It’s summer and it’s time to get out and enjoy the sunshine. If you have a pool, you’re in a select group of lucky individuals who don’t even have to leave their homes in order to have a blast. Pools are a great way to get family and friends together for some fun in the sun, whether you're playing water basketball or just hanging out. Even when it’s hot and humid, a pool offers the perfect way to be active without being overheated. Water Basketball & Pool Games You Need to Try And it’s a good thing you’ve got a built-in source of entertainment right in your own backyard. In our world of hustle and bustle, there’s a growing trend to take a summer vacation at home. Whimsically named “staycations,” this trend underscores that today’s families want simpler fun and leisure activities that don’t cost a lot of money and don’t require the hectic pace of airline and car travel. So there are the staycationers, but what’s even more interesting is that more and more Americans seem to be opting for no vacations at all, with 43% of Americans claiming they won’t take vacation at all this summer. But don’t worry. If you have a pool, “no vacation” doesn’t necessarily mean “no fun.” Because you’re lucky enough to have a staple of summer fun, you’ll be able to fill your evenings and weekends with a whole slew of activities that are fun for the whole family. And just to show you what we mean, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best activities for pool-time entertainment. Water Basketball — A Great Way to Get Fun and Fit Water basketball is one of the most exciting pool sports and one that can engage the whole family, from small to tall. The game has a long history of providing a watery challenge for aficionados. Created to be a combination of basketball and water polo, water basketball is the ultimate family-friendly competitive water sport. In general, it involves five-player teams who each shoot a regulation pool basketball into a goal once their team has gained possession of the ball. Variations of the game were developed in Slovenia, where a floating basket was introduced. While this adds some difficulty to the game, in the home pool a floating basket can be just right for smaller children. Finally, two players from Slovenia created a basket specifically for pool basketball that featured a pole that extends into the water with a basket that’s hung over the water level by one meter. This allows the game to played behind the basket, which added to the competitiveness and excitement. Bring Water Basketball to the Pool At Dunn-Rite, we manufacture high-quality pool basketball equipment that can bring this fun, dynamic sport to your very own backyard. You can choose from our  floating basketball hoop called AquaHoop to make it easier for small children or one of our many fine equipment sets. Our products are made with strong, corrosion-resistant materials for protection against saltwater and chlorine environments as well as protection against UV rays. This attention to quality means you’ll be able to enjoy your pool basketball equipment for years to come. To play the game at home, you can any follow any variation of the standard rules, or even create your own game. Generally, people tend to follow the same rules for violations, which include: No pushing off of the side of the pool. No submerging the ball to keep it from the other players. No off-balancing other players. Free throws and 3-point shots are disallowed. Goal tending just means a point for the other team. The pool edges serve as boundaries and the ball is “out” beyond them. If a player forces a ball out, the other team gets the point. Any of the above actions results in a foul. Really, it’s your pool and your game. The sky’s the limit for creativity and fun! Pool Games to Try There are more games than just pool basketball on the agenda this summer. With just a few basic pieces of equipment, you can turn your pool area into a fun and fabulous destination for friends, family, and neighbors. Water Volleyball (aka Pool Volleyball) Another exciting game for home pools, pool volleyball offers a way to get the whole family in on the action. With two teams of one to four people depending on the size of the pool, this fast-moving game can easily accommodate even the youngest players. Smaller or shorter players can occupy the shallower section of the pool, while older or taller players can move into the deeper water. The rules are simple — don’t let the ball touch the water or go out of the pool onto the decking or grass. Most people play to 11, 15, or 25 points and a team must have a two-point lead to win the game. You don’t need much equipment to get a good game going, Dunn-Rite provides everything you need in the same high-quality materials you’ve come to expect from them. You can choose from a set where the net is mounted into poles in your pool deck or where the net extends from weighted bases that sit on top of your deck’s surface. Like all Dunn-Rite pool equipment, their  pool volleyball units are made from heavy-duty materials of the highest quality to stand up to rigorous play, pool conditions, and the harsh rays of the sun. Covered or “Blind” Volleyball Want to find another great game to play with your pool volleyball equipment? Covered volleyball is a simple way to spice up your pool ball game without spending a lot of money or taking time out to set up extra equipment. Covered volleyball involves hanging sheets or towels over the volleyball net so that you can’t see the positions and movements of the opposing team. This means you’ll never know where the ball is coming from, so you’ll have to be on your toes. Any number of players can play, making this ideal for large group settings. Like any volleyball game, the points are scored when the ball hits the surface of the water or the pool deck. Follow the usual volleyball scoring rules and game play. Night Ball It seems like the simplest of switch-ups but playing pool basketball or volleyball with a bit of glow-in-the-dark equipment can add interest and entertainment to your game play. You can suit your team up with glow-in-the-dark T-shirts to wear over their bathing suits, get a glow-in-the-dark ball, or even substitute a glow-in-the-dark basketball net for the one that came with your hoop. Most of these glow-in-the-dark items are not chlorine, UV ray, or saltwater-resistant, so you’ll need to remove them at the end of game-play and replace them with your original, pool-quality equipment. Bucket Ball If you’re lucky enough to have a Dunn-Rite AquaHoop floating basketball hoop, you have all you need to play a game of bucket ball. It’s best to have multiple floating hoops for more challenging game play, but even one will do. First, get a hold of some floating bean bags or floating hacky sacks. Your aim is for your team to get as many bean bags or hacky sacks into the floating hoop as possible, taking turns from one team to the next. If you have more than one hoop, both teams can play at the same time or you can position the hoops at different places in the pool. If you have hoops at different places, team members can score more points for making the more challenging shot. This game lends itself to all kinds of iterations. You can use different floating items to score baskets, have a team member move the basket while someone takes a shot, or have everyone jump around to cause the motion of the water to move the baskets. There’s no end to the number of games your friends and family can invent using these simple pieces of equipment. Dunn-Rite Pool Products & Pool Accessories 3rd Generation Family Owned Company with a long history of developing innovative products of the highest quality. Pool Fountains - Combo Units - Pool Volleyball - Pool Basketball