Hi Swimmers,
Here are some swimming activities that you could do over the school holidays or if your home schooling and have a pool at home.
Parents you are welcome to join in the fun. :)
NOTE: Swimmers must always be under supervision by an Adult or actively swimming with a parent :)
Floating
Floating:
Can you float like this? Try and hold your float for 3, 5, 10 seconds or maybe longer?
Steps:
For all floats Inhale in through the mouth and maintain position and exhale out to sink and recover to stand in shallow water or treading water in the deep.
Safety tips for this skill
Beginner swimmers need support in the water for this skill.
Mushroom Cork Float:
- Tuck chin into chest & pull knees into chest with arms wrapped around the legs to hold the position
- Control body in a big tight ball
Star ‘Float on Back (X Float):
- Head, ears underwater, looking up
- Body at surface of water, hold arms & legs straight
Jellyfish Float:
Hold body in a horizontal position on the water surface, Arms & legs dangle downwards towards bottom of the pool
Vertical ‘T’ Float:
- Performed in deep water
- Hold body in a vertical position with arms outstretched, Ears remain underwater & legs together with toes pointed
Mobility and Propulsion
Flutter kicking
Rocket kicking through a hoop:
Push off the wall in a streamline position and kick through the hoop.
Extension for this skill: Rocket thought the hoop, take a breath and perform a float or duck dive down to pick up a toy from the bottom.
How to be streamlined:
- Standing in the water or sitting on the wall in a streamlined position.
- Squeeze ears with your upper arms, lock your elbows and
one hands on top of the other.
- lean forward, looking straight down at the bottom of the pool, push off the wall with feet & legs together
- Holding breath underwater & perform a glide on the water surface
Begin kicking & exhaling nose bubbles
- Recover to standing position or tread water and swim back to the wall
Balancing and Kicking:
This is a fun challenge for all! Can you kick on your back and keep the swim toy on your forehead?
How to flutter kick on your back:
-Start inside the water, hands & feet on the wall
-Look up, push off the wall, ears underwater, shoulders back with arms by side and relaxed
-Keep face, chest, hips, legs, feet up at surface of water
-With long legs make small splashes with pointed toes
-Knees not over bending or breaking surface of water
Safety Note: For back skills please be careful not to bump your head on the wall. Always start from the wall and swim out into the water.
Movement and Safety Skills
Rolling and Recovery:
Body Rotation on the surface of the water
How to move from on float to another:
- Starts with a Jellyfish Float
- In a sequence 1st Roll Hips - 2nd Shoulders - 3rd Head. Now you are looking up move into a Start Float
- To roll back info a Jellyfish Float - In a sequence 1st Roll Head - 2nd Shoulders - 3rd Hips
Finning and Sculling:
Can you move around like me just using your finning and sculling hands only.
Sculling Action:
- Arms held out in the front of the body
- Slight bend in the arm at the elbows
- Keep wrists straight, fingers together, thumbs held slightly out
- Simultaneous small & narrow outsweep & insweep of the hands from the elbow, keeping shoulder movement to minimum
Finning Action:
Shoulders back, hips up at surface of water, holding legs & feet together, no kicking action
- Arms down by the side of the body with a slight bend in the arm at the elbows
- Keep wrists straight, fingers together, thumbs held slightly out
- Simultaneous small & narrow outsweep away from the body & insweep back toward the body of the hands from the elbow, with minimal shoulder movement
Treading Water:
How long can you pass the ball between each other before you stop? Try and keep your head above the water. Little swimmers can pass you the ball from the steps or sit on a noodle to join in for family fun.
How to Tread Water:
- Start with body in vertical position
- Keep the arms in front of body shoulder width apart
- Hand Sculling Action
- Spread the legs with quads up in a seated position
- Leg Action – Breaststroke kick, Eggbeater kick or Vertical Flutter Kick for a good work out challenge
- Remain balanced, maintain hip stability
- Always keep head above the water
Note: For Assisted Treading Water
- Tuck the noodle under the arms
Aquatic Environment Awareness
Adventure to the Park (Pre School age group):
Let's go to the pool lifeguards:
Think before you jump (Age group 10 and above):
Whirlpool Magic
1 hand whirlpool:
Have a try at sculling and making a whirlpool.
2 hand whirlpool:
Have a try at sculling and making a whirlpool
Air Control
Bubbles:
Mouth bubbles
Out of the water bubbles:
-
With a bubble wand, take a breath and blow slowly for a few seconds, take a breath, then begin again.
Surface bubbles:
- Take a breath, place mouth at the surface of the water or you can use a strew, Blow bubbles slowly for a second then stop, take a breath, then begin again.
Submerge bubbles:
- Take a breath and sink under the water, blow bubbles out slowly from mouth for a few seconds before you come up for air.
Progression
- Sink to the 1st step, 2nd, 3rd, 4th then maybe to the bottom J
Safety Tip:
- If you have not established breath holding for 10sec first, you will suck the water in. Make sure you lift your mouth, head out or away from the water surface or straw before you take your next breath.
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Nose bubbles
Out of the water bubbles:
- Blowing bubbles through the nose can be more challenging for children. First out of the water, take a deep breath in through your mouth then exhale ‘Humming’ through your nose. Close your mouth and say Swimmmmmmmmm.
Surface bubbles:
- Take a deep breath in through the mouth and start humming. Continue to hum then place mouth and nose in the water.
Submerge bubbles:
- Submerge completely with head underwater, Exhale ‘Humming’ bubbles from nose. Close your mouth and say Swimmmmmmmmm
Rhythmically breathing
- Works best in water chest deep. Take a breath in through mouth, squat down to submerge your whole head. Exhale slowly then come right back up for more air. Repeat the sequence 3,4 or 5 times to start.
Safety Tip:
-
While under the water keep exhaling ‘humming’ until after you safely emerged from the water, this will guarantee water to stay out of the nose, especially when rolling over in the water.
Lap Swimmers
Confident Swimmers that can swim 25 meters plus:
Distance challenge swim
Swimmers start with a short and easy distance swim and then increase the number of lengths/laps progressively of their choice. This can be done within a seven day period but swimmers cannot repeat a distance or swim less than what has already been swum. Swimmers can repeat the challenge from zero in a new week. Swimmers may use a range of equipment from snorkels to hand paddles.
Dry land
Body roll exercises for freestyle swimming
Bouncing a ball exercise - Arms and Rotation
Core Control
Swimming exercises