Sunday Fun Day

One of my first group activities with other kids in New Zealand was Surf Life Rookies Sunday Fun Day. Surf Life is an organization for kids to practice useful pre-lifeguarding skills and have a fun day in and near the water. Rookies is the thirteen year old group which I took part in.

The first day was all about swim tests and get-to-know-you games. At first we were split up into four groups. There was an odd number of kids in my group so we had to keep switching people out for a game that required a partner. The next game was a tag game where you were safe for a moment if you said somebody else’s name and then they were “it”. After that we made two bigger teams and raced to try and get the whole team across the yard and back only standing on boogie boards and pool noodles. Anytime a team member fell off a noodle or board we had to start over from the beginning. Both teams had started over several times, with little hope left that either would ever win, when the game was interrupted for the main event of the day, the swim test.

Once everyone had put on swimsuits, or togs as they call them in New Zealand, we swam the swim test. The first part of the test was an open water 200 meter swim that had to be completed in less than nine minutes. I have, in the past, swam farther distances in the pool, so I wasn’t trepidatious about the test, though I should have been nervous about the ocean conditions. To save time, almost forty of us piled into the water at once and started swimming. There was many a complaint about the frigid water, but once we all started going the only noise was splashing. I got kicked in the face at least five times and swam on top of twice before I started trying to get out and away from all the kids. I ended up doing breaststroke until most of the kids were in front of me and then speeding up and trying to go around without getting clobbered by flailing limbs. Not surprisingly, everyone made the time with more than a minute to spare. The second part of the test was predictable for anyone that has ever done a pool swim test, treading water. We were told to tread water for two minutes, but in reality the water was so salty (the fact that I was in a wetsuit might have helped as well) all we had to do was float and chat and then swim back to shore. One of the best treading water experiences ever!

Surf Life Rookies was off to a great start. The water was cold and the games were odd but enjoyable. I do not ever wish to swim with forty kids on top of me again but I don’t think most people ever do to begin with.