Sinker Ladder
Swimmers retrieve sinkers placed at increasing depths – knee, thigh, then waist – so going fully under builds step by step.
- Stages
- Stage 2
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Aquatic Breathing, Submersion
- Equipment
- Sinkers
- Age
- 4–10 years
- Group size
- 1–10 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- All zones must be within standing depth.
- Watch each swimmer surface before the next one goes.
What it develops
- Go fully under and pick up an object
- Blow bubbles with mouth and nose under
How to run it
- Place sinkers in three zones: shallow (knee deep), medium and deeper (waist deep).
- Swimmers start at the shallow zone and pick up a sinker.
- When ready, they move to the next rung of the ladder.
- At the top rung the whole head goes under to reach the sinker.
Teaching cues
- Breathe in, blow out as you go down.
- Bend your knees – sit down to reach.
- Eyes open to find it.
Make it easier
- Use sinkers on a string held just under the surface.
- Pick up with feet first.
Make it harder
- Collect two sinkers on one breath.
- Retrieve from the deepest zone with eyes open, without goggles.
Common faults
- Bending over with straight legs and bottom up.
- Grabbing blindly with eyes shut.
Corrections
- 'Sit down to the treasure.'
- Ask them to say the colour before they pick it up.
Assistant / L1 role
- Supervise the top rung, standing close to each swimmer as they go fully under and giving a reassuring hand on the shoulder as they come up.