Home › Artistic Swimming – Stage 8
Count the Eights
Swimmers learn to count in eights (as music is counted) and start, change and finish simple movements exactly on the count.
- Stages
- Artistic Swimming – Stage 8, Artistic Swimming – Stage 9
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Skills
- Rhythm, Artistic Movement
- Equipment
- None, Poolside Speaker
- Age
- 8–99 years
- Group size
- 1–20 swimmers
- Time
- About 4 minutes
- In a lesson
- Introduction / Warm-up, Skill Development 1
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Keep any speaker well away from the water's edge and cables off the poolside.
What it develops
- Move to counts and rhythm
How to run it
- Standing or sculling, clap and count '1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8' together at a steady tempo.
- Perform a simple movement – e.g. arms up on 1, out on 5 – while sculling in a back layout.
- Add a second eight with a different movement.
- Try it with the counts called quietly, then silently in heads.
Teaching cues
- Every move starts on a number.
- Keep counting in your head.
- Same tempo throughout.
Make it easier
- Counts of four instead of eight.
Make it harder
- Use music through a poolside speaker and find the beat.
Common faults
- Speeding up the count.
- Moving between counts.
Corrections
- 'Steady like a clock.'
- 'Move on the number, hold between.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Clap the steady tempo from poolside while the teacher watches the swimmers' timing.