Turtle Turn
From a rest on the back, swimmers roll onto their front and swim to the side – turning to find safety.
- Stages
- Stage 3
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Forward Travel, Rotation, Water Safety
- Equipment
- None, Noodle
- Age
- 5–99 years
- Group size
- 1–8 swimmers
- Time
- About 4 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2, Recap / Safe Exit
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Keep swimmers within reach of the side and within their depth.
What it develops
- Rotate front to back and back to front while moving
- Use simple water safety skills
How to run it
- Swimmer floats on the back a few metres from the side.
- On 'Turtle!' they turn their head towards the side, roll onto their front.
- They swim to the side and hold on.
- Vary which side of the pool is 'home' so they practise rolling both ways.
Teaching cues
- Look for the side.
- Roll towards it.
- Swim home.
Make it easier
- Start closer; float holding a noodle.
- Roll, then stand and walk.
Make it harder
- Start further away.
- Roll from front to back instead and swim home on the back.
Common faults
- Standing up to turn.
- Rolling the wrong way, away from the side.
Corrections
- 'Turn your head first to find home.'
- Point to 'home' before each turn.
Assistant / L1 role
- Wait at 'home' on the wall and call the swimmer's name so they know which way to roll.