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★ Eagle requiredEdition 2026Active Merit Badge
Swimming
Official Requirements & Fillable Workbook · 2026 Edition
Swimming is an essential water safety skill and a prerequisite for all advanced aquatic badges. After demonstrating the BSA swimmer test, you will refine five distinct strokes — crawl, backstroke, breaststroke, sidestroke, and butterfly. Requirements include an endurance 150-yard swim, surface dives to retrieve weights, and survival floating.
Key Requirements Covered:
- Safe Swim Defense & Aquatic Safety
- Stroke Mastery: Crawl, Breast, Side & Back
- Surface Dives, Treading & Deep Water Retrieval
- Continuous Endurance Swimming & Self-Rescue
5Printable Pages
9Requirements
2026Reqs Revised
What is on the worksheet: Swimming Requirements
Every requirement for the Swimming merit badge, word for word as published, with room to write under each one on the printed worksheet.
1Safe Swim Defense and Health Concerns
Do the following:
- a Review with your counselor how Scouting America's Safe Swim Defense guidelines anticipates and deals with common drowning situations such as unfenced residential pools, nonswimmers entering deep water, risky behaviors, medical impairment in the water, drop-offs, cold water, murky water, river currents, rip currents, and surf.
- b Discuss the prevention and treatment of health concerns that could occur while swimming, including hypothermia, dehydration, sunburn, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, muscle cramps, hyperventilation, spinal injury, stings and bites, and cuts and scrapes.
2Swimmer Test
Before doing the following requirements, successfully complete the Scouting America swimmer test, found in the Swimming merit badge pamphlet.
3The Five Strokes
Correctly perform the following strokes:
- a Demonstrate the front crawl or the trudgen using good form.
- b Demonstrate the back crawl using good form.
- c Demonstrate the sidestroke using good form.
- d Demonstrate the breaststroke using good form.
- e Demonstrate the elementary backstroke using good form.
4Swim 150 Yards
Swim continuously for 150 yards in a strong manner using each of the following strokes in any order; front crawl or trudgen (25 yards); back crawl (25 yards); sidestroke (25 yards); breaststroke (25 yards); and elementary backstroke (50 yards).
5Reaching and Line Rescues
Do the following:
- a Demonstrate water rescue methods by reaching with your arm or leg, by reaching with a suitable object, and by throwing lines and objects. Explain why swimming rescues should not be attempted when a reaching or throwing rescue is possible, and explain why and how a rescue swimmer should avoid contact with the victim.
- b With a helper and a practice victim, show a line rescue both as tender and as rescuer. The practice victim should be approximately 30 feet from shore in deep water.
6Floating, Survival Floating, and Life Jackets
Do the following:
- a Float faceup in a resting position for at least three minutes with minimal movement.
- b Demonstrate survival floating for at least five minutes.
- c While wearing a properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket, demonstrate the HELP and huddle positions. Explain their purposes.
- d Explain why swimming or survival floating will hasten the onset of hypothermia in cold water.
7Surface Dives
In water over your head, but not to exceed 10 feet, do the following:
- a Use the feetfirst method of surface diving and bring an object up from the bottom.
- b Do a headfirst surface dive (pike or tuck), and bring the object up again.
- c Do a headfirst surface dive to a depth of at least 5 feet and swim underwater for three strokes. Come to the surface, take a breath, and repeat the sequence twice.
8Headfirst and Long Shallow Dives
Following the guidelines set in the Scouting America Safe Swim Defense guidelines, in water at least 7 feet deep, show a standing headfirst dive from a dock or pool deck. Show a long shallow dive, also from the dock or pool deck. Note: If your state, city, or local community requires a water depth greater than 7 feet, it is important to abide by that mandate.
9Aerobic Benefits of Swimming
Explain the health benefits of regular aerobic exercise, and discuss why swimming is favored as both fitness and therapeutic exercise.
Two dates, two different things
Requirements Revision vs. Worksheet Date
Scouting America last revised the Swimming requirements in 2026. That is the badge, not this sheet — an older year does not mean the worksheet is out of date.
Verbatim Fidelity & Verification
This worksheet was checked against https://www.scouting.org/merit-badges/swimming/ in Aug 2026 and reproduces the requirements word for word. Both dates are printed on the sheet, so a copy in a binder can always be placed in time.
Requirement text is © Scouting America, reproduced verbatim. The worksheet layout and design are original to this project.
Spotted a discrepancy on this sheet? Tell us and we will re-check it against the official requirements.
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