SWIM LESSONS - Dubuque Community YMCA/YWCA

NURTURING SKILLS AND BUILDING CONFIDENCE IN THE WATER

Everything the Y does is in service of building a better us. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to teach youth, teens, and adults to swim, so they can stay safe around water and learn the skills they need to make swimming a lifelong pursuit for staying healthy.

Y swim instructors are nationally certified. Their training includes CPR, AED, First Aid and Oxygen Administration. Swim lessons provide important life skills that could save a life and will benefit students for a lifetime.

WHAT AGE GROUP DOES THE STUDENT FALL INTO?

6 months–3 years
PARENT* & CHILD:
STAGES A–B

3 years–5 years
PRESCHOOL:
STAGES 1–4

5 years–12 years
SCHOOL AGE:
STAGES 1–6

12+ years
TEEN
STAGES 1–6

WHICH STAGE IS THE STUDENT READY FOR?

SWIM STARTERS
Accompanied by a parent, infants and toddlers learn to be comfortable in the water and develop swim readiness skills through fun confidence-building experiences, while parents learn about water safety, drowning prevention, and the importance of supervision.

A / WATER DISCOVERY Parents accompany children in stage A, which introduces infants and toddlers to the aquatic environment through exploration and encourages them to enjoy themselves while learning about the water.

B / WATER EXPLORATION In stage B, parents work with their children to explore body positions, floating, blowing bubbles, and fundamental safety and aquatic skills.

Stages A & B - Learn More

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SWIM BASICS
Students learn personal water safety and achieve basic swimming competency by learning two benchmark skills:
* Swim, float, swim— sequencing front glide, roll, back float, roll, front glide, and exit
* Jump, push, turn, grab

1 / WATER ACCLIMATION Students develop comfort with underwater exploration and learn to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water in stage 1. This stage lays the foundation that allows for a student’s future progress in swimming.

2 / WATER MOVEMENT In stage 2, students focus on body position and control, directional change, and forward movement in the water while also continuing to practice how to safely exit in the event of falling into a body of water.

3 / WATER STAMINA In stage 3, students learn how to swim to safety from a longer distance than in previous stages in the event of falling into a body of water. This stage also introduces rhythmic breathing and integrated arm and leg action.

Stages 1-3 - Learn More

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SWIM STROKES
Having mastered the fundamentals, students learn additional water safety skills and build stroke technique, developing skills that prevent chronic disease, increase social-emotional and cognitive well-being, and foster a lifetime of physical activity.

4 / STROKE INTRODUCTION Students in stage 4 develop stroke technique in front crawl and back crawl and learn the breaststroke kick and butterfly kick. Water safety is reinforced through treading water and elementary backstroke.

5 / STROKE DEVELOPMENT Students in stage 5 work on stroke technique and learn all major competitive strokes. The emphasis on water safety continues through treading water and sidestroke.

6 / STROKE MECHANICS In stage 6, students refine stroke technique on all major competitive strokes, learn about competitive swimming, and discover how to incorporate swimming into a healthy lifestyle.

Stages 4-6 - Learn More

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AQUATICS SESSION CALENDAR

Current Session Dates
May 24-June 17

Summer I Registration

June 7 – June 21

Session Dates

June 21 – July 15

Summer II Registration

July 5 – July 19

Session Dates

July 19 – August 12

Summer III Registration

August 2 – August 16

Session Dates

August 16 – September 9

Fall I Registration

August 30 – September 13

Session Dates

September 13 – October 7