Ring Diving
The child collects five rings placed on the pool floor in a single dive. The rings are spaced approximately 3 meters apart from each other. The pool should be at least 1.80 meters deep. The diving style can be freely chosen. The exercise begins either with a head dive or directly from the water. This activity helps develop underwater propulsion and breathing techniques.
Preparatory exercises
Slalom diving
Three offset underwater hoops are placed about one and a half meters apart in roughly chest-deep water. The child dives through all three in a slalom pattern in a single dive, without breathing between hoops; arms and legs may be used freely. This trains the underwater directional changes needed to reach the offset hoops.
Up and down
The child alternates between diving to the bottom and returning to the surface, hands at the sides, propulsion mainly from the legs, direction controlled by the position of the upper body. Make sure the child performs the necessary pressure equalization. This teaches controlling depth underwater through correct upper-body posture.
Pressure equalization
The child dives headfirst to about 1.5 meters. As soon as they feel pressure in their ears, they hold their nose and blow gently through it to equalize. Demonstrate the equalization on land first. Important: water pressure increases with depth, and around 1.5 meters it becomes uncomfortable — equalizing must be performed to prevent the pressure from causing serious ear injury.
Holding breath
The child holds a pool noodle or kickboard on the water with one hand and joins a diving competition: at your signal, they submerge until you remove the noodle. Start with two seconds and gradually increase. This fun exercise builds small successes and the ability to stay underwater longer — important for the core exercise airplane, which requires holding the breath for at least five seconds.
