Properties with a pool: the fun activities you could offer!

Having a pool at your property is great, but offering activities around it is even better! Here is a quick overview of what you can offer.

Activities for children

The aim here is to keep the children and teenagers busy while their parents enjoy themselves.

You could set up slides for a morning, or leave balls available for games of water basketball.

Among the other activities, you might consider:

• Apaper aeroplane throwing contestover the pool
• Adiving contest
• Water polo
• A game ofdodgeball(with an activity leader to help)

Just make sure a lifeguard is always supervising these activities.

Activities for adults

One of the first activities that comes to mind is aqua aerobics: a little old-fashioned, perhaps, but there are plenty of ways to give it a modern twist!

Staying with sport, you can choose between aqua volleyball and aqua running. For the former, why not organise the odd tournament now and then?

For something more focused on relaxation, you could also offer aqua yoga, with or without a mask (some exercises require putting your head under water).

Finally, if you have the budget and the space available, why not install a few aquabikes? Just bear in mind that offering activities is a good thing, but do make sure your pool stays freely accessible for most of the day. Otherwise, guests who simply want to lounge by the water will be unhappy!

And if you are not doing it already, find out why branding matters!

Here is an overview of the activities described in the article, organized by audience and level of involvement.

Activity	Audience	Equipment needed	Lifeguard required
Water slide (limited time)	Children	Water slide	Yes
Water basketball	Children	Balls	Yes
Paper airplane contest	Children	Paper	Yes
Diving contest	Children & teenagers	None	Yes
Water polo	Children & teenagers	None	Yes
Dodgeball	Children & teenagers	None	Yes + animator
Aqua aerobics	Adults	None (optional equipment)	No
Aqua volleyball	Adults	Net & ball	No (recommended)
Aqua yoga	Adults	None	No
Aquabike	Adults	Aquabike equipment	No

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a lifeguard to run activities in the pool? Yes. As soon as an activity starts, someone has to watch the water and do nothing else. Diving contests, water polo, a game of dodgeball: the livelier the game, the less the players keep an eye on each other. Book a lifeguard for the whole session, start to finish.

What pool activities work for children? The simplest ones work best. A few balls left by the water are enough for a game of water basketball, and a paper plane throwing contest over the pool costs nothing. Add a diving contest, water polo or dodgeball supervised by an activity leader, and set up a slide for a morning if you have one.

Which water activities suit adults? Aqua aerobics is still the safe bet. For sport, aqua volleyball lends itself to small tournaments and aqua running needs almost no kit. For something calmer, aqua yoga, with or without a mask, since some exercises mean putting your head under. And if you have the budget and the space, a few aquabikes.

Isn't aqua aerobics a bit dated? A little, yes. But the session changes completely depending on the music, the pace and the props you bring in. The name ages faster than the activity.

Should the pool be closed during activities? As little as possible. A guest who comes down for a quiet swim and finds an aqua volleyball tournament instead leaves annoyed, and says so. Keep the pool freely open for most of the day and group the activities into slots announced in advance.

Do you need to buy equipment to get started? No. Balls, a few sheets of paper and someone to lead the game already cover half the ideas. Aquabikes come later, once you have the budget and somewhere to store them between sessions.