Handstand Challenge
Swimmers do handstands in shallow water – great for confident submersion, breath control and body awareness.
- Stages
- Stage 3
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Aquatic Breathing, Submersion, Coordination
- Equipment
- None
- Age
- 6–14 years
- Group size
- 1–10 swimmers
- Time
- About 4 minutes
- In a lesson
- Introduction / Warm-up, Game / Consolidation
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Only in water deep enough to cover the swimmer's hands and head but shallow enough to stand.
- Space swimmers well apart – legs swing.
What it develops
- Submerge confidently and retrieve objects
- Breathe out in a controlled way underwater
How to run it
- In waist-deep water, swimmers take a breath and put their hands flat on the floor.
- Kick the legs up and try to hold them straight above the water.
- Blow out through the nose while upside down.
- Bring the feet down and stand. Count how long the handstand lasted.
Teaching cues
- Hands flat, shoulder width.
- Blow out through your nose.
- Legs together and straight.
Make it easier
- One leg up only.
- Assistant holds the ankles gently.
Make it harder
- Walk on the hands.
- Handstand and twist to face a different way.
Common faults
- Water up the nose.
- Legs flopping over.
Corrections
- Hum all the way through.
- 'Point your toes at the ceiling.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Spot handstands by standing beside (not behind) the swimmer, ready to guide the legs down if they overbalance.