Swim Skill Levels

• The ages below represent recommended ages for the level but they are flexible based on the child's skills. Skill groups may be combined in order to create a full class.
• To help determine what level your child should be place in, review the skills taught at each level. Ask yourself if your child has mastered that level's skill, if so, then move to the next skill level until you come to one that your child has not yet mastered or skills your child could use some more practice with.

Level PT (Parent/Tot)

This level is recommended for toddlers or children under 3 years old who have no water experience.  Children will learn water adjustment in an enjoyable, non-stressful situation of games and experiences.  This class is taught with a parent/guardian. 

Skills taught include:

• Water adjustment
• Pool entrances and exits
• Pool safety
• Kicking and arm motions

Level 1 (Recommended Ages 2-4)

This level is recommended for children with little or no water experience. 

Skills taught include:

• How to enter and exit the water safely
• Basic pool safety skills
• Floating on front and back with support
• Kicking on front and back with support
• Using basic arm movements with support
• Blowing bubbles and submerging face
• Seeing and hearing underwater
• Submerging face and body to retrieve submerged objects

Level 2 (Recommended Ages 4+)

This level is recommended for children who are comfortable with the water. 

Skills taught include:

• How to enter and exit water safely and independently.
• Gliding on front and back with and without support.
• Gliding with recovery.
• Floating on back with and without flotation device.
• Flutter kick on front and back.
• Performing combined arm and leg motion on front.
• Changing directions.
• Turning over from front to back and back to front.
• Bobbing to safety.
• Rhythmic breathing.

Level 3 (Recommended Ages 6+)

This level is recommended for students who have basic swimming skills and are ready to develop their front crawl stroke and progress to other strokes. 

Skills taught include:

• Retrieving objects in chest-deep water.
• Changing positions in chest deep and deep water.
• Improving freestyle stroke with breathing to the side
• Back crawl stroke
• Jumping into deep water
• Bobbing to safety from deep water
• Treading water
• Diving (only in pools with deep ends or pools that allow diving)
• Diving rules
• Beginner breast stroke

Students will learn deep-water skills, crawl stroke, elementary backstroke, survival stroke, treading water, diving, underwater swimming, and personal safety skills.

Level 4 (Intermediate)

This level is recommended for students who can complete all level 3 skills including swimming free style at least 20 yards.  This level will improve and further refine their skills. 

Skills taught include:

• Treading water
• Freestyle stroke (25+ yards)
• Backstroke (25+ yards)
• Breast stroke (15+ yards)
• Butterfly
• Diving (only in pools with deep ends or pools that allow diving)
• Flip turns

Level 5 (Advanced)

This level is recommended for students who have learned all level 4 skills.  This level is great for students wanted to join swim teams, practice their skills and/or learn advanced swimming skills.

Skills taught include:

• Competitive swimming strokes
• Turns
• More diving skills (only in pools with deep ends or pools that allow diving)
• Freestyle with flip turn
• Sidestroke

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