One game that my team's swimmers love to play is sharks and minnow. This can work anywhere as long as you can keep swimmers safe and have two separate target areas, called safe zones in this game:
- A few swimmers are selected to be sharks, and they get to roam around the central part of the pool.
- The rest ofthe swimmers line up in a safe zone on one side of the swimming pool (the minnows).
- We leave all lane lines in the pool and the last line on each side of the swimming pool are the safe zones. Depending upon the skill level of the group playing, we expand or contract the size of the safe zone and the size of the area that is "legally" useable for crossing between safe zones.
- On a signal, the minnows must swim to the opposite side of the pool to reach the other safe zone.
- If a shark touches any part of a minnow while any part of a minnow is above water, the minnow is caught and becomes a shark.
- When only a few minnows are left, the sharks and minnows switch and we play again.
- Sometimes we only give swimmers a certain number of seconds to get from one side to the other, and add a "catch a breath" safe zone in the middle of the pool.
Do you have a game that your swimmers like to play? Looking for games for fewer swimmers or just for kids to play? Check the links section or check the About Swimming Forum
Swim On!
