Group swimming gala

The first person you need to talk to about planning a group swimming gala is the GSL (Group Scout leader). They may have experience in planning group activities and will be able to help you with the planning. Agree upon regular catch-ups between Young Leaders or adults and any young people planning the gala. Everyone can share their experiences to make the preparations easier. Check in to see that everyone is still happy with the planned activities, games, venue and timings. Check whether any leaders involved are happy to supervise, organise and judge the contest.

Look for a local pool that can host your swimming gala. Find out more about your local pools in England, Wales or Scotland using this poolfinder, or use this one for Northern Ireland. You should also visit to check out the facilities. The pool needs to be available, accessible, centrally-located and suitable for ages 6-14. Remember to book this well in advance of your gala so you have time to get everything organised.

You’ll need to lock in a date when everyone’s available, which may be several months away. Work out a way of informing parents, carers, other young people and other groups about your plans. You’ll also need to give them some contact details. Adults or Young Leaders should handle this part.

Everyone taking part will need to fill in the relevant permission slip. The latest version can be found on members.scouts. Do this well in advance, so you have time to give everyone their form, they can fill it in and then return it before the date of the gala. You should also do a risk assessment on this event, the venue and get a hold of one for the pool itself. All of these need to be given to a leader running the event. Advice on risk assessments can be found at https://members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/search/?cat=299,301.

Consider the timings for the event, make sure there is enough time for all the activities and a few breaks in-between if needed. Choose activities, such as games and races, for everyone to do. Make sure they are flexible but still competitive so that everyone has the opportunity to get involved. You’ll need to think about swimmers of all levels, and plan activities for the shallow and deep end of the pool.

Here’s a sample list of activities you could use:

Beginner

• Floatation race (1 width)
• 1 width
• 2 widths
• Relay (2-4 widths)
• 1 width backstroke
• 1 width pushing a ball

Intermediate

• Floatation race (2 widths)
• Relay (4 widths)
• 25 m freestyle
• 50 m freestyle
• 25 m backstroke
• 25 m front crawl
• 25 m breaststroke
• 2 widths pushing a ball

Expert

• 100 m relay freestyle
• 50 m relay freestyle
• 50 m freestyle
• 100 m freestyle
• 200 m freestyle
• 50 m backstroke
• 25 m wearing clothes
• 50 m front crawl
• 50 m butterfly
• 25 m breaststroke

Activities

• Pass the ball – line up all members of a mixed-ability group along the width of a pool. They should pass or throw the ball along the line and back as quickly as possible.
• Rubber duck push – each member of a group has to push a rubber duck across the width of the pool and back, then pass it to the next person. The first group to have all their members do this wins.
• Retrieve an object – place different objects in the pool for all the members of a group to retrieve. These can be objects that float or sink, and that can be placed in the deep and shallow ends.
• Float relay – each member of the group has a float and they have to swim the width of the pool and touch the next person. The first team to finish wins.
• Paper boat race – each group makes a paper boat. The boats go on the water and the team have to work together to move their boat to the other side of the pool without touching it.
• Fill up the bucket – each group has a bucket on one side of the pool with the group waiting on the other side. One person at a time they fill a cup with water and balance/hold it on their heads and walk over to the other side. Empty any water in the cup into the bucket, swim back and pass the cup to the next person. The aim is to fill their bucket as quickly as they can.

Each activity needs a scoring card to record the results. These can be drawn up beforehand. Make sure there’s enough space for each race or activity and give it to the judges to write down the results during the activity.

You may need to think about prizes for each event. This could come in the form of medals or trophies or anything you can think of. The awards don’t have to just include 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd, consider prizes for most helpful, team spirit or best effort. Make sure you decide when you will award these prizes and how you will do it.

You will need to find some leaders who will be happy to judge and supervise during the event. Their role will be to watch the swimmers, time some of the races, make notes of the winner names and organise the prizes. These leaders can be from your group or from different groups or could be some of the swimming pool staff. If you are wanting to contact an adult outside your group then make sure you talk to your leader and they will be able to facilitate that.

You may require equipment for some of your races which could include floating aids, balls, a table, stop watches, whistles or lane markers. Make sure you talk to the swimming pool you are using as they may have some equipment already. If not talk to your leaders and see what equipment they have available in your meeting place that you could use.