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SWIM LESSONS
WHY SWIM AT THE Y
Swimming is not only a well-known healthy activity that exercises the entire body —it is also a skill that can both save lives and enrich them.
Learning how to swim and be comfortable in the water is just as important as learning how to look both ways before crossing a busy street, or knowing what to do in the event of a fire.
The swim lessons we provide for almost all ages help develop competency in swimming alongside confidence and endurance. Instruction is delivered in a caring atmosphere by certified instructors who give students personalized attention and encouragement.
Beyond learning how to swim, our competitive swim team offers an enjoyable swimming experience for all ages and abilities. Our coaches maintain a positive and challenging environment where swimmers can learn and train together as a team, pushing each other to succeed with encouragement, individual discipline, and pride in everyone’s achievements.
Our aquatic facilities include heated pools with room for lap swimming, recreational, family swim, aqua aerobics, swim teams, swim clinics and, of course, swim lessons!
Sign up for swim lessons and see for yourself why the Y is America’s Swim Instructor!
Make sure to scroll down to see information regarding our refund policy, expectations & important information, and registration dates for the rest of the year.
ABOUT SWIM LESSONS
Swim lessons at the Greater Wyoming Valley Area YMCA Association are for those of all ages and swim levels and are available to group or private lessons.
Lessons take place at both the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA and the Greater Pittston YMCA. Wondering where to begin? View our swim lessons level selector and read through our descriptions below for more information!
WHAT TO EXPECT
- All YMCA swim instructors are nationally certified and are trained in CPR, AED, First Aid, and Oxygen Administration.
- Private lessons and group lessons offered.
- Private lessons are available for children starting at 3 years of age.
- Parent/Caregiver must be in the water with the child in all Swim Starters classes.
- Curriculums that focus on skills-based instruction with an emphasis on personal safety.
- Students’ progress tracked throughout the session and discussed with parents.
- Swim lessons available at the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA and Greater Pittston YMCA.
- Swim lessons offered in progressive swim stages: Swim Starters, Swim Basics and Swim Strokes.
- Swim lessons available to adults and teens, with opportunity to progress into swim teams and master’s swim.
BE ADVISED
- Non-members: The program software the YMCA uses to track programs and memberships only keeps non-members active for each calendar month. After this, our system automatically terminates your active status (even if you are actively attending a program). This termination status will result in you not being able to register online for any YMCA programs. To check and/or reinstate your active status as a non-member, please reach out to a Membership Staff for assistance.
- Aquatics Programming Registrations: Please be aware that the Aquatics Department will not conduct any registrations through email or voicemails left on our phoneline. The Aquatics Department will only register individuals for programming if actively speaking to them to ensure transactions are handled correctly, regardless if you have payment information on file.
- All age exceptions can only be made by the Director of Aquatics.
- In the event that you have a balance due on your YMCA account, you will not be able to register for any Aquatics programming.
- If you register for a wait list, the Director of Aquatics will only contact individuals on the wait list if there are any open spots. If you have not heard from us regarding your registration on the wait list, that means no spots were available.
- Not all swim lessons may last the entirety of the scheduled swim session. Please be sure to review the description for the swim lesson, receipt, and email for the correct dates.
SWIM SESSION SCHEDULE FOR 2024
- February 19th-March 30th: YMCA MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON MONDAY, February 5th AT 1PM. NON-MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON Friday, February 9th at 1PM.
- April 1-May 11th: YMCA MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON MONDAY, March 18th AT 1pm. NON-MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON Friday, March 22nd @1pm.
- May 27th-July 6th: YMCA MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON MONDAY, MAY 13TH @ 1PM. NON-MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON Friday, May 17th @1pm.
- July 8th-August 17th: MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON MONDAY, JUNE 24TH @1PM. NON-MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON FRIDAY, JUNE 28TH @1PM.
- AUGUST 19TH-SEPTEMBER 28TH: MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON MONDAY, AUGUST 5TH @ 1PM. NON-MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON FRIDAY @ AUGUST 9TH @ 1PM.
- SEPTEMBER 30TH-NOVEMBER 9TH: MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH @1PM. NON-MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH @ 1PM.
- NOVEMBER 11TH-DECEMBER 21ST: MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON OCTOBER 28TH @ 1PM. NON-MEMBER REGISTRATION OPENS ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST @1PM.
REFUND POLICY
In the event that the YMCA closes due to weather, or the Aquatics department cancels a lesson, your YMCA account will be credited the amount of the missed lesson, which can be used on future YMCA programming. In the event that a lesson is missed due to participant’s sickness, a doctor’s note must be sent to the Director of Aquatics in order to qualify for a credit to be applied to your YMCA account. There will be no make-up swim lessons, regardless if they were cancelled or missed. All refund and credit requests can only be approved by the Director of Aquatics.
In the event that the participant must withdraw from the swim lesson, please see the applicable dates in order to receive a credit or refund.
- Before the program start date: 100% credit or refund.
- On or after the first day of the program: 75% credit or refund.
- On or after the second day of a program: 0% credit or refund.
SWIM LESSONS AVAILABLE AT THE GREATER WYOMING VALLEY AREA YMCA
SWIM LESSONS STAGE DESCRIPTIONS
SWIM STARTERS (PARENT/CHILD SWIM LESSONS)
Infants and toddlers learn to be comfortable in the water and develop swim readiness skills through fun and confidence-building experiences, while parents learn about water safety, drowning prevention, and the importance of supervision. Parent participation is required in stages A and B.
WATER DISCOVERY STAGE A (AGES 6 MONTHS-18 MONTHS)
WATER EXPLORATION STAGE B (AGES 19 MONTHS-36 MONTHS)
In Stage B, parents work with their children to explore body positions, floating, blowing bubbles, and fundamental safety and aquatic skills.
SWIM BASICS
Students learn personal water safety and achieve basic swimming competency.
WATER ACCLIMATION (STAGE 1)
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.
WATER MOVEMENT (STAGE 2)
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.
WATER STAMINA (STAGE 3)
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.
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.
STROKE INTRODUCTION (STAGE 4)
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.
STROKE DEVELOPMENT (STAGE 5)
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.
STROKE MECHANICS (STAGE 6)
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.
ADULT AND TEEN GROUP SWIM LESSONS
Everyone learns at a different pace, and it’s never too late to start! We offer group swim lessons tailored specifically for adults and teens, providing a safe and encouraging learning experience for beginner and intermediate skill levels.
PRIVATE SWIM LESSONS
We offer Private Swim Lessons for swimmers of any age and skill level who are seeking extra attention and focus. Our trained instructors customize each lesson to fit the participant’s unique needs and find the level that best fits the swimmer – there’s nothing quite like it! Our Private Swim Lessons are available for all our swim lesson stages. Like Group Swim Lessons, Private Swim Lessons are registered for each program session as they are scheduled for specific days and times.
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Fill in your name, email address, and message with your question and our Director of Aquatics will email you back.