Octopus Tag
Tagged swimmers become octopus arms that stay put and reach out – crossers must swim a chosen route to avoid them.
- Stages
- Stage 3
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Skills
- Water Confidence, Forward Travel, Front Crawl
- Equipment
- None
- Age
- 6–12 years
- Group size
- 6–16 swimmers
- Time
- About 6 minutes
- In a lesson
- Game / Consolidation
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Keep tags gentle and above the water.
What it develops
- Swim about 10 metres on the front
How to run it
- One swimmer starts as the octopus in the middle.
- The rest swim across when the octopus calls 'Swim!'.
- Tagged swimmers stay where they were caught and become octopus arms, reaching but not moving.
- Last swimmer untagged becomes the new octopus.
Teaching cues
- Pick your gap.
- Swim, don't walk.
- Keep your head down.
Make it easier
- Crossers can use a float.
- Swim on the front or back – any stroke.
Make it harder
- Specify a stroke for each crossing.
- Longer crossing.
Common faults
- Walking on the floor.
- Waiting at the wall too long.
Corrections
- Walkers are automatically tagged.
- Countdown from five before each crossing.
Assistant / L1 role
- Be the referee on one side, spotting walkers and keeping crossings fair.