Sit in the Chair
Teaches safe recovery from a back float: chin forward, knees up, 'sit' and stand.
- Stages
- Stage 1
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Skills
- Water Confidence, Back Float, Water Safety
- Equipment
- None, Noodle
- Age
- 3–99 years
- Group size
- 1–10 swimmers
- Time
- About 3 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- This skill must be solid before swimmers try back floating without support.
What it develops
- Float on the back with support
- Return to standing from a float
How to run it
- Start from a supported back float (noodle or assistant).
- On 'Sit!', swimmers bring the chin towards the chest and pull the knees up.
- Scoop the arms forwards and up like sitting in a chair.
- Put feet on the floor and stand up tall.
Teaching cues
- Chin forwards first.
- Knees up to the tummy.
- Arms scoop forwards and up.
Make it easier
- Practise the movement standing next to the wall first.
- Assistant supports the whole time.
Make it harder
- Recover from an unsupported back float.
- Float, recover, float again on the teacher's call.
Common faults
- Throwing the head back and rolling over.
- Arms pushing down behind.
Corrections
- 'Look at your toes' to bring the chin forward.
- Demonstrate the scooping arms on poolside.
Assistant / L1 role
- Support under the shoulders and help rotate the swimmer forwards into the seated position.