A good way to assess anyone's fitness level is with some pool games or aquarobics. Our task was to assist and motivate them. Giovanni and I dressed in our T&T (tee-shirt and tracksuit) and headed for the pool.

"Where is your hoodie?" asked Leslie, the aquarobics teacher, as we came down to the pool hall. "You'll need one for this workout. Go get it." So we went back to our room and fetched our tracksuit hoodies.

This was our first training session with the new guests, who arrived in the pool hall before breakfast, looking sceptical. They were not sure what to expect, as you could tell from the way they dressed for this activity. Most wore tracksuits, some dressed in tees with jeans or shorts, expecting a dry work out. They were wrong.

Dry was not an option

After a few warm-up and stretching exercises on poolside, like push-ups, sit-ups, and five star body builder, Leslie sent us all into the showers.

We team leaders had to shower first and explain the purpose of this. Then we had to make sure there were no dry spots on our teams.

They laughed and giggled as they all showered in their sportswear, which is required before hopping into the pool.

Into the pool

For many this was to be their first time wearing clothes in the water. They looked both excited and nervous as they went back to the pool in their dripping wet clothes.

We repeated the warm-up exercises in shallow water to give them a first experience of what difference wet clothes can make. Then we moved into chest deep water as the fast paced music started and did a sequence of exhausting fun exercises.

The instructor said that this workout gets harder the more clothes we wear, so we can adjust this to our fitness level in the days to come. She issued some hoodies from the drying room to those who wanted to try this.

Finally we did some wild contact sport games, so we would get to know each other. That was hilarious fun. Eventually it was time for a healthy breakfast.

In the mornings from 6:30 to 8:00 there was always a run or some other exciting event to wake us up. Today was canoeing day and this morning was an opportunity to try swimming in canoeing gear.

We met the students in the drying room by the pool after they've been through the showers. Most wore jeans or jogging pants and tee-shirts, some were slopping around in sweatshirts or hoodies.

We were asked to pick some of the water proof clothes from the racks. Some of the students preferred the canoeing anoraks, others tried coveralls or sailing suits. Buoyancy aids and life vests were also available to try out.

Moments later we were all splashing around in the pool, dressed in our canoeing kit. It was an interesting experience to swim with all the kit on. Climbing into the inflatable boats was quite a challenge with heavy waterlogged clothes.

Afterwards we had a shower as we took off the waterproofs, put them back into the drying room and got changed into dry kit for breakfast and the following canoeing session.

This early morning event was a simple team relay race. Only difference was that all team members had to swim in hooded tracksuits with the hood up.

Team leaders did not race but helped their team. I just dressed in my comfy staff uniform, blue heavy cotton pants, yellow polo shirt and oversized hoodie.

Each team had 4 swimmers. At exactly seven o'clock the first race took off. As they dived into the pool in their tracksuits a few hoods flipped back and those swimmers had to stop to put them back up again.

During the race it would show how skillful the teams were when selecting their tracksuit. If the hood fitted like a glove, they had a good chance of winning. If it was too big they could barely see where they were going as the hoods went over their eyes. This entertained the spectators a lot.

The suspense was intense because I wasn't sure if I would get pushed into the pool. My clothes were still dry, except for a few splashes from my team. I was getting a bit hot in my hooded jogging suit, so I sat down and dangled my feet in the pool, soaking my shoes and socks, and my pants up to the knees. Then I splashed some water over my hoodie, just to look the part.

Eventually Andy's team won the race. Being a keen hoodie swimmer, he probably taught his team how to best swim in a hooded top. After the race the teams grabbed their leaders and pushed them into the pool. Before I knew what hit me I found myself floating in the water, fully clothed.

One morning at six o'clock our team knocked on our door. I quickly threw over a poncho and opened up. They all swarmed in and asked if they could do a bonding celebration in the pool. I quickly checked with managment and they said it was fine if my team wanted to do that instead of the morning run.

They've chosen a 22 year old boy named Lee who was to be lowered into the water. His favourite colour was white, so we should all dress in white, if possible. They also said we should take a shower before we get dressed so we can walk into the pool in dry clothes. And off they went.

After a quick shower I put on thin white cotton trousers and a white polo shirt. Giovanni wore the same and brought his white nylon suit and poncho for Lee to wear.

Our team was already in the pool hall. You could see in Lee's eyes how excited he was to be the chosen one, dressed in white trousers and a thin hooded tee-shirt. He was most grateful to wear Giovanni's suit and poncho. This would slow down the water flowing in, making the experience more intense.

We put his anorak and poncho hoods up, then wrapped the poncho tightly around him, with his arms tucked inside. Then we lifted him up and slowly walked into the pool from the shallow end.

It was a nice feeling as the water slowly rose inside our clothes, made a difference from being thrown in. As we were about waist deep we stopped and lowered Lee slowly into the water.

He was smiling as the water seeped into his clothes. The thin nylon became almost transparent so we could see the air bubbles move inside his clothing, He asked to be completely submerged and took a deep breath. We pushed him right under and he soon resurfaced as he stood up and pushed his hands out of his poncho.

We swam around in the pool until the runners came back. Lee sat in the shallow water for a while, still wearing his ceremonial clothes, watching everyone splashing around. He looked really happy.