Our Classes
Classes
Baby and Infant swimming classes
Water Comfort
Our program of levels begins with the Water Comfort levels.
These are for babies and infants that need to master the first and most important step to swimming, water acclimation and confidence.
Pre-school swimming classes
Independence
This is where the complete focus of swimming becomes on the children learning to swim independently. While mastering this, there is a large focus placed on the fundamental skills such as floating, breath control, kicking and movement to commence propulsion through the water.
School aged swimming classes
Learning
These levels focus on building fundamental skills with proper head and body position with a strong, consistent kick, and introducing a focus on freestyle and backstroke technique.
Stroke Development
These levels continue to fine tune freestyle and backstroke technique, while including new skills designed to introduce breaststroke and butterfly. As the Stroke development levels progress, so too does the aerobic base thru proper and efficient swimming.
On completion of the Stroke Development levels, our swimmers will have the skills and technique to progress into either our Swim Stream or Competitive squads program.
* Monday to Friday morning – lessons are for baby and pre-school swimming classes only
* Monday to Saturday afternoon – lessons are for school age children only
Levels
Water Comfort
Welcome to the swimming pool and the exciting journey that you are about to embark on! In Starfish, we learn to understand and respect the water and become comfortable and confident in the aquatic environment.
We develop the initial fundamental skills which will be so important in setting us on our path to gain complete independence in the water.
Parents and Carers will also learn how they can best assist in making brave and confident swimmers
Class Duration: 30 minutes
Age Requirement: 6 months (minimum) – 36 months (maximum)
Classification: Pre-school Learn to Swim
Classes offered: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings 9.00am -12.00pm. Saturday morning, 8.00am – 12.00pm.
Assessment required: No assessment is required as no water experience is necessary.
Maximum class number: 8 students per class
Extra information: This class requires a parent or responsible adult to always be in the water.
Equipment required: Child: Swim aqua nappy tightly secured by a swimming costume, swimming googles.
Adult: t-shirt for wearing in the pool. This will assist with our teaching program.
Skills to be achieved:
- Confidence and happiness in the water, awareness of the water. Swimmers are beginning to understand and develop water independence
- Gaining the trust of teacher and parent in the water and learning how to hold onto their carer, be comfortable on the teaching ledge and learn to swim independently to the platforms
- Fundamental skills- bonding, learning to float, breath control, propulsion and having fun
- Submerging and floating on back with or without support
- Taking simple instructions
Conditioning– water on face, and submersion under the water, finding wall, submersion from wall jumps
Happy to separate for assisted swims with teacher, back floats and noodle drills
It’s now time to put these basic, fundamental water skills into action.
Get ready for an exciting ride, as we focus on further developing water independence, submersions and floating skills, while gaining a real understanding of propulsion through the water.
Our skills will always be practised in a fun and relaxed environment, to ensure the aquatic experience is a fearless and exciting one for both us, and our parents!
Class Duration: 30 minutes
Age Requirement: 18 months (minimum) – 36 months (maximum)
Classification: Pre-school Learn to Swim
Classes offered: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, 9.00am -12.00pm. Saturday morning, 8.00 am – 12.00pm
Assessment required: Age based or progression from our Starfish level
Maximum class number: 6 students per class
Extra information: This class requires a parent or responsible adult to be always in the water.
Equipment required: Child: swim aqua nappy tightly secured by a swimming costume. Adult: t-shirt for wearing in the pool. This will assist with our teaching program. Swimming goggles
Skills to be achieved:
- Developing independence in the water
- Perfecting submersions happily and able to do it and find the wall
- Ability to float on back assisted or unassisted
- Developing fundamental swimming skills- kicking, paddling and extending their ability to gain propulsion through the water
- Ability to jump, submerge, turn and swim back to the wall unassisted
- Able to obey simple instructions
- Emotionally ready to separate from Parent or Carer
It is now time to start the transition into ‘Big kids’ lessons!
As Blue Rings, we will learn to love exploring the water with the help of our teachers and lots of fun activities!
We will become confident in standing and moving around the teaching ledge and platforms and make sure we feel super confident and happy in the water.
We will learn how to hold our breath , develop the correct body position in the water. Floats will become so much easier in this level, and we will love jumping in and turning around and swimming back to both the wall and the teaching ledge!
Class duration: 30 minutes
Level Duration : 6 – 9 months
Age requirement: 36 months (minimum – skill and maturity dependent)
Classification: Pre-school Learn to Swim
Classes offered: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings9.00 am – 12.00pm. Saturday morning, 8.00am – 12.00pm.
Assessment required: Age 36 months or greater, progression from Hermit Crab level, able to separate from parent, take simple instructions and comfortable in and around the water. Emotionally ready.
Maximum class number: 3 students per class
Equipment Required: Speedos or equivalent. If not yet toilet trained a swim aqua nappy tightly secured by a swimming costume, swimming cap and goggles.
Skills to be achieved:
- Breath Control
- Unassisted back float
- Unassisted front float
- Able to take teacher directions
Independence
In Sea Horses, we move our focus to developing complete water independence.
We will learn fundamental skills such as floating, breathe control, kicking and movement to commence propulsion through the water.
We will be able to perform safety swims with a small amount of assistance, and begin to really understand the importance of staying safe in and around the water.
We will develop the confidence to push off the teaching ledge and swim confidently to our teacher unassisted!
Class duration: 30 minutes
Age Requirement: 36 months (minimum – skill and maturity dependent)
Classification: Pre-school Learn to Swim
Classes offered: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, 9.00am -12.00pm. Saturday, 8.00 am – 12.00pm
Assessment required: Skill based assessment is required, or progression from Blue Ring level
Maximum class number: 3 students per class
Equipment Required: Speedos or equivalent. If not yet toilet trained a swim aqua nappy tightly secured by a swimming costume, swimming cap and goggles.
Skills to be achieved:
- Long arm paddle and kick with two pop up breathes
- Back float unassisted
- Front float
- Breath control
- Able to take teacher direction
Swimming is starting to feel so much easier!
Now, we must really concentrate on swimming through the water calmly and efficiently.
To do this, we must perfect our kicking, breath control and body position on both our front and back.
We will learn our streamline position and ensure that our fundamental swimming skills are mastered, before we take the big step of learning our strokes!
Class duration: 30 minutes
Classification: Pre-school Learn to Swim and school aged Learn to Swim
Age requirement: 30 months (minimum – skill and maturity dependent)
Classes offered:
Pre-school – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, 9.00am – 12.00pm. Saturday mornings, 8.00 am – 12.00 pm
School Age – Monday to Friday, 3.00pm – 6.00pm and Saturday, 8.00am – 12.00pm
Assessment required: Skill based assessment or progression from Sea Horse level
Maximum class number: 4 students per class
Equipment required: Speedo costume, swimming cap and goggles
Skills to be achieved:
- Straight arm freestyle neutral head position no breathing
- Backstroke kick
- Air exchange at the wall
Learning
Welcome to the Learning Stage, it’s now time to develop our Swimming strokes.
Now that we have the ability to kick efficiently in streamline position on our front and back, learning our strokes will be so much easier.
Let’s continue to develop freestyle and backstroke as well as learning to streamline off the wall.
Class duration: 30 minutes
Level Duration : 12 – 15 months
Classification: School aged Learn to Swim
Classes offered: Monday to Friday, 3.00pm – 6.00pm. Saturday, 8.00am – 12.00pm
Assessment required: Skill based assessment is required, or progression from Clownfish level
Maximum class number: 4 students per class
Equipment required: Speedo costume, swimming cap and goggles
Skills to be achieved:
- Freestyle with correct timing of the breathe
- Backstroke with continuous arms and kicking
- Relaxed air exchange
As Crocodiles you will continue to develop your freestyle with bilateral breathing whilst maintaining your long stroke , fast kick and neutral body position.
We will also work hard on strengthening our backstroke body position and kick.
In this level , we will continue to practise all of the fundamentals we have developed in previous levels.
Class Duration: 30 minute class
Level Duration : 9 – 12 months
Classification: School aged Learn to Swim
Classes offered: Monday to Friday, 3.00pm – 6.00pm, Saturday morning, 8.00am – 12.00pm
Assessment required: Skill based assessment or progression from Turtles level
Maximum class number: 4 students per class
Equipment required: Swimming cap and goggles required for Sea Turtles lessons.
Skills to be achieved:
- Freestyle with correct bilateral side breathing and timing
- Backstroke with tall continuous arms and consistent strong kick
- Comfortable breathe exchange
Stroke Development
We have now entered a very exciting level of stroke development.
It is very important at this time to continue in developing and improving our freestyle and backstroke.
We will now begin to focus on other fundamental skills of breaststroke kick and a summersault in the water.
Class duration: 30 minutes
Level Duration : 9-12 months
Classification: School aged Learn to Swim
Classes offered: Monday to Friday, 3.00pm – 6.00pm, Saturday morning 8.00am – 12.00pm
Assessment Required: Skill based assessment is required, or progression from Sea Turtles =level
Maximum Class Number: 5 students per class
Equipment Required: Swimming cap and goggles.
Skills to be achieved:
- Freestyle with correct timing of breath and neutral body position 50 metres
- Correct backstroke with continuous arms and fast kick to 16 metres
- Complete a summersault in the water whilst holding breath.
- Breaststroke kick turning both feet out and recovering together.
….a very important one at that!
You will now be swimming in the 50m pool over a distance of 18metres.
We will now practise our freestyle and backstroke over a longer distance whilst maintaining great technique and comfortable breathing.
We will now be introducing breaststroke arms to our kick and also Butterfly. In addition to these swimming skills we will introduce the freestyle tumble turn and teach children to execute a dive from the bulkhead.
It’s important to ensure we have our breaststroke timing and technique almost mastered, while introducing and practicing the full butterfly stroke.
Class duration: 45 minutes
Level Duration : 12-15 months
Classification: School aged Learn to Swim
Age requirement: Skill dependent
Classes offered: Monday to Friday, 3.00pm – 6.00pm, Saturday morning, 8.00am – 12.00pm
Classes are in the 50m pool conducted over 17 metres.
Assessment required: Skill based assessment is required, or progression from Seals level
Maximum class number: 8 students per class
Equipment required: Swimming cap, goggles, long blade flippers and water bottle.
Skills to be achieved:
- Mastering freestyle technique with long stroke, head position timing and kick
- Mastering backstroke with relaxed stroke, head position, shoulder roll and kick
- Learning the timing of the full breaststroke- and working towards mastering this
- Perfecting the butterfly kick, and incorporating this into correct starts from wall
- Introducing turns for all 4 strokes and developing diving skills
- Simple dive with recovery
- Tumble turn and push off on back
Once a child has completed Tiger Sharks –
- Pymble Students can progress to Swim Stream or Competitive Stream squads
- External students (non Pymble students) can progress to competitive stream only. This is dependant on meeting the entry requirements to the Competitive Stream.
- Pymble siblings can progress to Swim Stream
