Stay Upright Challenge
In water just too deep to stand, swimmers stay upright using sculling hands and cycling legs – an early step towards treading water.
- Stages
- Stage 3, Stage 4
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Skills
- Water Safety, Sculling, Coordination, Treading Water
- Equipment
- Noodle
- Age
- 6–99 years
- Group size
- 1–6 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Only in water where swimmers can quickly reach the wall or stand on tiptoes.
- Supervise closely at all times.
What it develops
- Use simple water safety skills
- Tread water for a short time
How to run it
- In chest- to shoulder-deep water, swimmers hold a noodle under the arms and lift their feet.
- Legs make a slow cycling action; hands scull just under the surface.
- Count how long they can stay upright with the noodle held loosely.
- Progress to letting go of the noodle for a few seconds.
Teaching cues
- Chin on the water.
- Slow cycling legs.
- Hands flat, scull under the surface.
Make it easier
- Hold the wall with one hand.
- Keep the noodle held firmly.
Make it harder
- No noodle for 10 seconds.
- Wave one hand as if signalling while staying up.
Common faults
- Fast panicky kicking.
- Hands slapping the surface.
Corrections
- 'Slow legs save energy.'
- 'Hide your hands under the water.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Stay in the water within arm's reach of swimmers trying without the noodle, holding a spare noodle ready.