Scuba/Snorkeling in Water Games?

[MacYankee86]

Hey All
I teach a snorkeling class at a summer camp for kids near my house. The class runs for about an hour a day for 5 to 6 days with kids 8-12 years old. Normally the first day I go over things like equipment (mask, snorkels, vests, fins, etc.) and basic skills (water entry, walking in fins, etc.).

The rest of the week it is fun/exploring time. I also have a treasure hunt throughout the week with underwater clues in bottles and an eventual treasure in an sunken treasure chest (Hershey Bars! Woohoo!).

We dive in a lake so there are some cool things to see, sunfish, bass, crayfish, but sometimes we don't see anything, or we are in area with only sand.

I was wondering if there were any games or activities I would teach that the kids would enjoy? Games I have already include a "Toypedo" and the sinking rings for pools.

Thanks for the help!
Gordon

 

[PuyallupCoug]

This might be more for Scuba than snorkeling but during my open water certification, on the last pool session we played a game of underwater hockey.

Basically we had chunk of steel shaped just like a hockey puck and it laid on the bottom of the pool. Each opposite end of the pool was the "goal", there was no net, you got a point if the puck touched the back wall (Our pool was an "L" shapped pool with the bottom part of the "L" as a 14 foot deep end used for diving boards etc so we didn't have to swim the length of an olympic sized pool)

Our sticks weren't like hockey sticks, rather the best way I can describe them is 6-8 inch version of a shuffleboard stick. We started at the bottom and each team was at either end of the pool, the instructor would drop the puck in the center and we would race towards the puck and try to score by having the puck touch the opposite wall. I think we had like 7-8 people per side

The fun part was that tackling, holding, blocking were all allowed. The only thing forbidden was going after a regulator or a mask and touching the puck with your bare hands, you had to use your stick. It was fun to grab someones fin and yank them backwards so you could snag the puck and dart off the other way. After a few minutes we were all breathing very heavily.

I imagine it would be pretty hard to adapt to snorkeling, especially if someone gets trapped on the bottom of a pile, they don't have a reg in their mouth for air. All in all, very fun though, probably the most fun I've had in a pool.

Anybody else have any crazy scuba games they've played?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Have them work their way back and forth while holding a marble or marbles with a table spoon. Their are also underwater frisbees available. set up an uw frisbee golf course.

 

[sberanek]

relay games with a bowling ball. Like a baton relay on the track, but swimming with a bowling ball that is made tons lighter by being in the water, but awkward to move around because of it's shape. Then, maybe instead of passing it from hand to hand, they might have to give it a toss.

--Shannon