Home › Artistic Swimming – Stage 8
Shape Freeze in the Water
A game: swimmers move freely, then freeze into the shape the teacher calls – layout, tuck, star, pencil – and are scored on control and stillness.
- Stages
- Artistic Swimming – Stage 8, Artistic Swimming – Stage 9
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Skills
- Sculling, Body Control, Body Positions
- Equipment
- None
- Age
- 8–16 years
- Group size
- 3–20 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Introduction / Warm-up, Game / Consolidation
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Plenty of space; standing depth or confident swimmers only.
What it develops
- Basic body positions
- Body positions with full extension
How to run it
- Swimmers swim or scull slowly around the area.
- Teacher calls a shape: 'layout', 'tuck', 'star', 'pencil' or 'side'.
- Swimmers freeze in the shape for a count of five.
- The teacher or a judge awards points for the stillest, neatest shapes.
Teaching cues
- Get into the shape quickly but smoothly.
- Freeze – no drifting.
- Pointed toes.
Make it easier
- Fewer shapes; allow a short kick to get into position.
Make it harder
- Freeze in pairs, matching a partner's shape.
- Change shape on a second call without moving.
Common faults
- Wobbling into the shape.
- Drifting away while frozen.
Corrections
- 'Scull to stay still.'
- 'Tight shape, still hands.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Judge one half of the group and tell the teacher who held the stillest shape.