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Summer Morning (AM) Swim Lessons will begin on June 13th and will run through July 20th. Classes are all 30 minutes in length and will be held on both Monday's and Wednesday's for 6 weeks at the Blue Mountain Middle School Pool.  There will be no classes on Monday, July 4th and Wednesday, July 6th.

Summer Evening (PM) Swim Lessons will begin on Thursday, June 16th and will run through July 21st.  Classes are all 30 minutes in length and will take place at the Blue Mountain Middle School Pool.

Lessons will be offered for persons from ages 6 months through adult. The Recreation Commission utilizes American Red Cross certified Water Safety Instructors to teach classes whenever possible.  You may register in person or online  on the start dates listed above for Residents & Non Residents.

Parent & Child Classes (Children ages 6 months to 3 years):
Guppy 1:  This class is designed for kids ages 6 months to 18 months.  This is the first level of skills to start learning how to swim.  This is a parent participation class.  In this class a parent will accompany the child in the water for the duration of the class.  With instruction from a swim instructor, the parent will practice skills with the child before attempting to hand the child off to the instructor to practice and assess the child's skills and comfort in the water.  The child will work on entering and exiting the water, blowing bubbles, floats, glides, kicking and how to properly use a life jacket.  All these skills will be taught and practiced while having fun with toys and playing games.
Guppy 2:  This class is designed for kids ages 18 months to 3 years of age.  This is the second and last level of skills to start learning how to swim and become confident in the water with a parent.  A parent accompanies the child in the water for the duration of the class.  With instruction from the swim instructor, the parent will continue to work on skills learned in Guppy 1 and further advance in skill level when ready.  The children spend more time with the instructor assessing and practicing their skills.  The child will work on and improve upon getting into and out of the water, blowing bubbles, floats, glides, kicking and how to properly use a life jacket.  All of these skills will be taught and practiced while having fun with toys and playing games.**  Parent & Child participants are required to wear swim diapers along with swim diaper covers while participating in swim lessons. In some instances Guppy 1 and Guppy 2 classes will be combined due to class size and timing in the pool. ** 

Preschool Swim Program Guidelines (Children ages 3-5 years old)
In order to better serve the children who participate in Swim Lessons there is a  five level tiered program.  We strongly encourage parents to enroll their children in the order that the levels as progress as swimming is a sport that builds upon previous skills learned and mastered.

• Attention Parents: In order for your 3 year old child to participate he/she must be socially as well as physically and emotionally ready to be in class without a parent on deck.  If the child can not follow instructions as to sitting on the wall without running away or jumping in or if the child cries throughout the lesson, or if there is any other problem that causes distraction of the class or endangers the safety of the child or other class participants the child can not be in the preschool program.  If you feel your child cannot meet these guidelines we do offer Parent/Tot classes. 
  



• Pike: This is a 30-minute class. Children will learn the basics of being a Beginner level swimmer.  This class is equivalent to the Grade School Red Cross Level 1 class.  Child must be toilet-trained and comfortable sitting on the wall w/o parent. No formal swim skills are necessary.  Children will learn to float for 20 seconds with instructor assistance.  Students will learn to paddle on their front, paddle on their back, & paddle on their side for 10 yards with instructor assistance.  Children will learn to jump into shallow water with instructor assistance. *Once the child has a willingness to put their face in the water and successfully demonstrate the above skills, they would naturally progress to the eel’s level.



• Eel: This is a 30-minute class.  Child should have completed the Pike level.  Beginner level swim skills will be continued.  This class is equivalent to the Grade School Red Cross Level 1 class.  Requirements: Child must be toilet-trained and comfortable sitting on the wall w/o parent. Students entering this level must possess a Pike certificate or demonstrate all the Pike skills.  Skills Covered: Children will be comfortable floating for 30 seconds with instructor assistance.  Swimmers will continue to master paddling with their arms on their front, paddling with their arms on their back, & paddling with their arms on their side for 10 yards with instructor assistance.  To master the skills in this level students must be able to perform the prior skills for 2 yards without instructor assistance.   Students must be able to jump into shallow water with instructor assistance and be willing to put their face in water.  Upon completion of the Eels skills the swimmer will be ready for the Ray level.



• Ray: This is a 30-minute class.  Child should have completed the Eel level. This class is equivalent to the Grade School Red Cross Level 1 class.  Requirements: Child must be toilet-trained and comfortable sitting on the wall w/o parent. Students entering this level must possess a Ray certificate or demonstrate all the Ray skills.  Skills Covered: Swimmers will become comfortable floating for 30 seconds without instructor assistance.  Swimmers must be able to jump into shallow water without instructor assistance.  Swimmers must be able to paddle on their front, back and side for 25 yards with instructor assistance and paddle without instructor assistance for 5 yards.   Students must be able to jump into shallow water with instructor assistance and be willing to put their face in water.  Swimmers will learn how to tread water 20-30 seconds with assistance. Swimmers will learn front & back alternate paddling & symmetrical paddling for 25 yards with assistance and 15 yards without assistance.  Swimmers will be introduced to rhythmic breathing for 25 yards with assistance and 15 yards without assistance.  Upon completion of the Rays skills the swimmer is ready for Starfish level.



• Starfish: This is a 30-minute class.  This level is considered advanced swim skills and higher endurance level.  This class is the equivalent to the American Red Cross Level 3. Requirements:Students entering this level must possess a Ray certificate or demonstrate all the Ray skills.  Skills Covered:  Swimmers must be able to float 30 seconds without assistance.  Swimmers must tread water for 30 seconds with assistance Swimmers must demonstrate front & back alternate & symmetrical paddling for 15 yards with assistance and 7 yards without  Swimmers must be able to float 1 minute without assistance Front symmetrical & alternate paddle with rudimentary rotary breathing 25 yards with assistance and 15 yards without assistance.  Back alternate & symmetrical paddle 25 without assistance, and swimming on your side with alternate paddle 25 yards without assistance.   This concludes the preschool program. Your swimmer may continue and in Starfish or if 6 years old, or comfortable with older kids (6-12 years old) can enter American Red Cross level 3.

• Level 1: Introduction to Water Skills: Students will learn how to feel comfortable in the water and safely enjoy it.  Requirements: None  Skills Covered: Entering and exiting the water safely, learning to submerge mouth, nose and eyes and breath control, front and back float and recovering to a stand, changing direction in the water, swimming 5 feet on front and back.



• Level 2: Fundamentals of Aquatic Skills: Children will learn basic swimming skills.  Requirements: Students entering this level must possess a Level 1 certificate or demonstrate all the Level 1 skills  Skills Covered: Entering water by stepping or jumping in from the side, submerging entire head, blowing bubbles, open eyes underwater, front and back glide, swim 15 feet on front and 10 feet on back, swim on side, life jacket use.



• Level 3: Stroke Development: Additional guided practice will help students improve their skills.   Requirements: Students entering this level must possess a Level 2 certificate or demonstrate all the Level 2 skills  Skills Covered: Jump into deep water, head first entry from sitting or kneeling, submerging and retrieving an object, bobbing, survival float for 30 seconds, treading water for 30 seconds, front crawl 15 yards, butterfly 15 feet, back crawl 15 yards, elementary rescues, safe diving, check-call-care.



• Level 4: Stroke Improvement: Kids will gain confidence during swim lessons, improve their stroke and gain additional aquatic skills.  Requirements: Students entering this level must possess a Level 3 certificate or demonstrate all the Level 3 skills Skills Covered: diving, underwater swimming, feet-first surface dive, 1 minute of survival floating, treading and back floating, 25 yards of front crawl, breaststroke and back crawl, 15 yards of butterfly and elementary backstroke and sidestroke, compact jump from height in a life jacket, throwing assists and caring for conscious choking victim



• Level 5: Stroke Refinement: Guidance allows kids to refine their strokes and become more efficient swimmers.  Requirements: Students entering this level must possess a Level 4 certificate or demonstrate all the Level 4 skills Skills Covered: Shallow dive, tuck and pike surface dives, 2 minutes of survival floating, back float and treading water, flip turns on front and back, 50 yards front and back crawl, 25 yards butterfly, breaststroke, elementary backstroke and sidestroke, 2 minutes of survival swimming, rescue breathing.



• Level 6: Swimming and Skill Proficiency: Students will learn to swim with ease and efficiency, and gain the ability to swim smoothly over greater distances. Swimmers will also have the option to participate in more advanced courses.  Requirements: Students entering this level must possess a Level 5 certificate or demonstrate all the Level 5 skills  Skills Covered: 500 yards continuous swim using 100 yards each of front & back crawl, 50 yards each of breast-stroke, elementary backstroke, sidestroke & butterfly and 100 yards choice of any of those strokes, survival floating and back floating 5 minutes each, feet first surface dive & retrieve an object from 7 feet, Cooper 12-minute swim test.
  Swim Team Prep Class:  (Individuals interested in this should have completed Level 3 of the American Red Cross Learn to Swim Program).  These classes are 45 minutes in length.
  This course is a stepping stone program and acts as a bridge between swim lessons and the competitive swim Team (Sharks).  The Swim Team Prep class will not compete in swim meet competitions, and follows a similar skill progression as levels 4 and 5 of the Learn to Swim Program.
  In order for swimmers to receive a passing evaluation and be considered ready for the swim team they must be able to complete the following skills:
  



• Tread water for 1 minute.



• Starting from the wall in the deep end of the pool the swimmer must swim underwater for 10 yards.



• Dive from the wall in the deep end of the pool, glide for 2 body lengths under water, break the surface the water and swim front crawl 25 yards to the end of the pool.



• Swim 50-yards front crawl while demonstrating rotary breathing. (2 lengths)



• Swim 50-yards of back crawl.



• Kick 25 yards of dolphin kick with a kick board.



• Demonstrate the knowledge and attempt some form of breaststroke. In order to join the Blue Mountain Sharks swim team, Swim Team Prep is a prerequisite.  A parent who is registering a new swimmer to the swim team must be able to show proof of a passing evaluation.  If you are unable to do so, the swimmer must attend a swim team tryout.  The tryout will consist of demonstrating the above mentioned skills.