Awards

All our awards are assessed for every half term and all badges and certificates are included in the price. 

Otter Challenge Awards

At Brightwater we follow our own scheme of awards that focus on learning breastroke first before progressing onto the other strokes. Otis our otter helped us develop the scheme of work listed below.

Level 1

With buoyancy aids:

 

  • Blow bubbles on water surface
  • Demonstrate basic tuck star pencil leg action
  • Demonstrate pizza arms
  • Be able to put each ear in the water
  • Wash face
Level 2

With buoyancy aids:

 

  • Blow bubbles with mouth under the water
  • Travel 5m ‘Tuck star pencil” arms and legs showing beginnings of correct timing, feet starting to turn out
  • Put both ears in the water at the same time
  • Swim on back with splashy toes with a woggle, both ears in the water
Level 3

With 2 discs per arm (max):

 

  • Blow bubbles with face in the water
  • Tuck star pencil arms and legs, without a woggle, two discs on each arms. Correct timing and feet turned out
  • Star float with 2 discs on each arm
  • Swim on back, ears in the water, tummy up, two discs on each arm
  • Jump in to a woggle
Level 4

With 1 disc per arm (max):

 

  • Put face in the water, blow bubbles and identify the colour of an object
  • Tuck star pencil arms and legs, without a woggle, one disc on each arm. Correct timing and feet turned out
  • Star float with one disc on each arm
  • Swim on back with one disc on each arm
  • Jump unaided without a woggle
Level 5

Without buoyancy aids:

 

  • Submerge completely and blow bubbles
  • Swim 5m breaststroke unaided
  • Star float unaided
  • Swim 5m unaided on back
  • Jump in, turn around and swim back to the wall
  • Retrieve an object from the bottom of the pool

Distance award scheme

After our Otter Challenge badges we move on to our distance badges still with Otis making an appearance on the certificates, we have been told by many that they love Otis striking a pose!

5m

Should be able to demonstrate 5m of breaststroke and at least 5m on their backs with splashy toes.

10m

Should be able to demonstrate 10m of breaststroke and at least 10m on their backs with splashy toes and demonstrate a backstroke arm pull when holding a float with their other arm.

15m

15m Breaststroke and around 10m of full stroke backstroke

25m

A combination of breaststroke and backstroke to achieve the distance of 25m around 50/50 of each. If a 25m is awarded you should feel confident that a child is water safe and if they were swim in a pool without constant parental supervision that they would be reasonably safe. Children should be able to demonstrate the beginning of front crawl breathing with the aid of a float.

50m

Swim 50m, without stopping, combination of backstroke and breaststroke. Children should be able to demonstrate front crawl breathing with an over arm recovery with the aid of a float.

100m

Demonstrate 100m without stopping combination of backstroke and breaststroke, Swim at least 25m front crawl basic technique.

200m

200m swim with the a combination of frontcrawl, backcrawl and breaststroke.

400m and Bronze
  • Jump in, swim 10m then surface dive and swim 5m under the surface
  • Tread water for 3 minutes
  • Scull head first 15m, feet at or near surface
  • Swim 400m using 3 strokes, minimum of 100m on each stroke
  • Plunge dive
800m and Silver
  • Swim 100m in 3 minutes, change of stroke only permitted at the end of a length
  • Tread water for 2 minutes with one hand behind their back
  • Swim 10m, surface dive head first then feet first to full depth
  • Scull head first on back for 10m, then return feet first
  • Swim 800m – 400m on front & 400m on back, change of stroke allowed each 50m
Gold
  • Plunge dive, swim 100m in 2m30s using 2 different strokes
  • Tread water for 3 minutes with one hand above their head
  • Scull head first 10m, enter tucked position and rotate 360o return to starting point sculling feet first
  • Swim 10m, forward somersault then continue a further 10m
  • Swim 800m using 3 strokes: FC, BC, BS and/or BF. Change of stroke permitted every 100m. This swim must be completed within 25 minutes.

Honours

This group of skills tests the pupil’s ability

Section A
  • To make a straddle entry into water of at least full reach depth, swim 5 metres into a piked surface dive to retrieve an object weighing approximately 2 Kg from water of full reach depth; carry the object using a backstroke or sidestroke for a distance of 20 metres, to land it on the poolside.

 

  • To scull 10 metres head first on the back; complete a back somersault finishing in a back layout position; perform a roll to take up a front layout in a fully extended prone position; carry out a front somersault finishing in a front layout position; tuck and rotate backwards into a back layout position and continue to scull feet first for 15 metres (throughout all sculling and layout positions, the hands must remain close to the hips and the feet must be kept together on or near the surface of the water).
Section B

NOTE: The following tests are to be completed in a total time of twenty minutes without a pause.

  • To swim 200 metres front crawl, 200 metres back crawl, and either 100 metres breaststroke or 50 metres butterfly. A change of stroke may only occur every 100 metres (except for butterfly).

 

  • To swim 500 metres freestyle, during which, surface dive twice head first and twice feet first; on each surface dive, swim through two hoops 4 metres apart without surfacing; (the tops of the hoops are to be at least 1 metre below the surface of the water).

After children have completed their Silver they will have the option to do the personal survival awards.