SCAVENGER HUNT

Strew a variety of stuff at the bottom of the pool: dive rings, spoon, coins--anything that doesn't float, isn't made of glass and has no sharp edges. Make sure there are two of everything (one for each team). Designate the shallow end for little kids, the deep end for bigger ones and grown-ups and give each team a list of items to retrieve. The team that collects the most things on its list in the allotted time wins; the other team has to scour the pool for the remaining stuff.

DUCK

Assemble two teams, one offensive and one defensive, at opposite sides of the shallow end, plus a referee with a watch on the deck. Armed with soft rubber balls or small beach balls, the offensive team tries to hit the defensive players. An offensive team member can retrieve balls, but he must return to the starting position before throwing again. Defensive players must get out of the pool when hit. After all have been hit, the referee notes the elapsed time, and the teams change roles. The team that stays in the water the longest before being wiped out is the winner.

PING-PONG SCRAMBLE

Divide a group into two teams and line up the swimmers in the water on either side of the pool. Dump a basketful of numbered Ping-Pong balls in the center of the pool. At the whistle, both teams scramble to collect as many balls as possible and carry them back to a bucket on their side of the pool. No team member may collect more than one ball at a time. When all the balls have been collected, the numbers on the balls are added up, and the team with the highest score wins.

SHARKS AND JETS

Two teams, the Sharks and the Jets, line up opposite one another in the middle of the shallow end, with 5 feet of open water between them. A referee on the side blows the whistle and yells, "Sharks!" or "Jets!" That team must turn and sprint toward its side of the pool, with the other team in hot pursuit. A player tagged by a pursuing Shark or Jet joins the other team.

The referee can let the chase continue all the way to the end of the pool--or he can sound the whistle anytime, shout out the other team's name, and turn the pursuers into the pursued.

FREEZE

Gather players in the shallow end. Define the boundaries of play so that everyone can stand up. (Adults, on your knees!) One person is "it." At the whistle, "it" has one minute to tag as many other players as he can. Once tagged, a player must stand frozen and raise his hand. Before a frozen player can return to action, an unfrozen player must thaw him out by submerging and swimming through his legs. A player cannot be tagged and frozen if he is underwater. At the end of the minute, blow the whistle and designate an unfrozen player as "it." Keep going until everyone has been "it." The winner is whoever has the most frozen players at the end of his stint as "it."

CENTIPEDE CRAWL

Two teams form separate lines in the deep end of the pool, with the strongest swimmers in lead positions. Each swimmer holds onto the ankle of his teammate ahead with one hand, leaving his other arm free for a modified sidestroke. At the whistle, the two "centipedes" wriggle to the other end of the pool and back, each swimmer tagging the far wall with his free foot. If anyone's hand slips, the rest of the centipede has to wait until the link is reestablished.

FRUIT HOOPS

Two teams spread out along the gutter at the deep end. Float two plastic dishpans at the shallow end corners. In the middle of the pool, distribute two of every fruit from the produce department: bananas, apples, oranges, grapefruit, pears, mangoes, cantaloupes, whatever. At the whistle, both teams collect one of each fruit and deposit it in a dishpan.

While it may seem a simple game, Fruit Hoops presents an intriguing strategic choice: should a team assign each player a specific fruit to collect and carry to the fruit pan? Or should it designate a team member to swim ahead and be in position to catch and dunk fruit tossed and retrieved by teammates? At any rate, the first team to collect a complete fruit sampler wins; the other team has to prepare fruit salad for lunch.