Swimming Merit Badge
Swimming strokes, water safety, and rescue basics — one of three options for this Eagle requirement.
Good fit if you like
Before You Start
- !Confirm you can swim 100 yards continuously before scheduling your first counselor session — that is tested right at the start, not worked up to.
Tips for Earning This Badge
- 1You must be able to swim 100 yards continuously before your first counselor session. Practice all four strokes — the counselor will test each one.
- 2Summer camp is the most common place to earn this badge with pool access and qualified counselors available together.
- 3The rescue and reaching assist requirements are tested separately from the swimming — practice them specifically.
- 4If you are a strong swimmer, consider Lifesaving as an extension of this badge.
- 5Counselors are evaluating stroke technique and endurance together — swimming the distance sloppily is treated differently than swimming it with correct form.
- 6A common pitfall: scouts who can swim casually but have never actually swum 100 continuous yards. Time yourself in a pool before assuming you are ready.
Official Requirements
We keep this page focused on tips and what to expect, not a copy of the requirement text — requirements get revised periodically, and scouts are generally held to whichever version was current when they started the badge (the same reason Scoutbook lets you filter by pamphlet version). For the exact, current wording, check your Scoutbook record for this badge or the official page below.
Swimming on scouting.org ↗Finding a Counselor
Ask your Scoutmaster for the council's merit badge counselor list. For popular badges, a parent in your troop may already be registered as a counselor. If your troop doesn't have one, your council's advancement chair can help connect you.
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