Under the Bridge
Swimmers duck under a noodle 'bridge' that is lowered a little each time.
- Stages
- Stage 1
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Skills
- Water Confidence, Aquatic Breathing, Submersion
- Equipment
- Noodle
- Age
- 3–10 years
- Group size
- 2–12 swimmers
- Time
- About 4 minutes
- In a lesson
- Introduction / Warm-up, Game / Consolidation
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Hold the noodle firmly and lift it if a swimmer bumps it.
What it develops
- Be comfortable with water over the head
- Blow bubbles with mouth and nose in the water
How to run it
- Teacher and assistant (or two swimmers) hold a noodle across the water as a bridge.
- Swimmers walk under it, ducking their head.
- Lower the bridge each round until it touches the water.
- Swimmers blow out as they go under.
Teaching cues
- Breathe in, blow out as you go under.
- Bend the knees to go down.
- Look forwards to the other side.
Make it easier
- Bridge stays high – chin only needs to touch the water.
Make it harder
- Bridge on the water surface so the whole head goes under.
- Push and glide under the bridge.
Common faults
- Swimmers pushing the noodle up with their hands.
Corrections
- 'Hands stay down by your sides – the bridge is magic, don't touch it.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Hold the other end of the bridge and be ready to lift it quickly for any nervous swimmer.