Swimming Lessons
Level One (1) - Introduction to Water Skills
Purpose - Helps students feel comfortable in the water. Level 1 participants learn to do the following:
Enter and exit water safely
Submerge mouth, nose and eyes
Exhale underwater through mouth and nose
Open eyes underwater, pickup submerged object
Change direction while walking or paddling
Roll over from front to back and back to front with support
Explore floating on front and back with support
Explore swimming on front and back using arm and leg actions with support
Level Two (2) - Fundamental Aquatic Skills
Purpose - Gives students success with fundamental skills. Level two (2) participants learn to do the following:
Enter water by stepping or jumping from the side
Exit water safely using ladder or side
Submerge entire head
Blow bubbles submerging head in a rhythmic pattern (bobbing)
Open eyes under water, pick up a submerged object in shallow water
Float on front and back
Perform front and back glide
Change direction of travel padding on front or back
Roll over from front to back, back to front
Tread water using arm and leg motions (chest-deep water)
Swim on front, back and side using combined arm and leg actions
Level Three (3) - Stroke Development
Purpose - Builds on the skills in Level Two (2) through additional guided practice. Level Three (3) participants learn to do the following:
Jump into deep water from the side
Dive from kneeling or standing position
Perform front and back glide using two different kicks
Float on front and back in deep water
Change from horizontal to vertical position on front and back
Tread water using hand and leg movements
Perform front and back crawl
Butterfly-kick and body motion
Perform the HELP and Huddle position
Level Four (4) - Stroke Improvement
Purpose - Develops confidence in the skills learned and improves other aquatic skills. Level Four (4) participants learn to:
Perform a dive from a standing or stride position
Swim underwater
Perform feet-first surface dive
Perform open turns on front and back
Tread water using sculling arm motions and with different kicks
Perform the following - Front/back crawl, breaststroke, butterfly, elementary backstroke, swim on side using scissor-like kick
Level Five (5) - Stroke Refinement
Purpose - Provides further coordination and refinement of strokes. Level Five (5) participants learn to perform the following:
Standing dive
Shallow dive, glide two body lengths and begin any front stroke
Tuck surface dive
Front flip dive
Front flip turn
Backstroke flip turn
Front and back crawl
Butterfly
Breaststroke
Elementary backstroke
Sidestroke
Tread water with two different kicks
Learn survival swimming
Level Six (6) - Swimming and Skill Proficiency
Purpose - Refines the strokes so students swim them with ease, efficiency, power, and smoothness over greater distances. Level Six (6) is designed with "menu" options that each focus on preparing students to participate in more advanced course, including the Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard Training Courses. These options include:
Personal Water Safety
Fundamentals of Diving
Lifeguard Readiness
Fitness Swimmer