Learn to Swim | School Age Lessons: 6-13 Years
Learn to Swim | School Age lessons are designed for swimmers ages 6–13 and follow a structured, six-level progression that builds water safety, survival, and swimming skills in a positive, supportive environment.
Level 1: Designed for participants uncomfortable in water or with limited swimming experience. Explore water safety and basic swimming skills, such as: submerging, supported front and back floats, rolling front to back and back to front, gliding, kicking, front crawl arms, and jumping in.
Level 2: Designed for participants unable to travel 2 body lengths with minimal assistance. Focus is building independence, good body control and position, forward movement, and water safety. Introduces rotary breathing, prolonged front floats, treading water, and elementary backstroke.
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Level 3: Must be able to float on front and back independently for 10 seconds to enroll. Skills are performed independently, improving coordination of previous skills with longer distance in deep water. Introduces front crawl, breaststroke kick, dolphin kick, elementary backstroke, and scissor kick.
Level 4: Swimmers must be able to swim front crawl and elementary backstroke independently 15 yards to enroll. Builds endurance in front crawl, elementary backstroke, treading water with modified scissor kick. Introduces backcrawl, sidestroke, turns at wall, butterfly, breaststroke, and feet-first surface dive.
Level 5: Swimmers must be able to swim front and back crawl 25 yards to enroll. Builds endurance and refines breaststroke, sidestroke, front crawl, back crawl, butterfly, elementary backstroke, and treading water. Introduces head-first surface dive, front crawl and back crawl flip turns, and importance of CPR/First Aid.
Level 6: Swimmers must be able to swim 50 yards front crawl and elementary backstroke to enroll. Builds endurance and refines front crawl, back crawl, elementary backstroke, butterfly, and sidestroke. Introduces butterfly and breaststroke turns, feet-first surface dive, and retrieval of object from deep water, and personal water safety. Encourage Junior Lifeguard and Swim Instructor Aide as future courses.
Swim Lessons are offered year-round in session-based formats for both Members and Non-Members. Please refer to the chart below to view current and upcoming sessions, along with their registration opening dates.
Prerequisites:
Must be 6 years old to enroll in Learn to Swim Level 1. Level 1 must be passed to register for upper levels. Exceptions can be made by participating in a swim test with an aquatics director.
*If no lessons appear, try reducing the number of filters selected. Lessons will only display when they are available in our system. Please refer to the session and registration chart above for timing. Lessons typically appear about one week before registration opens, but may not be visible until the day registration opens.
Prerequisites:
Must be 6 years old to enroll in Learn to Swim Level 1. Level 1 must be passed to register for upper levels. Exceptions can be made by participating in a swim test with an aquatics director.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!
Your swimmer will need to have their photo taken for their YMCA account before the first day of swim lessons for security purposes and in the case of a substitute swim instructor. Please stop by the Member Service Desk to have their photo taken today.