Aquatic Stage 1: Water Safety Foundations

A four-night trail introducing Cub Scouts to water safety fundamentals, swimming skills, and aquatic awareness. Starts with hall-based safety planning before progressing to pool sessions for practical skills.

Challenge Area
Outdoor
Award Type
OAS Stage Progression
Nights
4
Total Duration
5 hr 30 min
Equipment Summary
PFD (one per six), whiteboard and markers, portable speaker or phone for music, laminated picture cards of water scenes (safe and unsafe), PFDs (one per Cub), first aid kit, laminated ocean animal picture cards, lane markers or pool noodles for distance markers, weighted dive toys or rings (at least 6), paper and 3 more

About this trail

This 4-night trail is designed around the Outdoor Challenge Area, making it straightforward to program outdoor-focused nights that contribute to Milestone credit. Each night follows the Scouts Australia Plan > Do > Review cycle and is structured as indoor nights.

Across its 4 nights, this trail maps to OAS requirements in Aquatic. The requirements are specific — not just "do some bushcraft" but individual Stage requirements like fire-lighting methods or shelter construction techniques. Tussock pre-loads these requirements into each night's event plan so leaders can sign them off during the activity rather than transcribing them later.

The SPICES developmental domains covered by this trail are: Intellectual, Social, Character, Physical, Emotional. Programming across multiple domains in a single trail helps Groups demonstrate balanced youth development in their term plans and annual reports.

You can run the four nights in order for a coherent multi-week program, or pick individual nights to fill gaps in your existing term plan. In Tussock, importing a night from this trail pre-fills the Scout Night wizard: Challenge Area, SPICES domains, OAS requirements, and suggested segments are all set. Customise from there to suit your Section.

Import into Tussock

Import this trail into Tussock to run each night with attendance tracking and automatic OAS requirement awarding built in — no manual requirement lookup needed.

OAS Requirements Covered

The following Outdoor Adventure Skills requirements are mapped across this trail's four nights. Import this trail into Tussock to award these requirements automatically when Scouts attend each night.

Aquatic

The Four Nights

Each night below is a standalone Scout Night session of approximately 1 hr 23 min and follows the Plan > Do > Review cycle. Run them in order for the full Aquatic Stage 1: Water Safety Foundations trail, or adapt individual nights for your program.

Night 1: Water Safety Know-How

Hall-based night covering PFDs, the buddy system, water safety rules, and signalling for help. Cubs learn the fundamentals before getting wet.

Indoor Challenge Area: Outdoor Duration: 1 hr 20 min
Intellectual Social Character

OAS requirements this night: aquatic.s1.plan-1, aquatic.s1.plan-2, aquatic.s1.plan-3, aquatic.s1.plan-5, aquatic.s1.plan-6

  1. Opening Ceremony Ceremony

    Grand Howl and welcome. Introduce the Aquatic Stage 1 trail — explain that over four nights, Cubs will learn to be safe and confident around water.

    Social
  2. PFD Show and Tell Instruction

    Pass around a real PFD. Each Cub handles it, tries it on, and explains one thing they notice about it. Leader explains why PFDs keep you afloat and when you must wear one.

    Intellectual
    Equipment (2 items)
    • PFD (one per six)
    • whiteboard and markers

    OAS: aquatic.s1.plan-1

  3. Buddy Up! Game Game

    Active game: music plays and Cubs move around the hall. When it stops, they must find their buddy and sit down together. Discuss why the buddy system matters, especially around water — you always have someone watching out for you.

    Social Physical
    Equipment (1 item)
    • portable speaker or phone for music

    OAS: aquatic.s1.plan-2

  4. Safe or Unsafe? Picture Sort discussion

    Cubs work in sixes to sort laminated pictures of water scenes into "safe" and "unsafe" piles (e.g. swimming between the flags vs. swimming alone in a dam). Each six explains their reasoning.

    Intellectual Character
    Equipment (1 item)
    • laminated picture cards of water scenes (safe and unsafe)

    OAS: aquatic.s1.plan-3

  5. Why Adults Must Be There discussion

    Short discussion in a circle: why is adult supervision essential when swimming? Cubs share ideas, then the leader summarises the key points — different ages and abilities need different levels of supervision.

    Intellectual Character

    OAS: aquatic.s1.plan-5

  6. Signal for Help Practice practice

    On dry land, Cubs practise the standard help signal: one arm raised above the head with an open hand while calling for help. Run a relay where each Cub demonstrates the signal correctly before tagging the next person.

    Physical Character

    OAS: aquatic.s1.plan-6

  7. Closing Ceremony Ceremony

    Recap what was covered tonight. Preview next week — we are going to the pool! Remind Cubs to bring swimmers and a towel. Close with Grand Howl.

    Social

Total night duration: 1 hr 20 min

Night 2: First Splash — Floating and Gliding

Pool session focused on water confidence: floating, gliding, blowing bubbles, and maintaining position. Cubs also learn about ocean animals.

Indoor Challenge Area: Outdoor Duration: 1 hr 25 min
Physical Intellectual Emotional

OAS requirements this night: aquatic.s1.plan-4, aquatic.s1.do-1, aquatic.s1.do-3, aquatic.s1.do-5

  1. Opening Circle Ceremony

    Poolside welcome. Recap buddy system and safety rules from Night 1. Assign buddies for the session.

    Social
    Equipment (2 items)
    • PFDs (one per Cub)
    • first aid kit
  2. Staying Put on the Water Instruction

    Discussion at the pool edge: if you are lost on the water, what do you do? Leader explains maintaining position using visual reference points. Cubs identify landmarks around the pool they could use as references.

    Intellectual

    OAS: aquatic.s1.plan-4

  3. Bubbles and Faces practice

    In the shallow end, Cubs practise putting their face in the water and blowing bubbles. Progress from chin-deep to full face submersion. Encourage Cubs who are nervous — this is about building confidence.

    Physical Emotional

    OAS: aquatic.s1.do-3

  4. Float Like a Starfish practice

    Cubs practise floating for 15 seconds on their front and back, and gliding for 5 metres. Start with leader or buddy support, then progress to unaided floating. Starfish position on the back is the easiest starting point.

    Physical Emotional

    OAS: aquatic.s1.do-1

  5. Ocean Animal Quiz discussion

    Poolside activity between swims. Each six names three animals that live in the ocean. Leader shares fun facts about each one. Cubs can draw their favourites on waterproof cards if time allows.

    Intellectual
    Equipment (1 item)
    • laminated ocean animal picture cards

    OAS: aquatic.s1.do-5

  6. Free Swim and Practice practice

    Supervised free swim time. Encourage Cubs to keep practising floating and blowing bubbles. Leaders circulate and assess individual progress.

    Physical Social

    OAS: aquatic.s1.do-1, aquatic.s1.do-3

  7. Closing Circle Ceremony

    Dry off and gather. Each Cub shares one thing they achieved tonight. Preview next session — swimming and treasure hunting!

    Social Emotional

Total night duration: 1 hr 25 min

Night 3: Swim and Dive — Strokes and Treasure

Second pool session: 10-metre swim, trying two strokes, retrieving objects from the pool floor, and practising the help signal in water.

Indoor Challenge Area: Outdoor Duration: 1 hr 25 min
Physical Character Emotional

OAS requirements this night: aquatic.s1.do-2, aquatic.s1.do-4, aquatic.s1.do-6, aquatic.s1.do-7

  1. Opening Circle Ceremony

    Poolside welcome. Buddy check. Recap what we achieved last week and set goals for tonight: swimming, diving, and practising our help signal in the water.

    Social
    Equipment (2 items)
    • PFDs (one per Cub)
    • first aid kit
  2. Warm-Up: Two Stroke Sampler practice

    Cubs try two different swimming strokes across the width of the pool — freestyle and backstroke are good starting points. Leader demonstrates each stroke first. Focus on having a go rather than perfect technique.

    Physical

    OAS: aquatic.s1.do-7

  3. The 10-Metre Swim practice

    Each Cub swims 10 metres (any stroke) without assistance. Set up a clearly marked 10-metre lane. Cubs go one or two at a time with a leader spotting. Celebrate each completion.

    Physical Character
    Equipment (1 item)
    • lane markers or pool noodles for distance markers

    OAS: aquatic.s1.do-2

  4. Treasure Hunt Game

    Drop weighted dive toys onto the pool floor in chest-deep water. Cubs take turns ducking under to retrieve objects. Make it a friendly competition — who can collect the most in 30 seconds?

    Physical Character
    Equipment (1 item)
    • weighted dive toys or rings (at least 6)

    OAS: aquatic.s1.do-4

  5. Help Signal in the Water practice

    In the shallow end, Cubs practise signalling for help while treading water or standing: one arm raised, open hand, calling for help. Each Cub demonstrates while their buddy watches and gives feedback.

    Character Emotional

    OAS: aquatic.s1.do-6

  6. Stroke Relay Game

    Fun relay race in sixes. Each Cub swims a short distance using one of the two strokes they tried earlier. Reinforces the two- stroke requirement while keeping energy high.

    Physical Social

    OAS: aquatic.s1.do-7

  7. Closing Circle Ceremony

    Dry off and gather. Talk about what was hardest and what was most fun tonight. Preview next week — our final night where we bring it all together and review our water adventures.

    Social Emotional

Total night duration: 1 hr 25 min

Night 4: Water Adventures Review

Final night: Cubs review their water experiences, identify safe and unsafe water areas, share what they enjoyed, and celebrate completing Aquatic Stage 1.

Indoor Challenge Area: Outdoor Duration: 1 hr 20 min
Social Intellectual Emotional Character

OAS requirements this night: aquatic.s1.review-1

  1. Opening Ceremony Ceremony

    Grand Howl and welcome to our final Aquatic night.

    Social
  2. My Water Adventure Story Reflection

    Each Cub draws or writes about their favourite moment from the pool sessions. They share their story with their six — what did they enjoy most? What surprised them? What was the hardest part?

    Emotional Intellectual
    Equipment (2 items)
    • paper
    • coloured pencils or markers

    OAS: aquatic.s1.review-1

  3. Water Safety Relay Quiz Game

    Active quiz game: sixes line up at one end of the hall. Leader asks a water safety question (PFDs, buddy system, help signals, safe water areas). First Cub to run up and answer correctly earns a point for their six.

    Intellectual Physical Social
    Equipment (1 item)
    • quiz question cards

    OAS: aquatic.s1.plan-1, aquatic.s1.plan-2, aquatic.s1.plan-3, aquatic.s1.plan-6

  4. What I Learned Presentations discussion

    Each six presents one thing they learned about water safety to the rest of the pack. Encourage Cubs to demonstrate the help signal or explain the buddy system to younger Cubs.

    Social Character Intellectual

    OAS: aquatic.s1.review-1

  5. Ocean Creatures Gallery creative

    Cubs create a quick collaborative poster of ocean animals they learned about. Each Cub draws one creature and labels it. The poster goes on the den wall.

    Intellectual Social
    Equipment (2 items)
    • large poster paper
    • coloured pencils or markers

    OAS: aquatic.s1.do-5

  6. Celebration and Closing Ceremony

    Acknowledge every Cub who completed the Aquatic Stage 1 trail. Hand out any badges or certificates. Close with Grand Howl.

    Social Emotional

Total night duration: 1 hr 20 min

See also

OAS Framework Reference

Full breakdown of all 9 OAS streams and their stage requirements.

Browse OAS framework →

More OAS Stage Progression Trails

Find other trails with a similar Outdoor focus.

All Night Ideas →