White Whale
Four good swimmers, ages 8+
One swimmer is elected to be the whale. The whale floats, or treads water in the center of the pool while the other players circle around the whale chanting "White Whale, white whale." When the whale is ready, he or she yells "HUNGRY WHALE." The whale then tries to tag a swimmer before the swimmer gets to the safe area. If tagged, the swimmer is the new whale.
Sharks and minnows
Good for pools with a deep end.
The game starts with one swimmer selected as shark. The shark gets in the water on one side of the pool. The minnows start on the other side.
Shakes calls out: Sharks and minnows, 1, 2, 3! Fishies, fishies swim to me!
All the minnows must either dive in or swim to the other wall past the shark.
The shark tries to tag all the minnows he can. The first one tagged is the shark in the next round. If all the minnows have not been tagged, the cycle starts again until all have been tagged.
Find the coins!
Just what the name sounds like. This is great for swimmers who can swim to the bottom of the pool. Toss in quarters and call out 1-2-3 Go. Kids keep the coins.
Ping Pong Pandemonium
Dump a bucket of ping pong balls into the water. Divide kids in two teams. Each team has a bucket. Players collect balls, one at a time only, and carry them to the team bucket. Establish a time limit if you want. Good for groups different swimming skills.