By Samantha Dammann, Swimming World College Intern.
Even diehard swim fans can probably remember some meets they were less than thrilled to be attending. Maybe it was the tenth sweltering meet of a long summer season, or maybe it was a meet before the smartphone era when you ran out of games to play or books to read. Can you remember that mind-numbing boredom?
Well here’s a game that would’ve helped you: “I Spy- Swim Meet Edition”
Here is a list of 20 object and 20 events that you can find at just about any swim meet. The next time you have a long meet, or the next time you know your less than enthused siblings will have to come to a meet, print out a few copies and challenge each other to find the most items on the list!
Feel free to make the rules your own. You can play by the honors system and have players simply cross off the items they find, or you can challenge players to capture their items or objects on camera! If you want, add more items to the list before you begin playing! The more creative you are with this game, the more fun it will be.
I SPY: Swim Meet Edition
Objects:
- Headphones
- Gatorade (one extra point for each flavor found)
- Parka
- Speedo bag (one extra point for each color found)
- Pair of crocs
- Bag chair
- A soggy heat sheet
- Lap counter (two points if it has the extended stick)
- Zinc (tube or on person)
- “Event-Heat-Lane” marks on arm
- “Eat my bubbles” sharpie tattoo
- Cupping marks
- Tie-dyed meet shirt
- Swim suit brands: one point for each (ex: Speedo, TYR, Jolyn, Arena, etc.)
- Pace clock
- Pull buoy
- Pair of swim paddles
- Shammy towel (Microfiber dry towel)
- Shepherd’s crook
- Homemade sign for a team or swimmer
Events:
- Oblivious swimmers who keep swimming during the national anthem (one point for each swimmer)
- Coach twirling a stopwatch
- False start
- Swimmers or spectators dancing to a song
- An empty lane during a heat
- Pre-race stretching behind blocks
- A timer getting splashed during starts or turns
- A swimmer avoiding jumping in the warm up pool
- Post-race victory cheer
- Team cheer
- Teammates hugging after a race
- Swimmer doing the Phelps arm swing
- Sleeping swimmer
- A bored lifeguard
- Swimmers putting sunscreen on each other
- Swimmers playing cards
- Swimmers using muscle rollers
- A swimmer ripping a cap
- Swimmer using a snorkel during warm up or cool down
- A swimmer reading
All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.
Lorraine Basham remember when we did this? Our list was much longer.
Oh my! They stole our idea! They need the Observation Club to get a longer list!