Swimming Program - Skill Levels

Campers need no prior skills or swim experience. Individualized instruction both one-on-one and in small groups help campers to gain confidence and basic swim skills to be water safe. Campers are encouraged to learn at their own pace in order to become comfortable in the water.

• Enter and exit water using ladder, steps or side
• Alternating & simultaneous arm actions on front & back
• Blow bubbles through mouth and nose
• Combined arm and leg actions on front and back
• Bobbing
• Staying safe around aquatic environments
• Open eyes under water and retrieve submerged objects
• Recognizing the lifeguards
• Front and back glides and back float
• Don’t just pack it, wear your jacket
• Alternating and simultaneous leg actions on front & back
• Recognizing an emergency
• Roll from front to back and back to front
• How to call for help
• Tread water using arm and hand actions
• Too much sun is no fun
• Recover to vertical position from a front glide and back float or glide

Gives campers success with fundamental swim skills.

• Enter water by stepping or jumping from the side
• Combined arm and leg actions on front and back
• Exit water using ladder, steps or side
• Finning arm action on back
• Fully submerge and hold breath
• Staying safe around aquatic environments
• Bobbing
• Don’t just pack it, wear your jacket
• Open eyes under water and retrieve submerged objects
• Recognizing an emergency
• Front, jellyfish and tuck floats
• How to call for help
• Front and back glides and back float
• Too much sun is no fun
• Recover from a front and back float or glide to vertical position
• Look before you leap
• Roll from front to back and back to front
• Think so you don’t sink
• Change direction of travel while swimming on front or back
• Reach or throw, don’t go
• Tread water using arm and leg actions

Builds on the skills in Level 2 through additional guided practice in deeper waters.

• Enter water by jumping from the side
• Tread water
• Headfirst entry from side in sitting/kneeling positions
• Look before you leap
• Bobbing while moving toward safety
• Front crawl and elementary backstroke
• Rotary breathing
• Scissors kick
• Survival float
• Reach or throw, don’t go
• Back float
• Think twice before going near cold water or ice
• Change from vertical to horizontal position on front and back
• Push off in streamlined position then begin flutter and dolphin kicks on front

Develops confidence in the skills learned and improves other aquatic skills.

• Headfirst entry from the side
• Tread water using 2 different kicks
• Swim under water
• Look before you leap
• Feetfirst surface dive
• Reach or throw, don’t go
• Survival swimming
• Recreational water illnesses
• Front crawl and backstroke open turns
• Think so you don’t sink
• Front and back crawl, elementary backstroke, breaststroke, sidestroke and butterfly
• Push off in a streamlined position then begin flutter and dolphin kicks on back

Provides further coordination and refinement of strokes.

• Shallow-angle dive from the side
• Wave, tide or ride, follow the guide
• Shallow-angle dive from side, glide and begin a front stroke
• Recreational water illnesses
• Tuck and pike surface dives
• Reach or throw, don’t go
• Front flip turn and backstroke flip turn while swimming
• Look before you leap
• Tread water
• Think so you don’t sink
• Standard scull on back
• Think twice before going near cold water or ice
• Front and back crawl, elementary backstroke, breaststroke, sidestroke and butterfly
• How to call for help and the importance of knowing first aid and CPR

Refines the strokes so participants swim them with ease, efficiency, power and smoothness over greater distances. Level 6 is designed with options that focus on preparing campers for a lifetime of fitness & safety.

• Fitness Swimmer
• Calculating target heart rate
• Demonstrating turns while swimming
• Demonstrating etiquette in fitness swimming
• Swimming 500 yards continuously using any 3 strokes, swimming at least 50 yards of each stroke
• Demonstrating various training techniques
• Demonstrating the principles of setting up a fitness program
• Performing the Cooper 12-minute swim test, and comparing results with the pre-assessment results

• Introduction to Lifeguarding
• Swimming 500 yards continuously using any 3 strokes, swimming at least 50 yards of each stroke
• Jumping into deep water and performing a survival float for 5 minutes
• Rolling onto back and performing a back float for 5 minutes
• Performing a surface dive, retrieving an object from the bottom of the pool at a depth of 7-10 feet, returning to the surface, and returning to the starting point
  Skills
• Stride jump entry
• Feet first jump entry
• Position for a recue/tow
• Rescue tube positioning
• Wrist tow
• Feet first surface dive to recover a submerged victim
• Underwater swimming to recover a submerged victim
• Recovery of a submerged victim
• Shallow water assist removal from water
• HELP position, 2 minutes (in deep water)
• Huddle position, 2 minutes (in deep water)
• Feet first surface dive (in water at least 7-feet deep)
• Tuck surface dive )in water at least 7-feet deep)
• Pike surface dive (in water at least 7-feet deep)
• Back float, 5 minutes (in deep water)
• Survival float, 5 minutes (in deep water)
• Survival swimming, 10 minutes
• Treading water, kicking only, 2 minutes (in deep water)
• Surface dive and retrieve an object from the bottom (in water at least 7-10 feet deep)
• Think so You Don’t Sink
• Swim with a Buddy in a Supervised Area
• Learn about Boating Before You Go Floating

• Swimming 500 yards continuously using any 3 strokes, swimming at least 50 yards of each stroke
• Performing a two-part takeoff with a feet-first entry from a 1-meter diving board
• Performing a two-part takeoff with a headfirst entry from a 1-meter diving board
• Basic stretching exercises for diving
• Body alignment and control
• Tuck and Pike diving positions