Following on from the popular Tenerife Pool Balls post, I have some more ideas for pool party games for kids of all ages, kindly supplied by Duncan of Owners Direct who has quite clearly cracked his head on the bottom more than once.
Pool Party Fun or Everyone
We’re lucky enough to be enjoying a very pleasant summer right now and people are spending lots of time in their pools or at their local lidos. But whether at home or abroad, there is only so much enjoyment in cooling off from the sun and doing a few laps before swimming becomes about as interesting as painting Nan’s toenails.
Luckily, being a rather creative species we have come up with lots of games to make swimming jolly good fun. And just so you don’t get bored this summer, here is a selection of the very best.
Volleyball
Yes its cliché and yes people get far too competitive than is strictly necessary, but pool volleyball is great fun all the same. Ideally you need a net to play this game, but it works equally well with two willing volunteers holding a length of string across the pool. Whether you’ll find willing volunteers is another matter all together, so netless (not to be confused with topless) volleyball usually regresses into a game of keepy-uppy.
Marco Polo
A classic American swimming pool game here. As far as I can tell it involves a group tormenting a sightless individual by all replying ‘polo’ each time they shout out “Marco.” This person who is ‘Marco’ is encouraged to use their well developed sense of hearing to filter out the sounds of screaming, splashing water and the muffled instances of “polo” coming from every angle to home-in to someone. If the child with his or her eyes closed cannot pinpoint one of the other kids who is sporadically shouting out whilst also moving around, and invariably getting out the pool to run along the side, he or she is deemed a failure and plays no further part in the day’s activities. Only joking…they’re allowed to hold string for the volleyball game.
British Bulldog
All the way from the UK is the game that has been banned on land and since moved to the safety of deep water. That’s right, the game British Bulldog was banned in English schools after it caused more injuries than playing conkers (which has also been banned). The game involves running from one end of a field to the other whilst trying to avoid being caught by a ‘bulldog’ (another kid) who has to hold on to their victim long enough to say “bulldog 1,2,3” and then usually tombstone their captured runner . Any runner who is caught, providing they are still breathing, turns into a bulldog and the game goes on until there is one poor sod left that has to run the width of a field whilst being chased by twenty frustrated and concussed bulldogs. It’s good to see that whilst we’ve lost the tomb-stoning fun, the serious risk of drowning has now been introduced into the game.
Belly Flop Contest
When all creativity has been exhausted, you can always rely on an impromptu belly flop contest to bring some smiles. If big Johnny from around the corner who has a glandular problem is in attendance then the contest is usually over before it began. If however the field is quite equally matched then it can make for some nail biting action as performers are judged on:
- Difficulty
- Creativity
- Form
- Airtime
- Maximum Water Disturbance
- Tidal Wave Creation
Winners should get second helpings from the BBQ.
King of the Ring
This game usually materialises out of the blue as opposed to being planned. All it takes is for one territorial individual (usually male) to claim rights to the best rubber ring and start palming off attempts to share it whilst he starts pondering the best colours for his national flag. This tends to anger the other pool users and soon a revolt is in full swing with wave upon wave of attack being unleashed on the sole ring defender. When the original ring-hogger has been dethroned a new king (or queen) takes his place and the games starts over. The activity usually only ends when someone gets hurt, the ring bursts, or everyone realises Johnny has been at the BBQ for an awfully long time.
BIO:Duncan is a writer and blogger who represents a holiday villas company, specialising in holiday apartments and cottages in Cornwall
