10 klassische Schwimmbadspiele

Sommerzeit ist Badezeit. Wenn die Temperaturen steigen, strömen Kinder und Erwachsene in Scharen in die Pools, um sich darin abzukühlen und einige klassische Poolspiele zu spielen.

Einen Pool zu finden, um diese Spiele zu spielen, ist nicht so schwer, zumindest in den USA. In Amerika gibt es mehr als 10,4 Millionen private Schwimmbäder und 309.000 öffentliche Schwimmbäder [Quelle: CDC ]. Die ersten öffentlichen Schwimmbäder wurden im späten 19. Jahrhundert gebaut, hauptsächlich in überfüllten Einwanderervierteln in Städten wie Boston und New York. Seltsamerweise wurde das allererste städtische Schwimmbad, das Cabot Street Bath in Boston, nicht zur Erholung gebaut, sondern um Bademöglichkeiten für Familien in der Nachbarschaft bereitzustellen, denen andere Mittel fehlten, um sauber zu werden [Quelle: Martin ].

Sobald Sie Ihren Pool gefunden haben, ist es an der Zeit, Ihre Spiele zu planen. Wir haben eine Liste mit 10 absoluten Favoriten zusammengestellt, um das Beste aus einem langen, heißen Sommertag im Wasser zu machen. Beginnen wir mit dem beliebtesten Spiel aller Zeiten, benannt nach einem Entdecker aus dem 13. Jahrhundert.

1. Marco Polo
2. Hühnerkampf
3. Haie und Elritzen
4. Handstand-Wettbewerb
5. Halten Sie Ihren Atemwettbewerb ab
6. Tauchen nach Schätzen
7. Kanonenkugel-Wettbewerb
8. Bauchklatscher-Wettbewerb
9. Delphin-Rennen
10. Menschlicher Whirlpool

Dies ist der König aller klassischen Billardspiele. Lange bevor Schulkinder etwas über den echten Marco Polo erfahren , einen italienischen Entdecker aus dem 13. Jahrhundert, der in China lebte und ausführlich über seine Reisen schrieb, sind sie Experten in dieser aquatischen Version von Blind Man's Bluff.

Um Marco Polo zu spielen, braucht man mindestens zwei Leute, aber es ist besser mit einer kleinen Menge. Eine Person wird als „Marco“ bezeichnet. Diese Person muss die Augen schließen und versuchen, den Rest der Leute im Pool zu markieren. Um die anderen Leute zu orten, benutzt er ein primitives Sonar und schreit "Marco!" worauf alle anderen antworten müssen: "Polo!" An der Richtung der Stimmen orientiert, stürzt sich der blinde Marco hinter seine Polos. Die erste Person, die getaggt wird, ist der neue Marco.

Die Regeln für Marco Polo sind ziemlich einfach, aber ihre Durchsetzung kann schwierig sein. Der Marco könnte versuchen, einen Blick zu erhaschen, oder die Polos könnten nicht „Polo“ schreien. In einer klassischen Ruckbewegung verlassen die Polos den Pool möglicherweise sogar vollständig. Um diesen Trick zu bekämpfen, erlauben einige Spieler dem Marco zu schreien: "Fisch aus dem Wasser!" wenn er jemanden verdächtigt, den Pool zu verlassen [Quelle: Retroland ]. Hat er recht, wird aus dem „Fisch“ der neue Marco.

Zunächst ein Haftungsausschluss. Wie Ihre Mutter Ihnen als Kind wahrscheinlich 6.784 Mal gesagt hat, ist Hühnerkämpfe im Pool eine potenziell gefährliche Aktivität. Hälse wurden verstaucht, Poolwasser eingeatmet und mehr als ein Bikinioberteil wurde, ähm, kompromittiert. Das heißt, es ist immer noch ein Klassiker.

Ein Hühnerkampf im Pool ist wie Doppeldecker-Wrestling. Es gibt zwei Teams bestehend aus jeweils zwei Personen. Jedes Team hat ein „unten“ und ein „oben“. Das „Oben“ klettert auf die Schultern des „Unten“. Die beiden "Top"-Leute sind die einzigen, die aktiv kämpfen. Das Ziel ist es, Ihren Gegner ins Wasser zu stoßen, indem Sie entweder nur das „Oberteil“ oder sowohl „Oberteil“ als auch „Unterteil“ zusammen stürzen.

Wie bei jeder großen Sporttradition gibt es Variationen der Regeln. Die meisten Hühnerkämpfer verbieten Kratzen, Haarziehen, Schlagen, Beißen oder andere unangenehme Verhaltensweisen. Manche nicht. Einige Hühnerkämpfer glauben, dass das Spiel gewonnen ist, wenn irgendein Teil der „Spitze“ das Wasser berührt. Andere warten auf das Eintauchen in den ganzen Körper. In manchen Becken dürfen auch die „Bottoms“ greifen. Alles ist fair in Liebe, Krieg und Wasserringen.

In its most basic form, sharks and minnows is a game of water tag. The game starts with one shark and several minnows. The shark lurks in one end (or the middle) of the pool. The minnows stand at the other end. When the shark yells "Minnows in!" or a similar phrase, the minnows jump or dive into the pool and try to swim to the other side without getting tagged by the shark. Every minnow the shark tags joins the shark's team and helps to tag other minnows. The last minnow becomes the first shark in the next round.

There are rule variations about when a minnow can be tagged. In one version, a minnow cannot be tagged if she is fully under the water. In that case, the shark can either wait for the minnow to surface for a breath, or the shark can try to pull her to the surface to make the tag.

In another version of the game, stealth is critical. The game starts with the shark facing away from the pool. The shark can only turn around when she hears a minnow in the water. Minnows who enter the water silently and swim without splashing are rewarded with a head start toward the other side.

Safe zones are also popular. If a minnow is touching the agreed-upon safe zone (like the pool drain or diving board), the shark can't tag it.

For the gymnastically impaired, there are few things more satisfying that doing an underwater handstand. Incredibly, a skill that requires superb balance and strength on solid ground can be executed underwater with almost zero effort.

Since nothing is fun unless someone loses, underwater handstands have been made into a classic pool game. The object of the game is to hold an underwater handstand longer than your opponents. This requires balance, poise, and if you are halfway decent, some serious breath-holding skills.

You can hold a handstand contest with two or more people, although it's important to have an impartial judge. The judge counts to three, yells "Go!" and the contestants submerge themselves to assume their handstand position. The handstand is good until both feet are underwater. The last person to tip over wins.

Variations include one-handed handstands, one-finger handstands, and the rare no-handed handstand, also known as treading water upside-down. If it sounds hard, that's because it is.

In 2012, Danish free diver Stig Severinsen set a new world record for holding his breath underwater [source: Grenoble]. How long did he stay under? We'll give you a hint: You are way, way low. The man held his breath for 22 minutes. Twenty-two minutes!

Underwater breath-holding contests are a classic, if controversial pool game. The rules are simple. Two or more people count to three, take a deep breath, submerge themselves, and see who can stay under the longest. When kids play the game, it's usually harmless, since no one tries to hold their breath for a dangerous amount of time. Tragically, that can change as kids get older.

The biggest danger of breath-holding contests involves forced hyperventilation. By taking a series of large forced breaths (which people tend to do before submerging), you can expel CO2 from your system. The lack of oxygen and buildup of CO2 in your blood is what triggers the impulse to breathe. By artificially lowering your CO2 level before entering the water, you buy yourself extra time before having to breathe.

Unfortunately, that technique can also backfire. As oxygen levels decrease, you run a greater and greater risk of losing consciousness. If you lose consciousness underwater without close supervision, you can drown [source: Canadian Red Cross].

So if you are going to play a breath-holding game, please keep it safe and fun. And if you feel dizzy after a couple of rounds, switch to a different game.

This is a great game for kids with goggles. The concept is simple: Choose a small, non-floating object and toss it into the pool. Have the kids race to locate the object and pick it up first.

There are lots of fun variations on the diving for treasure game. You can turn it into a longer challenge by tossing a dozen pennies into different parts of a large swimming pool and challenging kids to find them all. For stronger swimmers, you can play the game in the deep end.

When we were kids, we used pennies and rocks as the treasure , but now they sell special dive rings and dive sticks just for the game!

American diver David Boudia took home the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympic Games by executing a near flawless two-and-a-half somersault with two-and-a-half twists in the pike position from the towering 10-meter (33-foot) platform [source: Coffey]. But can the dude cannon ball?

To perform a perfect cannon ball , one must leap from a diving board or the side of the pool and clutch both knees to the chest forming the shape of -- you guessed it -- a cannon ball. Unlike competitive diving, the goal of the cannon ball isn't to slip noiselessly into the water, but rather to create the biggest splash possible.

In a cannon ball contest, two or more competitors try to impress one or more judges with their cannon balling skills. Judges can rate competitors by biggest splash, best cannon ball style, or whatever random criteria they wish. Until cannon ball becomes an Olympic sport, there are no official rules.

A belly flop contest is a classic companion to the cannon ball contest. To execute a perfect belly flop, the contestant needs to leap from a diving board (very brave) or the side of the pool, fully extend both arms and legs, and attempt to produce the loudest, most painful "smack" when entering the water.

As with the cannon ball contest, there should be a judge or judges to rank contestants on criteria like the loudest smack, the reddest belly and the most stylish flop.

This is another classic pool game that doesn't require any special props or toys . The object of the dolphin game is simple: Try to swim the farthest distance underwater. Two or more people begin on one side of the pool. On the count of three, they submerge, kick off from the wall and try to swim all the way to the other side without taking a breath. Strong swimmers can do a flip turn on the opposite wall and attempt to swim back. The person who swims the farthest without taking a breath is the winner.

Again, please use caution when playing any game that requires you to hold your breath. There have been cases where children who have repeatedly held their breath underwater have passed out and even drowned. Pool safety advocates call it shallow water blackout [source: Margetts]. Adult supervision is always recommended when young people are playing in a pool.

This is an incredible pool game if you have a large crowd of people in a big pool. It's perfect for summer camps or other large aquatic gatherings. In nature, a whirlpool is formed by ocean currents moving in a rotating direction, usually caused by rising and falling tides [source: BBC]. Whirlpools are extremely rare in nature, but with enough people, you can create a powerful whirlpool of your own.

Choose a large shallow area of the pool and get as many people in the water as possible. If there is a mix of adults and children, make sure that all kids are strong swimmers and tall enough that the water level is at chest height when standing.

Now have everyone start walking in a large circle in the same direction. Start slow and get progressively faster. It will be hard at first, because the water will resist your motion. But after 30 seconds, the coordinated movement of so many people will create a strong circular current in the water. Once you've created enough momentum, tell everyone to pick up their feet and float. You've created a whirlpool! If the whirlpool starts to lose momentum, have everyone start to run again.

For lots more tips on classic summertime activities, check out the links on the next page.

Originally Published: Jul 26, 2013

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Author's Note: 10 Classic Swimming Pool Games

I spent most of my childhood summers in the pool. Ours was at the local YMCA, a large outdoor pool with a couple of diving boards, a snack shop (King Cones!) and acres of hot plastic lawn chairs. My sister and I could spend hours in that pool playing every possible game. Handstand contests were big, as was some weird game where we tried to talk to each other underwater. As we grew older, we dared each other onto the high diving board, where I once accidentally executed a perfect belly flop. Ouch. Now I take my kids to the pool and have the unique pleasure of teaching them Marco Polo for the first time, showing them perfect cannon ball position, and tossing the same dive ring into the shallow end for hours and hours. As an adult, there's one thing that I love even more than pool games: how fast the kids fall asleep after an afternoon in the water.

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