Pool Games For The Whole Family

Now that we are officially well into the heart of the summer season, it is safe to say that your family has probably spent many a day splashing around at the beach or heading off to your local pool. And, with the high temperatures not promising to let up anytime soon, you can be sure that August will be another month of jumping in the water in order to ease away from the hot summer heat.

While adults often utilize the pool for the exercise and relaxation that the cool water can offer, this fun summer activity can also offer the entire family a chance to enjoy the pool together through a number of different games and sports. However, if your family is anything like ours, you probably have had one too many games of Marco Polo or underwater tea parties for one season.

To help you and your family get the most out of this last month of summer, we have put together some of our favorite pool games and activities that are a hit for adults and kids of all ages. However, before you begin, it’s important to remember that safety is an important part of water fun. Therefore, be sure that all youngsters have strong swimming skills and that you always have adult supervision on hand while in the pool.

Here are a few summer pool games that will help add a little splash to your outdoor summer fun:

Color Crossing

If you are looking for a relatively simple game that doesn’t require strong swimming skills for young ones, color crossing may be a great option for you. All participating swimmers choose a basic color and then line up along one of the side walls of the pool. The remaining swimmer, or the person who is “it”, then stands in the middle of the pool with their back to the others and begins to call out different colors. When each swimmer hears their color, they try to swim to the other side of the pool as quietly as possible. The swimmer who is “it” must listen carefully (without peaking) and try to catch the swimmer before they reach the other side. Whoever gets tagged becomes the next “it.”

Underwater Scavenger Hunt

Diving for treasure at the bottom of the pool has always been a favorite summer activity for kids. Simply strew a variety of different objects at the bottom of the pool (coins, diving rings, pool toys, etc.) and designate two teams to dive after the objects, one at a time. Be sure to time each individual team in order to determine who rescued their objects the fastest. However, also make sure the game is fair for players of all ages―strew objects around the shallow end for little kids, and the deep end for those who are older.

Water Sports

If your family likes to get quite competitive with their pool games, there are a number of different ways in which you can get a friendly sport going while still enjoying the water. For instance, a net stretched across the pool can create a nice court for some water volleyball. Or, if you are looking to play a little one-on-one in the shallow end, all you need is a pool basketball hoop and a ball in order to shoot some free throws.

Did you know: Today, YMCAs are collectively the largest operators of swimming pools in the United States. For more information about swim lessons, visit: www.ymcadallas.org/swim