Treading Water – swimming activities

Staying upright in deep water using legs and sculling hands.

Activities

• Aquatic Skills Sequence – Swimmers link entry, swim, surface dive, scull, tread and exit into one continuous, controlled sequence.
• Deep Water Confidence Ladder – A step-by-step route into deep water: hold the wall, let go for a count, turn and swim back – each rung builds trust.
• Deep Water Jump and Tread – Jump into deep water, surface, tread for a count, then swim back to the side – entries and survival combined.
• Stay Upright Challenge – In water just too deep to stand, swimmers stay upright using sculling hands and cycling legs – an early step towards treading water.
• Survival Sequence – A calm self-rescue sequence: enter, float to recover, tread and signal, then swim to safety and exit.
• Swim and Scull Circuit – Stations around the pool – scull head-first, tread water, tub turn, float – swimmers rotate every minute.
• Tread and Talk – Swimmers tread water while answering questions or playing a word game – they learn to stay relaxed long enough to talk.
• Tread and Wave – Tread water while signalling for help with one arm – combining two survival skills.
• Treading Water Basics – Upright in deep water with a noodle, swimmers learn slow cycling legs and flat sculling hands – then gradually loosen the noodle.
• Vertical Breaststroke Kick – Breaststroke kick while upright in deep water – builds a powerful kick and doubles as a treading-water skill.
• Water Polo Taster – Head-up front crawl dribbling a ball and passing while treading water – a fun introduction to water polo skills.