Swimming Pool Games
Water Games

Here are some wet and wild swimming pool games to enjoy!

But first ....

Water safety goes hand-in-hand with water fun. Before you dive into these water games, please remember these water safety rules:

• Always swim with a buddy.
• Always have adult supervision.
• Is the water a safe depth for swimming? Any underwater obstacles to be aware of? (rocks, logs, holes)
  
• Swim parallel to shore, never straight out into deep water.
• Dive only into deep water - never into rocky shallows or unknown water.
• Keep clear of boats, water skiers, sea-doos, etc.
• Use inflatables with care. Currents and wind can quickly carry you out into deep water.
• Keep the beach clean.
• Be sure to have a reach pole (or paddle) and life jackets ready for rescues.

Colours is a swimming pool game for three or more people. It can be played using colours, numbers, sports teams or anything else you can think of.

First, determine the boundaries for your game. The game begins at one end and the opposite end is the safe zone (parallel to the shore please).

One person is "It". She stands with her back to the water (on the shore, the dock or diving board). The other players are in the water in a line close to the the person who is "It".

All players in the water think of a colour (or number, baseball team, etc.). They can whisper it to their neighbour or be on the honour system and keep quiet.

"It" starts by calling out colours. The other players listen for their colour, if it is called, they must quickly swim to the safe zone. As soon as "It" hears someone in the water, she turns around, jumps in and tries to catch the fleeing player.

If the player is touched before reaching the safe zone, that player becomes "It".

Jailer

Three or more swimmers are needed for this water game, and boundaries need to be decided. Half the game area will be the jail, the other half is the home-free zone.

Choose a player to be the jailer. All others begin the game in jail.

The jailer patrols the middle of the swimming pool game area where he can stand in the water. He walks back and forth keeping his eyes closed. All jailed players try to swim past the jailer without being heard. If the jailer hears someone making their escape, he points to the player and orders them back to the jail.

The games ends when all players make it out of jail.

Marco Polo

A classic swimming pool game! If you've never played (or if your too old to remember!), here's how it goes ...

You will need three or more players for this game. If you are not in a swimming pool, decide on the boundaries (i.e. from the dock to the sand bar). You need an area about the size of a large swimming pool.

One person is "It" and must keep their eyes shut (or blindfolded). "It" calls out "Marco!" All other players must shout out "Polo!" "It" keeps calling "Marco" as often as needed swimming in the direction of the nearest "Polo". The others try to swim away without attracting attention. No diving allowed.

"It" is allowed to call out "Submarine" and swim underwater with his eyes open. He must close his eyes when he resurfaces. You are allowed only two "Submarines" each time you are it - so save them for when you really need them!

As soon as "It" touches another person, that person becomes "It".

Shark!

Three or more players are needed to play Shark. Choose one swimmer to be the shark, the others are the bait. This is also another swimming pool game where boundaries are required.

The Shark counts to ten while the bait fish scatter. The shark must swim with one hand on his hip, elbow up like the fin of a shark, while trying to tag the bait fish underwater. This shark is not out for blood, so please do not kick him!

Each player that is tagged turns into a shark and, with his/her fin showing, swims after the other bait fish. Any fish swimming out of bounds becomes a shark too. The game is over when all the bait has been caught.

Water May I

Have you ever played the classic game of Mother May I? We've made it a little wetter and turned it into a water game.

Set up some boundaries in your swimming area. "It" stands at one end and all others stand at the other end in a line.

"It" tells each player in turn to take a specified number of swimming strokes (i.e. "Bobby, you may swim four backstrokes" or "Sarah, you may swim five dog-paddles"). Each player must ask "Water May I?" before swimming, or they go back to the starting line. "It" may say "Yes, you may" and you proceed, or "It" may say "No, but you may swim sideways for two strokes".

The first person who swims to "It" gets to be "It" next.

Water Polo

For this pick-up game of water polo, you need an equal number of players on two teams, and a soft ball that will float (beach balls work well, but they do get carried away very easily in windy weather). The rules are flexible - decide before hand if touching the bottom and time-outs are allowed.

You will need some type of marker for the middle of your play area - buoys work well - and a goal (and goalie) is needed at each end. The two teams line up at opposite ends, when the game begins the ball is thrown into the middle of the play area.

Players from each team try to get the ball, pass it to a teammate, and score a goal. The ball must be 'dribbled' through the water by pushing it with one hand or any other part of the body. One-handed passes are also allowed. Only the goalies may handle the ball with both hands. The team with most goals wins.

Buoys

Need some buoys to mark off your play area for the water games mentioned above? These are fun and easy to make with your children before game day.
You will need:

• clean, empty plastic bottles with handles and lids (milk jugs work great)
• nylon rope
• scissors
• a weight for each buoy - a heavy rock or brick (or another jug filled with sand)

Peel off any labels on the jugs (so they do not come off in the water and pollute it). Measure the depth of the water where you would like the buoy to be (you can use your body as a measuring tape). Cut a piece of rope that will reach he bottom, giving yourself a bit extra to tie around both the jug and the rock. Attach one end of the rope to the jug handle and the other end of the rope to the rock, tying securely.

Now you simply drop the rocks into the water where you need a marker (i.e. for your goals in Water Polo, the safe zones in Colors and Jailer, etc.).