Aquatic Recreational Activities

Aquatic is a broad term used for activities done in or on the water. Among these are many
lifelong and competitive activities, such asfitness swimming (laps), racing, water polo,
synchronized swimming,diving (springboard and platform), water aerobics, snorkeling,
scubadiving, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, crew/rowing, white water rafting,lifeguard/Guard start,
and Water safety instructor.

Individual Water Sports

1. Swimming

Swimming is one of the most popular water sports all over the world. It has evolved
to become one of the most common recreational activity. Swimming competitions are
common, and many of them take place in swimming pools or in open water like lake or
seas.

2. Surfing

Surfing involves riding in a surfboard on the forward face of a wave, breaking

waves to shore in an upright or standing position. It’s the most common board-based,
surface water sport. Surfers catch ocean, river and even man-made waves where there are
waves to ride.

3. Water Skiing
Water skiing is a surface sport that’s basically skiing on water. A water skier needs
2 or a single ski to skim or glide along the surface of the water. With the help of a ski cable
or rope, the rider is pulled along by a high-speed powerboat with the help of a ski cable.

4. Wake boarding
Also known as cable wakeboarding, this type of sport is a kind of surfing – you ride
a board in a prone position while you’re being towed along by a high-speed boat. The board
used in wakeboarding is specifically designed with fins and weights to allow the rider to
manipulate it with his/her feet.

5. Skim Boarding

Skimboarding looks like surfing, but they differ in the way riders star. Surfers swim
first to the deeper parts of the ocean and anticipates for the waves, but skimboarders start
at the beach, wading with the board into the wash of the previous waves. After that, they
ride the next wave back to the shore. Skimboarders uses a skimboard, which is a lot like a
surfboard but smaller and without fins.
 Team Water Sports
1. Synchronized Swimming
Synchronized swimming is a combination of swimming, dance and gymnastics. It’s all
about performing an elegant, elaborate, synchronized moves in the water, accompanied by
music. It requires advanced water skills, aerobic endurance, flexibility, strength, grace,
creativity, perfect timing, as well as exceptional breath control when upside down underwater.
2. Water Polo
Also called football in the water, water polo is an energetic sport in which players must swim
and defend the ball to try to score in the opponent’s goal. It’s played by teams of seven with a
buoyant ball that looks like a soccer ball.
3. Rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes compete while riding in boats on the ocean, river or
lakes. It involves propelling a boat using oars. It can either be recreational, for fitness or
competitive, where athletes team up in boats and race against each other. The force of the
racers on the oar blades as they row propels the boat forward.
4. Synchronized Swimming
In synchronized diving, two divers perform the exact same dive simultaneously. And it’s
not just stepping off a board and jumping – it also involves acrobatics while the diver is falling.
Also, there are particular, jumping and diving rules and forms to follow. It’s a popular and
highly competitive Olympic event that can also be done solo.

5. Dragon Boat Racing

Originating from China, dragon boat racing emerged as a modern international watersport.
It’s the most popular activity during the Dragon Boat Festival. Participants row while riding a
dragon boat, which is a wooden watercraft shaped and decorated in a Chinese dragon design.
This boat varies in size and capacity, but generally, it’s around 20-35 meters long and needs
30-60 people to paddle.
 Recreational Water Sports
1. Snorkeling

Snorkeling is swilling on the surface or through the waters with the help of a diving
mask, a snorkel and some fins. The snorkel, which is a hollow tube pipe, allows you to
breathe normally underwater. It’s a popular recreational activity in the sea because you can
get to observe underwater flora and fauna.

2. Water Aerobics

If getting fit and staying healthy is your priority, you should try water aerobics. It’s
a fun form of exercise wherein aerobics is performed in shallow water, usually in
swimming pools. You don’t need to know how to swim before doing this. It’s beneficial
for the body, and the use of water prevents overheating of the body and reduces risk of
injuries to joints and muscles.

3. Aquajogging

Aquajogging, as the name suggests, is jogging in a swimming pool. It involves

wearing a floatation device around your waist and moving arms and legs in a jogging
motion in the deep end of the pool. In aquajogging (also known as deepwater running), the
feet must not touch the floor of the pool.

4. Scuba Diving

For people who want to explore underwater and breathe while swimming deep into
the sea, scuba diving is the perfect sport. It makes use of a scuba equipment, which usually
consists of a mouthpiece, air hose, harness, back plate, regulator and an air tank, for a
swimmer to breathe underwater, without relying on the surface air just like in snorkeling.
Scuba divers wear fins as well to swim better.

5. Freediving
Freediving, also known as breath-hold diving, is a simple yet perilous sport that
involves holding your breath for as long as you can until you return to the surface. With
freediving, you can only travel as far as in the air in your lungs can take. It’s a form of
training the body for long spells underwater. The goal of this sport is to challenge oneself
to test limits, so you can explore the underwater world without needing any diving
equipment.