score and the swimmer with the highest score wins. 3. The chase begins. A starts the game by swimming a 50 and after A has made their turn and is at the flags…B chases A and after B has made their turn and is at the flags…C chases B and after C has made their turn and is at the flags..A chases D and continues with this cycle. (If you only want to play one round, have A finish the game D for a 25.Challenge RacesThis is a sprint-oriented game where swimmers challenge their teammates to race. How to play1. Clear three lanes for racing2. The coach/teacher begins each round by choosing one swimmer.3. This swimmer challenges two other swimmers to a “race” by calling out their names.4. The first swimmer challenged, selects the stroke to race and the second swimmer challenged selects the distance to race. (Determine a minimum and maximum before the game starts). 5. The swimmers race and points are given for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place. (3 for 1st, 2 for second 1 for 3rd)6. Play as many times as you have time for, selecting different swimmers each time to challenge other swimmers. Note usually the slowest swimmers end up with the most points because they are chosen the most times. It will take the group a short while to realize this. Kick and CatchThis is a challenging kick game where one swimmer kicks with fins and one swimmer kicks without fins, The object of the game is to kick the farthest before getting caught by the swimmer with fins.1. Pair off your swimmers according to their kicking ability.2. Have one swimmer from each group wear fins.3. Have both swimmers (the swimmer with the fins and the swimmer without the fins) leave the wall at the same time. 4. Have both swimmers count their laps and when the swimmer with the fins laps his or her opponent, they note how many meters the swimmer without fins was able to accomplish before getting caught. 5. Both swimmers then return to the starting end of the pool and take a 30 second rest. 6. Switch positions and repeat steps 2 – 4.Kick Board WarSwimmers of all ages love to play this. Put 10 – 12 swimmers in each lane and divide these swimmers into 2 teams. Each swimmer should have a kickboard. Position each team at opposite ends of the pool. On you go all swimmers leave at the same time and kick their boards towards their opponents. The objective of the game is to see which team can get all its swimmers to its opponent’s wall first.The rules are: Both hands must remain on the board. All boards must remain on the surface of the water and cannot be used to hit other swimmers. Swimmers can block their opponents as long as they do not touch them with any part of their body. Score the game, 1 point for each win and play for as long as time permits.Hint: Swimmers will discover that the strategy is to get their kickers to the wall first and block their opponent’s slower kickers with their faster kickers. Triathlon Ideas – a fun alternative to straight swimming300 splash (or any divisor of 3)This includes a 100 IM, 100 Free and 100 Kick, (could change IM for another stroke) Divide swimmers into two flights, have one flight swim while the other flight times. Big WheelsA lot of students have Big Wheels. These are pretty hardy toys and even “big kids” can ride them. Borrow 4-5 Big Wheels and run a triathlon where the swimmers ride Big wheels around the pool, star jump and swim. You can run this event relay style or in individual heats.Beach BumsFor this you will need to borrow as many Boogie boards as possible. From your swimmers and all swimmers will need a pair of fins and some beachy style shorts. Have the swimmers do fly on the boogie boards, kick on a kickboard then put on their beach shorts and swim. Power PlayHave the students aqua run, pull with buckets attached to their waist then swim. Buckets: Use a 1-gallon bucket. Replace the handle with a 6-foot rope handle; drill 4-5 holes in the bucket for the water to pas through.Battle of the StarsDivide your group into3 member team relays. Run relay triathlons where each swimmer does one of the events and run the triathlon three consecutive times do that each member of the relay does all of the events. Here are a few ideas.1. 100IM, 100 free, 100 kick2. Paddle boats, 100 T-shirt, 50 free3. Backstroke, 50 in an inner tube, 50 with breast stroke.Ball GamesUnder Water HockeyTo play this game, you will need a small underwater hockey stick per player and a lead hockey puck. Equipped with these objects, you’re ready to play! Take out 2-3 lanes, divide your group into two teams, and send those teams to opposite ends of the pool. The stick is used to push or flick the puck along the bottom of the pool. The object of the game is to flick the puck into your team’s goal.Rules: At the start of the play and after a goal has been scored, both teams line up at their goal and the puck is placed in the middle of the pool. All players can move freely throughout the court. There are no of sides, goalkeepers etc. The stick is held in one hand and is the only thing allowed to touch the puck; a point is scored when the puck enters the goal. The final rule is always SAFETY FIRST if any player gets out of hand; give them a penalty by making them sit out until they calm down.Variations:1. Play with snorkels and fins (great for when you have been working on snorkeling skills and cleaning snorkels underwater)2. If you don’t have enough hockey sticks for each player, play in partners. When one swimmer comes up for air, they give their stick to their partners.Note: The underwater hockey stick is approximately 1 foot long; 5/8 inches thick made out of wood and looks similar to a small hockey stick. Water poloWater polo is a popular game among swimmers. It is both a great team ball game and a great workout for your swimmers. If you have water polo goals and balls available to you great. If you don’t then be inventive. Use laundry baskets, deck chairs or just mark an area of poolside with cones. You can use any type of round ball such as a volleyball, soccer ball or basketball. Let you younger or less able swimmers use fins. As swimmers advance in ability and age begin to reinforce more difficult rules such as one hand passing and catching, 30 seconds to score etc.Animal BallThe way to play Animal Ball is to divide your swimmers into two teams. Start the game with each team on opposite sides of the pool. Throw the ball in the centre of the pool, tell the swimmers to go and watch the fun begin. The way they score is to get the ballot the opposite’s team’s wall and hold it there for three seconds. It is called Animal Ball because of how the swimmers react once the game begins. You might want to impose a few rules for safety such as no holding swimmers under the water. No pulling on suits, no scratching, punching, kicking or intentionally hurting other players. Other than the few safety rules it is usually anything goes. Swimmers are allowed to take the ball away from each other and if someone is intending to score you may pull them off the wall. Be ready to have some time outs f someone gets too rough but most students will play to have fun knowing that if they do anything too bad they won’t get to play Animal Ball again.Kickboard Water BaseballKick board Water Baseball is played with any rubber ball and a kickboard. Divide your group into two teams or if your group is very large get 2 games going and divide the group into 4 teams. The object of the game is to hit the ball with your kickboard and make it to the opposite wall without getting tagged out. The game is set up with one team (the fielders) in the water positioning them selves round the pool. You can use as many lanes as you want for the laying field. The other teams (the batting team) can be out of the water if it is a warm day or in the water against the wall if it is cool. One team in the batting team stands on the deck and bounces the ball once on the deck and then hits it with the kickboard. After hitting the ball he/she jumps into the water and tries to swim across the pool underwater to the other side. The fielding team tries to tag the batter with the ball. The only time the batter can be tagged with the ball is when he/she surfaces for a breath. The fielding team tries to keep throwing the ball to their teammates closest to the batter and waits for the batter to surface. If the batter makes it to the opposite wall without being tagged they score 1 run. The batting team continues batting until everyone has batted once. Then the two teams switch sided and play begins again. For young or less able swimmers let them use fins in the batting team.To make it harder, give 3 points for those who can go to the opposite side and return in one go. Water BasketballWater Basketball can be played in several ways. If you have a whole 6-lane 25 meter pool available, you can set up basketball goals at opposite ends of the pool and play full court. If not, you can use as much space as is available and set up 1 goal for a half court game. You can divide your group into 2 teams, you can play 3 on 3 or you might want to make several teams and have a basketball tournament. Basketball goals can be bought at your local pool supplies shop or you can make your own out of small trashcans or medium sized round laundry baskets. The balls can be anything from regular size basketballs to water polo balls. Water FootballWater Football can be played with regulation footballs, miniature footballs or spiral footballs. You have several options with water football. You can play a regular game where one team is the offence, one team is the defense and the offense has four downs to get the ball across the pool. In this game assign plays are best to use and you can only advance the ball to the place where the ball is caught. You score when you have reached your opponents wall with the ball. You can play Ultimate Football by dividing your group into two teams and play similar to Ultimate Frisbee. You score a point when you get the football across the pool and touch it on your opponent’s wall. You can even play Animal Football and play similar to Animal Ball explained above. Push BallPushball is played using a round rubber ball and kickboards. Divide your group into two teams and start each team at opposite ends of the pool. Each swimmer must have a kickboard. You start the game by throwing the ball into the center of the pool and yelling go. They can only touch the ball with their kickboard. Their hands must stay on the boards and they must be kicking continuously. They move the ball by pushing it with their kickboards and score when they push the ball to their opponent’s wall. Rounder’s in the poolA great game to get kids moving around and swimming with speed.The “batters’ can really use many different ball, bat combinations. Tennis balls are good as are dodge balls, plastic balls, even a water polo ball without a bat can be used.Bases can be improvised with boards on the side of the pool. Floating bases can be made with a board, string and a weight.Other similar games such as kickball/Long ball can also be modified in a similar way. Students are “out when they get tagged with the ball. Either by hand or by being hit with it. BottleIf done correctly, this is like a “covert operations” version of Steal The Bacon. You’ll need a CLEAR plastic 2-liter bottle...and a swimming pool. Make sure the Coke/Mountain Dew/etc wrapper is peeled off the bottle! Here’s what you do.The game leader fills the 2-liter all the way to the top (with pool water) and puts the cap on very tightly. Then the game leader divides the group into two teams. Also, assign each team an “end” of the pool. Finally, a chair is placed on either end of the pool as the “goal.” You’re ready!Have the teams lined up on different sides of the pool. The players need to be facing AWAY from the pool WITH their eyes closed. The game leader then throws the bottle into the pool. When it splashes in the pool, players can turn around, open their eyes, and jump in after it!The object is to get the bottle to the other’s teams’ chair (goal). If they can put it in the chair, they get a point. (After each point is scored, the players must exit the pool, and the game leader starts the second round the same way he/she started the first round.) First team with 3 points wins.?? Here’s the trick, though. The 2-liter is hard to see if it is totally filled with water! The players are allowed to be “sneaky” with the bottle if they have it. Many times, a team scores while the other team is trying to figure out who has it!Skip Ball4 players compete against 4 other players.??The game is played in a rectangular in-ground pool.??Each team consists of a skipper (1), a midfielder (2), and two defenders/rebounders (3-4). The game is played with a volleyball-sized kid's play ball.??The first team to 11 points wins the game. Play begins with a coin toss to determine who will skip the ball first.??The skipper from the attacking team stands on the side of the pool, at the deep end, and must attempt to "skip" the ball (just like skipping a stone) across the water and out of the pool on the other side.??The throw is no good if the ball does not hit the water first or the skipper makes contact with the water before he/she throws the ball.While the skipper is throwing the ball the defending team is trying to block the shot in the shallow end. While the defense is trying to block the ball the rebounders/defenders of the skipper's team are trying to push the defenders out of the way to give the skipper an open shot on goal.After a shot has been taken each team fights for possession of the ball.??The team that can keep possession of the ball and can make a controlled contact with the deep end wall of the pool will then have a chance to skip the ball.?? The mid-fielders on each team swim in the middle of the pool or hold on to the side and wait for passes from the rebounders/defenders.??In this position midfielders can try for a "touch" on the deep end, or pass the ball off to a skipper (which at this time is usually located farther in the deep end).??If the ball goes past the goal line (after skipping on the water at least once) 1 point is awarded to the skipping team.Some of the other rules are: The ball must only be held with one hand. The ball must not go under water. Any fouls will result in an automatic shot at goal by the non-offending team. After a goal is scored, the defending team restarts the ball in one of the corners of the shallow end. If the ball goes out of the bounds past the sidelines, the non-offending team gets a shot on goal. All other people must remain in the pool during play (except the skipper, who is jumping off the diving board).Medicine Ball PassIf you have access to small 6 – 8 pound plastic medicine balls, this is a great game to play and gives your swimmers a great strength workout. Divide your group into teams. The number of teams will depend on the number of lanes you have available and the number of medicine balls you have. It is also best to play this game in deep water. Put one team in each lane and have them position themselves equally across the pool. Give the first swimmer in each lane a medicine ball. On go they pass the ball from swimmer to swimmer until they reach the opposite side of the pool. First team across wins. You can have games where they must pass it for 50 (2 laps) or even 100 (4 laps). You can vary the way they pass the ball, such as over-head, 2 hand passes, basketball passé, or backwards overhead passes. Tell them that each swimmer must touch the ball and cannot be passed by passing the ball over their heads. You can also have them do different kicks to stay afloat. Water VolleyballWater Volleyball can be played several ways. In shallow water to work on swimmers jumping ability or in deep water to work on overall leg strength. You can use a volleyball net or just a string across the pool at an appropriate height for volleyball. Bring it lower to make it easier to score.Ping PongPing-pong is a great hand to eye coordination game to play. You will need one ping-pong ball or a plastic golf ball for every pair of swimmers. All swimmers will need a swim paddle. Each pair of swimmers position themselves on opposite sides of a lane line. The object of the game is to see how many times each pair of swimmers can hit the ball back and forth with their paddles while treading waterRelaysOf course you can spend time doing the usual relays, freestyle or Medley or even kick but try these for some variation.Oh Cap!Provide each team with a swim cap. They must exchange the caps and the cap must be completely on with all of their hair stuffed into it before taking off. T-ShirtGive each team a large T-Shirt and have them exchange shirts before they take off. The T-Shirt must be on completely with all extremities in the right holes. Teamwork is the key here.Garbage bags Same as T-Shirt relay but use garbage bags with head and armholes cut out.Inner TubesThere a quite a few variations to inner tube relays. 1) Wear the inner tube around your armpits and swim breaststroke. 2) Sit inside the inner tube with your legs and arms hanging out and kick and scull. 3. If you have shallow water do partner inner tube relays. Have one swimmer inside the inner tube and have their partner tow them across the pool with the swimmers legs over his/her shoulders. CoinsGive each swimmer a coin. Have the first swimmer from each team place the coin on their forehead, swim backstroke to the other end and hand the second swimmer the dime. The second swimmer places this coin and the coin he/she was given by the teacher/coach on his/her forehead and completes his/her leg of the relay. The third swimmer would have 3 coins on their forehead and so on. The first team to finish with all their coins wins. BatonsPlastic tubes or wooden dowel make great batons. This is a kick relay where the swimmers must hold on to the baton with both hands. Make sure the go the entire length of the pool before passing the baton.PoloSwim Water Polo style with a ball. They can swim all the way to the wall or you can designate a place where they can stop and throw to the next player.Train RelayThis is a relay where the first swimmer sprints down the pool and connects to the second swimmer. The second swimmer tugs the first swimmer back down the pool and both of those swimmers connect with the third swimmer. The third swimmer pulls these two swimmers down the pool and connects with the fourth swimmer and so on. The first team that swims and entire length connected like a train wins. If any “car” comes loose they must all swim back to the wall and start again. Have the pick up swimmer connect to with the other swimmers by holding the gutter or wall and hanging their legs straight back. The connecting swimmer simply grabs the swimmers ankles and they all goShorteningThis is a relay that includes different distances for each swimmer. For example if you have 5 swimmers in each team, the first will do 125m, the second100m, the third 75, fourth 50 and fifth a 25m sprint. You could repeat it a few times so that competitors change their distances. Flip relaysTo encourage good, quick flip turns. Each relay leg consists of a somersault in the middle of the pool and a flip turn to a foot touch at the wall (no push off). Once the swimmers feet touch the wall the next swimmer takes off. This relay can be done with either freestyle or backstroke. It is important not to let the swimmers dive for safety reasons.The Endless RiverSwimming in turbulent water can be both challenging and fun. For this relay everyone need a kickboard. Divide your group into two even teams. Have the two lead off swimmers in the two centre lanes. Have all other swimmers line up alongside the outside of the two lanes with their kickboards (leaving the middle open for racing. Have each team line up on their opposing teams side so they can create turbulence for each other. The swimmers use their kickboards to create waves by holding their boards on the side and pushing water towards the middle. Relay swimmers race 25s or 50s down the middle two lanes. Hint: There should be a swimmer ready to go at the wall at all times. After a swimmer races, he takes the board from the swimmer at the head of the line. The next swimmer moves into position in the lane and the swimmer that just took the board goes to the middle or end of the line to create waves. Through these rotations swimmers work their way to the head of the line. PursuitDivide the group into two equal teams. Each team places half their members at one end of the pool and half at the opposite end of the pool. The relay starts with a member from each team starting from opposite ends of the pool. The relay continues until one-team laps the other team. If swimmers are equal in ability this could take some time so you may want to give a time limit. Other GamesDuck ThrustIf you have a swimming pool and lots of teens together, throw in a couple of rubber ducks, and you can play Duck Thrust. Here’s how it works.Put 3-4 players at one end of the pool and give them one rubber duck apiece. When you say go, they must use their nose to push the duck to the other end of the pool. They can also “blow” the duck forward; they just can’t bite the duck and swim to the other end with it in their mouths. Nor can they touch their duck with their hands or feet. Further, the players can “distract” the other players by splashing water in their faces or splashing water toward their ducks to knock them backward. They just can’t actually TOUCH the other players or the other players’ ducks. The first one to get his duck to touch the other end of the pool (obeying the rules) is the winner. GatorThis swimming pool game is a good one if you happen to have a large group. Here is how you play it.Have one person designated as the "gator." He or she treads water in the DEEP END of the pool while all other participants are standing on the side. The leader will then yell "gator!" and at that point, the players standing on the side of the pool have 30 seconds to successfully jump in, swim to the other side of the pool, and get out without being tagged by the gator.Anyone who is tagged in the first round has to join ranks with the “gator” and try to tag the swimmers in the next round(s). The game goes until there is only one person who has not been tagged.Get DressedWith a small group this game can involve everyone, or it can be just an "up-front" game if you've got a larger group.??My friend and I started this game one-day when we had our clothes on over our bathing suits and went in the pool.??We have been playing it ever since. The more players the more fun, but the game will work fine with just 2 people.Each person needs a shirt, pants, socks, and whatever other clothing you would like to use.??Have all of the players line up, in the pool at one end. Have someone else who is not playing take all of the players' clothes and bring them to the other end of the pool. Have that person get the clothes wet until they sink to the bottom, and then mix up all the clothes and put them in a pile at the bottom of the pool. That person now gets out of the pool or out of the way of the racers and becomes the judge. The Game: When the judge says "Get Dressed" the players must race to the other side of the pool, find their shirt in the pile and put it on, then race to the other side. Once they touch the edge they turn around, race back, then find and put on their pants, then race back to the other side. Next come the socks and so on.??In essence, the order doesn't really matter.Note: Shorts are easier so for a twist use jeans or long pants because they are quite difficult to get on. The first person back to where they started and all dressed wins!Twist: After we do that my friend and I also like to do it the opposite way where you have to swim to the edge take off the clothing then swim back touch the edge and back to take off another piece of clothing. -1143000-8394065Underwater Handstand TagPlay as a group in waist-deep water. One player is "it." They chase after the other players, attempting to tag them. Whoever is tagged becomes "it."The players avoid being tagged either by evading the player whoever’s "it" or by doing an underwater handstand. As long as a player is doing a handstand she can't be tagged "it." Water Ball/Dodge ballYou can play this game like Dodge Ball or have wars using boxes as forts.??Get a bunch of pool water balls (the kind that are super absorbent or use water balloons.??Water balls save time and can be used over.??Fill buckets with water and give each team a bunch of balls or one ball each.??Keep them far enough apart that it won't hurt and tell them no headshots.??When a player is hit, they are out. Variations: You can also use this setting for a great game of Capture the Flag.Water FrisbeeThis game is played in water with as many people as you want. You will need a Frisbee and two laundry baskets for the goals.??Split your group into two teams. One side defends, and one tries to score. Toss a coin to see which team goes first.??You will need someone positioned outside of the pool to retrieve the Frisbee as needed.??Once the scoring side is chosen, one person from their team throws the Frisbee from outside of the pool to a fellow team member.??The thrower may then join their team in the pool.??Once someone catches the Frisbee they have to hold it like they are a waiter. They can have NO grasp on the Frisbee!??It must be resting on the tips of their fingers. They also can't swim once in possession of the Frisbee. They can only walk or pass it. The Frisbee can be thrown when passing.??Repeat this until you score a goal by getting the Frisbee into your team’s laundry basket. Then it's the next team’s turn.Stations/ Captains ComingPlay as NEWS. but include nautical terms like:"Port" - Swim to the left side of the pool"Starboard" - Swim to the right side of the pool"Stern" - Swim to the back (deep end) of the pool"Bow" - Swim to the front (shallow end) of the pool"Shark" - Swim to any edge and get out of the water, fast!"Whale" - Swim/float on your back and create a 'blow' (water fountain) with their cupped hand or feet."Pirate" - Everybody huddle together in the middle of the pool (or shallow end)"Shipwreck" - Everybody forms a human line through linked hands from one side of the pool to the other (or as far as possible) Captain’s Coming – all stand/tread at attentionHYPERLINK "" \l "top"-1143000-6047105HYPERLINK "" \l "top" ................
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