Make a Splash! With The Scout Association and Robinsons Fruitshoot. How it works! On the other side of this poster you will find a world of activities for you to complete. Do your best to get as many ticks as you can and then stick up your big certificate to let everbody know that you MADE A SPLASH! Water can be lots of fun. To help you Get Good at all sorts of water sports, Robinsons Fruit Shoot and The Scout Association have put their flippers together and come up with some top tips, tricks and advice! Leaders Information All of these activities should be done in the Colony, Pack or Troop with an adult present. Make sure that when planning the actvities you do so in accordance with Policy, Organisation and Rules. If you are not sure how to plan or run these activities you can get help from your ACC (Activities) or by contacting the Information Centre on: 0845 300 1818.
Safety first At the Meeting Place Know the Water Safety Code and how to act safely around water. The Water Safety Code is a code to protect you from the dangers of water, and help you get good at watersports. The Code is: Spot the dangers! Water may look safe, but it can be dangerous. Learn to spot and keep away from dangers. You may swim well in a warm indoor pool, but that does not mean that you will be able to swim in cold water outdoors. Take safety advice! Special flags, signs, notices and people may warn you of danger. Know what the signs mean and do what they tell you. Go together! You should always go with an adult, not by yourself. Your Leader or Instructor can point out dangers or help if somebody gets into trouble. Learn how to help! You may be able to help yourself and others if you know what to do in an emergency. If you see someone in difficulty, tell somebody, preferably a lifeguard if there is one nearby, or dial 999, and ask for the Police (if you re inland) or the Coastguard (at the beach). To view the full Water Safety Code please go to: www.scouts.org.uk/fruitshoot Tick the box when you feel that you have fully understood the Water Safety Code. Cubs Use your knowledge to help you gain your Personal Safety Badge
Listen up: The right gear At the Meeting Place Know what equipment you need for different activities. Different water activities require different clothing and equipment. You can t go canoeing without a paddle, but it d be pretty useless for waterskiing! Write here all the gear you think you ll need to Get Good at these fun sports: Kayaking Raft building Octopush (that s underwater hockey to you and me!) Know your stuff? Now get in teams, with you at one end of the Meeting Place, and all the equipment for water fun at the other. When your Leader calls out an activity, your team races to get a piece of equipment and bring it back. Then the next person goes. The first team to get a complete set of the right equipment wins! Safe gear - Some water activities require a buoyancy aid, but others need a life jacket. What s the difference? Your Leader or instructor will be able to tell you, and how to put each of them on safely.
Water wise At the Meeting Place Take part in a game or challenge at your Meeting Place where you have to save water. Water is wicked! Not only does it make a refreshing drink - it makes up over 50 per cent of your body! The earth is covered by more water than land, but out of all the water in the whole world only one per cent of fresh water can be used for everyday things like washing and drinking. That s why it s important to be water wise. Can you invent a game where being water wise makes you a winner? Perhaps you could give everyone a plastic cup of water and they have to balance it on their head and get to the finish line. Remember that water is precious and you must try not to spill a drop! The one who has the most water (and not the one in first place) wins. You can drink your water afterwards. Make it harder by adding obstacles, doing it as a team, or doing it blindfolded. What other ways can you save water at home? Bathroom Kitchen Garden Get creative By designing a poster about saving water. Put it up in your Meeting Place, or in your front window. Make it bright and colourful to get your message across. You can use the facts here or find out your own.
Use this game as your environmental activity for your Outdoor Challenge. Know where you re going? At the Meeting Place Make a compass and find North. When you get onboard a boat, even the mightiest mariner will get lost without knowing where they re going. That s why a compass is useful. Not only does it tell you where North is so you can use a map, but it can help you plot your route so you ll never get lost again. You can buy a compass or make your own. Make your own compass You will need: A needle, 50cm slice of cork, a magnet and a bowl with enough water to float the cork. What you do: Float the cork on the water. Rub the needle over the magnet in the same direction. Do it 50 times (it ll be worth it!). Lay the needle on top of the cork. The needle will slowly turn to point North/South, even if direction. you turn a different The science bit Earth s North and South Poles are magnetised, so the North and South Poles of a magnet point the needle in the same direction as we use on maps. By using your compass to find North, you can have a pretty good idea of which direction to take, by land or by water!
Know the basics In the water Get in the water safely. Before you Get Good enough to win an Olympic swimming medal, there are the allimportant safety rules to consider. Being safe depends on where you are the rules that apply to the pool may not be the same for a lake or the sea. Wherever you are, you ll need to know how to enter the water safely, so follow the ground rules: Look around. Are there any hazards that mean you shouldn t enter the water? Look out for: other swimmers flags or signs that tell you not to enter hazards in the water (broken glass, mud or slime that water depth (is it too deep or too shallow?) could be dangerous) Never jump into the water unless you know it s safe. Lower yourself in carefully from a sitting position, or use a pool ladder if there is one. Be sure to face the steps first time and look where you are stepping. This is a great activity to work towards your Swimming Stage 1 badge
Walking in the water In the water Get Good at treading water. Once you re in the pool, Get Good at treading water. If you pretend to ride a bike with your legs, and do doggy paddle with your arms, you ll find you re able to stay afloat for a little while. Practice near the edge of the pool, and go further out when you re confident. Get your Leader or instructor to show and help you to be great at treading water! Tip: If you can do breaststroke, you ll tread water more easily if you do breaststroke with your legs in a standing-up position. If you can tread water for 30 seconds, you meet Requirement 3 of the Stage 1 Swimming Badge. Do it for three minutes and you re good enough for Stage 2. If you master treading water, there are many games you ll be able to play in the pool, like water polo, volleyball and tag. - This is a great activity to work towards your Swimming Stage 1 badge - This is a great activity to also work towards your Swimmer Stage 2 badge
Fun and games In the water Get Good at snorkelling and play an underwater game. 70 per cent of the world lies below the surface of the seas, and snorkelling is the first step towards exploring this underwater world. Snorkelling is underwater swimming using a mask and flippers and breathing through a snorkel. You can do this in the pool or at sea, and it is a great way to explore beneath the surface of the water. If you re an ace snorkler, why not try Octopush? This is a game of hockey... played underwater! You have to dive down with your pusher (a curved hockey stick) and push the weighted disc into the goal. There are eight players on each team, and the hardest thing is knowing when to dive and when to come up for air! For more information about Octopush go to: www.britishoctopush.org Scouts Get your Physical Recreation Badge for getting good at Octopush Cubs Octopush your way towards your Water Activities Badge
Fitness games In the water Do some activities in the pool that will help you get fit. Challenge your friends to a running race across the shallow end of the pool. What can you do to help you go faster? Are short paces better than long ones? Have a jumping contest. Start in the water, standing up. Quickly kneel down, dipping your head under the water and spring up. Ask your Leader or Instructor to spot who can jump the highest, or furthest, or with the biggest splash! Make sure everyone has plenty of space. Go further by planning a few visits to the pool to improve your fitness. You could build up the number of lengths you swim, or improve your underwater breath-holding. Choose a challenge and record your progress. Did you Get Good? Cubs If you can keep afloat for five minutes, or swim 50 metres, you re well on your way towards the Water Activities Badge Cubs and Scouts Put your fitness activity towards your Fitness Challenge Beavers Got your breath back? Use the activity for the Health and Fitness part of your Discovery Challenge
Boating On the water Take part in a boating activity and pick up some new skills. Boats can take you to exciting places, and there are many skills to be learnt while on-board. Do a boating activity to Get Good. Dragon boating Dragon boating started in China around 2,500 years ago. The brightly decorated boats are long and have huge dragon heads on the front. Lots of paddlers make up the crew, with a steersperson and a drummer who beats out the paddlers rhythm (and usually shouts encouragement as well). Dragon boating will test your teamwork skills as well as your paddle power. Bell boating Bell boats are tin-hulled open canoes that seat between eight and 14 people. Again, you will need to work as a team if you are to get anywhere, and that compass might come in useful for navigating. Note: Remember the safety rules you learnt in Safety First before attempting any of these boating activities. Scouts
Scouts can get an Activity Badge for dragon boating. Ask your Leader what you have to do. Cubs You can use dragon boating or bell boating to help towards your Water Activities Badge Sailing On the water Take part in a sailing activity and learn the parts of a dinghy. Sailing is a sport that can be enjoyed by absolutely anyone. When you feel the wind in your hair and hear the water lapping behind you, you ll know why. Ask your Leader or Instructor to show you a diagram of a dinghy and talk you through all of the separate parts. Kite surfing Kite surfing is a combination of power kite flying, windsurfing, paragliding and wakeboarding. You use a power kite to send you surfing over the waves, and you need good upper body strength and great swimming skills to Get Good. Cubs You can do sailing to help get your Water Activities Badge Scouts Master this and you could be well on your way to achieving your Dinghy Sailor Badge
Raft building On the water Build a raft that floats! Raft building can be done on many levels, from producing a raft to carry a shoe or flipper across a paddling pool, to a raft to carry you and your friends across a lake. You will need: Pioneering poles, ropes and barrels. Work as a team, do the right knots and lashings, and try out your designs. As with most of these water-based activities, getting wet is part of the fun! Cubs You can do rafting to help get the Water Activities Badge Scouts The square lashing and clove hitch (knots you will need) are needed to pass the Pioneer Badge
Water power On the water Go on board a powerboat and learn about how it works. Power boating uses exciting, high powered machines that require skill and knowledge to master but anyone can have a go. You will hear power crafts called different names: rib, dory, workboat, lifeboat, to name but a few. The engines can be different too: inboard engines are inside the boat; outboard engines sit on the outside. The most useful type of powerboat is the lifeboat. The RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) is a charity that saves lives 24-hours a day around the UK and Ireland. They wouldn t be able to do that without their 332 powerboats. You can visit RNLI centres and go on board, unless the boats are being used of course: Visit www.rnli-shorething.org.uk for more Perhaps your Leader or Instructor can organise a visit to a powerboat the next time you re by the coast or by a river? This could be a narrow-boat on a canal or a lifeboat. Members of a lifeboat crew know everything there is to know about their craft, and how to stay safe on the water.
Beavers Use your visit as part of the Outdoor Challenge Scouts Get Good at powerboating and get your Power Coxswain Badge