Artistic Swimming – Stage 8 swimming activities

Getting started with artistic swimming: body awareness, balanced floating, standard and support sculls, basic body positions, controlled rolls and turns, and moving in time with a partner. Outcomes are SwimShare focus areas.

Artistic Swimming · 31 activities.

Outcomes

  • Float and balance in different positions
  • Standard and support sculls
  • Basic body positions
  • Controlled rolls and turns
  • Move in time with a partner

Activities

  • Artistic Swimming Taster – Sculling, a ballet leg and a short group pattern to music – a taster of artistic swimming built on core skills.
  • Artistic Warm-Up Swim – An easy warm-up linking strokes, sculls and layouts – one width each – to loosen up and switch on body control.
  • Back Layout Hold – The basic artistic swimming position: body straight on the surface, face, chest, thighs and toes at the surface, held with a support scull.
  • Balance Point Float – Swimmers experiment with arm position in a back float to find their own balance point – where the legs stay up without kicking.
  • Basic Sculling Control – Small, continuous figure-of-eight hand movements that hold the body still on the back, then move it head-first – the foundation skill for swimming, water polo and artistic swimming.
  • Body Tension Check – Hold a rigid straight body on the back while a partner gently moves you by the feet – if you stay in one piece, your body tension is ready for positions, entries and rotations.
  • Canoe Scull – Sculling on the front with hands under the hips – supports a flat front position and builds feel for the water.
  • Cool-Down Float and Stretch – A calm finish: easy swim, gentle floating and simple stretches in the water, with a quick recap of the lesson aim.
  • Count the Eights – Swimmers learn to count in eights (as music is counted) and start, change and finish simple movements exactly on the count.
  • Eggbeater on the Wall – Learn the eggbeater leg action holding the pool wall: knees wide, lower legs circling one after the other like an old-fashioned whisk.
  • Feet-First Scull – On the back, swimmers change their hand angle to travel feet-first – real control of sculling rather than flapping.
  • Float to Rest Positions – Swimmers try different ways to float and rest – star, vertical, tucked (HELP position) – and discuss when each helps.
  • Follow the Leader Patterns – A line of swimmers follows a leader around simple pool patterns – a curve, a figure of eight, a circle – keeping even spacing.
  • Front Layout Glide – Hold a straight front layout with the back of the head, shoulders, bottom and heels at the surface, sculling gently under the chest.
  • Hips-Up Sculling Check – Partners check that the hips stay at the surface while sculling, using a light touch cue and short holds – a direct fix for sinking hips.
  • Log Roll in Layout – Roll slowly from back layout to front layout and back again, keeping the body straight like a log.
  • Mirror Partner Sculling – Two swimmers face each other sculling and one leads simple movements while the other mirrors – the start of synchronisation.
  • Mirror Swimming – Pairs swim side by side trying to stay perfectly in time – stroke for stroke – which needs a steady, controlled rhythm.
  • Mushroom to Starfish – Tuck into a mushroom float, then open slowly into a starfish on the front – controlled changes of shape with calm breathing.
  • One-Arm Wave in Layout – Scull in a back layout with one hand while the other arm lifts slowly out of the water and waves – keeping the body steady as the support changes.
  • Partner Synchronisation Challenge – Pairs perform the same four-move sequence side by side and score points for starting, changing and finishing together.
  • Relaxed Treading Ladder – Tread water for short, relaxed rounds that gradually lengthen, with rests at the wall – building efficient treading rather than a test of endurance.
  • Sculling Circles – Floating on the back, swimmers use only their hands to spin slowly in a circle – learning how sculling supports and moves the body.
  • Sculling Shapes Relay – A relay where each leg uses a different scull – head-first, feet-first, canoe – with points for control, not speed.
  • 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.
  • Starfish to Pencil Float – Change slowly between a wide starfish float and a narrow pencil float on the back, feeling how body shape changes balance.
  • Support Scull on the Spot – Hold a back layout completely still beside a floating marker using a support scull – the skill behind every stationary artistic position.
  • Swim and Scull Circuit – Stations around the pool – scull head-first, tread water, tub turn, float – swimmers rotate every minute.
  • Synchronised Stroke Swim – Pairs or trios swim a width of front crawl, backstroke or breaststroke side by side with arms entering at exactly the same time.
  • Tub Turn – Sitting in a 'tub' (knees tucked, shins on the surface), swimmers scull to spin round – great for control and confidence.
  • Tuck to Back Layout – From a back layout, draw the knees in to a tuck on the surface and extend again – the first transition in artistic swimming.