Introduces and enhances understanding of the aquatic environment. Instructors guide students through a variety of skills, including floating, the progression of going under water, using swim equipment, forward underwater movement, arm and leg movements, rudimentary rhythmic breathing, and the fundamentals of self-rescue and water safety. Goggles may be helpful.

Students further develop comfort with underwater exploration and learn to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water. This stage lays the foundation that allows for a student’s future progress in swimming.

Required: Child must be able to sit on pool edge independently for 30 minutes (without parent).

Child is able to independently submerge underwater and swim a few feet with or without floatation. The focus is on body position, front/back float, forward underwater movement, rolling from front to back, directional change, and basic self-rescue skills.

Child can swim, roll to a float and swim the width of the pool (20 feet) and back. The student continues to focus on self-rescue skills while learning to swim longer distances, tread water, and retrieve an object from the bottom of the shallow end.

Child can swim/float the length of the pool (60 feet). Students develop proper front crawl including rudimentary rotary breathing, back crawl, breaststroke kick and butterfly kick. The water safety conversation continues and is reinforced through skills like treading water and elementary backstroke.

Child can swim 50 yards of proper front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke kick, and butterfly kick. Improve upon all major competitive strokes. The water safety conversation continues and is reinforced through treading water and sidestroke.

Child has completed the group swim lesson program (through Stage 6) and can effectively and efficiently swim 150 yards of any combination of strokes. Student builds endurance, refines all major competitive strokes, and improves starts and turns.