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Funny floating

Try not to laugh in this funny swimming game.

Back to Activities

You’ll need

  • Access to water suitable for swimming
  • Floats or inflatables

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.   
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely. 
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help. 

Get ready to float

  1. Give everyone a float or an inflatable.
  2. Ask everyone to spread out in the water and use their float or inflatable to lie still and float on the surface. 
  3. When everyone has has time to practise, try adding a time limit for them to work towards.

Try not to laugh

  1. One person is the jester. They should stop floating and swim around the water.
  2. The jester’s objective is to do whatever they can to make the floating players laugh, without touching or splashing them.
  3. When a player laughs, they become a jester as well.
  4. The winner is the last person left floating when everyone else has become a jester.

Reflection

This game was about being physically active and practising the skill of floating. Did you find it easy or difficult when you tried to float? Why might it be important to learn how to float?

This game was also about being happy and having a laugh. What made this game so funny? Which was your favourite part?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Water games and activities

Be careful when doing activities with, in, or near water. Check surfaces and reduce the risk of slipping where possible. Make sure you have appropriate supervision for this activity.

Begin the game with more jesters to shorten the running time.

Spread players throughout the water by ability, so that less confident swimmers can still play from the shallows.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Swimmer Stage 1
Swimmer Stage 2