How The Swimming Pool Game Dibble Is Played

Summer is that time of the year when families troop to beaches and swimming pools for a cool dip. Other than being a good form of exercise, swimming is an opportunity for members of the family to enjoy each other's company in a relaxing environment.

There shouldn't be any boring time for parents and their children at the swimming pool, as there certainly are lots of fun-filled activities that can be done here that one wishes the day will never come to an end. For example, several games can be played in swimming pools which can bring enjoyment to everyone; one such popular swimming pool game is dibble.

This game is very popular in Massachusetts, although it is often played too in other areas in the USA but under different names, such as "dibble dabble" or "toothpaste top" (the latter in reference to one of several objects that may be used for this game).

There is no limit to the number of players that can participate. The game begins with all participants standing at the side of the pool, except for one who will place any buoyant object - usually a Popsicle stick (others use the top of a toothpaste tube, a clear water bottle cap, or a light blue-colored golf tee) at the bottom of the deep end of the pool.

As the player who hid the object gets out of the pool quickly (usually this player will not compete in this round), the object will slowly rise to the pool's surface. Once any of the players spots the object, he or she calls out "dibble", jumps into the water, and tries to get to it before anyone else does.

Some strategies can add to the excitement:

• For the player who spots the object: He or she may opt to mislead the others by not jumping directly toward the object; remember that there will always be someone who can swim faster than you.

• For the other players who have not even spotted the object yet: They can jump into the pool, following the one (or several ones) who might have already seen the object, and try to create distractions by splashing around.

• For any player: He or she can trick the others by shouting "dibble" and jumping into the water even when he/she has not spotted the object yet.

In one variation of the game, the player who hid the object can participate in the "retrieval" but only after at least one player has jumped into the pool.

A couple rules to observe:

• Only those players who are in the water can retrieve the object; those who are not, or are just standing on the side of the pool, may not do so.

• A player has to first shout "dibble" before jumping into the pool; otherwise he gets disqualified in that round (often however, in the heat of excitement, no one may really care anymore if one called out the key word or not).

The winner of the game (that is, the one who successfully retrieved the object) will act as the "hide master" (and he or she can choose any other buoyant object he/she wishes to hide) in the next game.

Those who may be playing dibble for the first time may hear, during a game, such terms as "dibbler", "crabble", and "frabble". The first refers to the player hiding the object; the second describes an erroneous catch of the object between the fingers (instead of being firmly clasped in the hand); and the last one pertains to the catching of the object with the use of the toes.

Children aged 8 and above, provided they can swim, are the ideal participants in this really exciting swimming pool game. And the more players there are, the more fun this game can generate.