Swimmer 1-6 (6 to 12 years)

Swimmer 1 is considered the entry level for candidates aged 6 to 12 years old unless proof can be provided of previous lessons. Please contact one of the five area pools to set up an evaluation to determine if the candidate could start at a higher level. 

Swimmer 1

These beginners will become comfortable jumping into the water with and without a Personal Flotation Device. They will learn to open their eyes and exhale underwater, and gain the skills to confidently get objects off the bottom. They will learn to glide on their front and back (3 metres) as well as kicking on their front and back to a distance of 5 metres. Prerequisite: Be 6 years old prior to the first class. Children who have completed Preschool 1 or Preschool 2 must start in Swimmer 1 after turning 6 years old.

Swimmer 2

These advanced beginners will jump into deeper water, and learn to be comfortable entering sideways into the water wearing a Personal Flotation Device. They will be able to support themselves at the surface without an aid, learn whip kick, and swim the front and back crawl to a distance of 10 metres. They will also be introduced to flutterkick interval training (4 x 5 metres). Prerequisite: Be 6 years old prior to the first class and have completed Swimmer 1, or Preschool 4 or Preschool 5.

Swimmer 3

These junior swimmers will learn to dive and roll into the water. The new bag of tricks includes treading water, handstands, in-water somersaults and kneeling dives into deep water. They will work on the proper mechanics for front and back crawl over a distance of 15 metres, and perform interval training 4 times 15 metres using flutter kick with a 20 second rest between the 15 metre swims, this will improve the swimmers endurance levels. The swimmers will also attempt to perform the Canadian Swim to Survive standard. They will also learn whip kick on their back. Prerequisite: Swimmer 2.

Swimmer 4

These intermediate swimmers will refine their diving skills. They will wrestle with whip kick this time learning to perform the kick on their front. They will also learn the next step in breaststroke by practicing drills to work on their breaststroke arms. They will learn to swim underwater and tread water for 1 minute. As well as learning new skills, they will build their endurance. For this level, swimmers will perform interval training four times 25 metres using front or back crawl with 20 seconds rest between each swim. Prerequisite: Swimmer 3.

Swimmer 5

These swimmers will master shallow dive entries, the cannonball and wrestle with the eggbeater kick. They will refine their front and back crawl with over 50 metre swims of each. They will also put together the whip kick and breaststroke arms to perform the breaststroke. Then they will pick up the pace in 25 metre sprints. They will also perform interval training four times 50 metres using front or back crawl. Prerequisite: Swimmer 4.

Swimmer 6

These advanced swimmers will rise to the challenge of sophisticated aquatic skills like compact jump entries, stride entry into deep water and the eggbeater kick on their back to a distance of 15 metres. They will also learn the scissor kick. They will also build on their endurance for front crawl, back crawl and breaststroke. They will also perform interval training and perform 300 metre work outs. Prerequisite: Swimmer 5.