Lane Swimming Skills
Circle swimming, passing and resting at the wall – the lane skills swimmers need for clubs and public sessions.
- Stages
- Stage 6, Stage 7
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Water Safety, Endurance & Pace
- Equipment
- None, Pace Clock
- Age
- 8–99 years
- Group size
- 4–20 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Introduction / Warm-up, Recap / Safe Exit
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Plan lanes by ability; stop the set if lanes become crowded.
What it develops
- Swim further with pace awareness
- Apply self-rescue and water safety knowledge
- Swim continuously with controlled pace
- Water safety and rescue awareness
How to run it
- Explain circle swimming: keep to one side, turn in the middle.
- Swim continuous lengths in a lane with others, staggered starts.
- Practise passing: tap the feet, the swimmer ahead lets you pass at the wall.
- Rest at the corner of the wall, not in the middle.
Teaching cues
- Keep to your side.
- Tap to pass.
- Rest in the corner.
Make it easier
- Two swimmers per lane.
- Walk-through first.
Make it harder
- Faster and slower swimmers sharing a lane.
- Use the pace clock to set start gaps.
Common faults
- Swimming down the middle.
- Stopping in the middle of the wall.
Corrections
- Use the lane line as a guide.
- Point out the resting corners.
Assistant / L1 role
- Supervise one lane and remind swimmers of the passing rule.