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Pencil Sink and Rise
From an upright position, sink calmly in a straight pencil shape, then rise back to the surface with control – the first controlled submersion.
- Stages
- Artistic Swimming – Stage 9
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Submersion, Treading Water, Body Control
- Equipment
- None
- Age
- 8–99 years
- Group size
- 1–10 swimmers
- Time
- About 4 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Deep water only for confident swimmers; short, controlled submersion. No hyperventilating, breath-holding contests or 'how deep can you go'. Teacher watches each swimmer surface.
What it develops
- Controlled submersion and surfacing
How to run it
- In deep water, swimmers tread upright, take a normal breath and lift the arms gently out of the water to sink.
- Sink a short distance in a pencil shape, breathing out slowly through the nose.
- Push the hands down towards the hips to rise back to the surface.
- Surface with the face up and back in a tread or back layout.
Teaching cues
- Calm breath – not a big gulp.
- Straight like a pencil.
- Hands push down to rise.
Make it easier
- Sink only until the head is just under.
Make it harder
- Surface into a back layout in one smooth movement.
Common faults
- Taking a huge breath and not sinking.
- Panicking on the way up.
Corrections
- 'Normal breath, then let go.'
- 'Look up and press down.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Watch each swimmer surface and signal to the teacher straight away if anyone is slow to come up.