Home Base
Swimmers are released a few metres from the wall and make their own way 'home', building confidence to travel without support.
- Stages
- Stage 2
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Skills
- Water Confidence, Forward Travel, Backward Travel
- Equipment
- None, Float
- Age
- 4–99 years
- Group size
- 1–6 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Stay within arm's reach until the swimmer reaches the wall.
What it develops
- Travel about 10 metres on the front
- Travel about 10 metres on the back
How to run it
- Teacher or assistant holds the swimmer's hands a short distance from the wall.
- On 'Go home!' the swimmer lets go and travels back to the wall on the front or back.
- Increase the distance a little each time.
- Celebrate each new 'home run' distance.
Teaching cues
- Look at your home.
- Keep kicking all the way.
- Touch the wall, then stand.
Make it easier
- Start one metre away.
- Swimmer keeps a float.
Make it harder
- Start further away and travel on the back.
- Roll from front to back halfway home.
Common faults
- Standing up halfway.
- Grabbing back at the helper's hands.
Corrections
- Shorten the distance until they succeed every time.
- Step back after letting go so the only way is home.
Assistant / L1 role
- Run the Home Base releases one-to-one with the least independent swimmers while the teacher leads the rest of the group through the main activity.