He was playing a familiar childhood game.
But when Sam Goodenough's turn came to try to hold his breath the longest underwater, the game turned to tragedy.
The popular 16-year-old from Richmond, near Nelson, blacked out and failed to surface on December 29.
At first, others in the residential swimming pool thought he was just fooling around.
But the longer he stayed under, the more serious it became.
"It was just one of those tragic incidents," Sam's father, Geoff Goodenough, said.
"It was just a silly game they were playing in the pool of holding their breath. Of course, the other kids in the pool thought 'Well, he can hold his breath for a long time'.
"It's something we have all done as kids."
"It was just a freaky accident."
Paramedics were called to revive Sam, who lay in Nelson Hospital on life support before he died on Tuesday as the result of his failing internal organs.
Mr Goodenough and his wife, Sheryl, were out of town on holiday when it happened and returned to spend those final days with their only son - talking to him, singing to him, praying for him and saying goodbye.
Those who were playing the game with Sam had been offered counselling.
Mr Goodenough said his son was a highly promising basketballer and had wanted to pursue the sport at higher levels.
"He made friends easily. He just had a smile that would just light up a room," he said.
There was a "wee bit of cheekiness with him", but he was a "typical teenage lad".
Police had referred Sam's death to the coroner as a suspected drowning.
Water Safety New Zealand said the 10 recorded drownings over the official Christmas-New Year holiday period was a tragic "yet sadly predictable figure".
"A lot of attention is paid to the road toll but drownings also peak during this time of year and, given the number of incidents where good fortune has contributed to survival, we are lucky that the number of drownings has not in fact surpassed road deaths," WSNZ general manager Matt Claridge said.
Most lives were lost because of a failure to follow basic safety precautions, Mr Claridge said.
A large turnout is expected at Sam's funeral tomorrow, which will be orientated around young people.
- The New Zealand Herald
