Swimming Lessons

Spend quality time with your child and have fun while learning and socializing. 

Through structured in-water interaction between parent and child, we stress the importance of play in developing water-positive attitudes and skills. We provide Lifesaving Society Water Smart tips on keeping your child safe in any aquatic setting. Certified instructors provide guidance and answers to your questions.

Designed for the four to 12-month-old to learn to enjoy the water with their parent.

Former Red Cross Level – Starfish.

Register for Parent & Tot 1.

Spend quality time with your child and have fun while learning and socializing.

Through structured in-water interaction between parent and child, we stress the importance of play in developing water-positive attitudes and skills. We provide Lifesaving Society Water Smart tips on keeping your child safe in any aquatic setting. Certified instructors provide guidance and answers to your questions.

Designed for the 12 to 24-month-old to learn to enjoy the water with their parent.

Former Red Cross Level – Duck.

Register for Parent & Tot 2.

Spend quality time with your child and have fun while learning and socializing.

Through structured in-water interaction between parent and child, we stress the importance of play in developing water-positive attitudes and skills. We provide Lifesaving Society Water Smart tips on keeping your child safe in any aquatic setting. Certified instructors provide guidance and answers to your questions.

Designed for the two to three-year-old to learn to enjoy the water with their parent.

Former Red Cross Level – Sea Turtle.

Register for Parent & Tot 3.

Preschool 1

These preschoolers will have fun learning to get in and out of the water. We’ll help them jump into chest-deep water. They’ll float and glide on their front and back and learn to get their faces wet and blow bubbles underwater.

Former Red Cross Level – Sea Otter.

Register for Preschool 1. 

These preschoolers learn to jump into chest-deep water by themselves and get in and get out wearing a lifejacket. They’ll submerge and exhale underwater. Wearing a lifejacket, they’ll glide on their front and back.

Former Red Cross Level – Salamander.

Register for Preschool 2.

These preschoolers will try both jumping and a sideways entry into deep water while wearing a lifejacket. They’ll recover objects from the bottom in waist-deep water. They’ll work on kicking and gliding through the water on their front and back.

Former Red Cross Level – Sunfish.

Register for Preschool 3.

Advanced preschoolers will learn to do solo jumps into deep water and get out by themselves. They’ll do sideways entries and open their eyes underwater. They’ll master a short swim on their front wearing a lifejacket and gliding and kicking on their side.

Former Red Cross Level – Crocodile.

Register for Preschool 4.

These advanced preschoolers get more adventurous with a forward roll entry wearing a lifejacket and treading water for 10 seconds. They’ll work on front and back crawl swims for five metres, interval training and get a giggle out of whip kick.

Former Red Cross Level – Whale.

Register for Preschool 5.

These beginners will become comfortable jumping into water with and without a lifejacket. They’ll learn to open their eyes, exhale and hold their breath underwater. They’ll work on floats, glides and kicking through the water on their front and back.

Former Red Cross Level – Swim Kids 1.

Register for Swimmer 1.

These advanced beginners will jump into deeper water and learn to be comfortable falling sideways into the water wearing a lifejacket. They’ll be able to support themselves at the surface without an aid, learn whip kick, swim 10 metres on their front and back, and be introduced to flutter kick interval training (four five-metre intervals).

Former Red Cross Level – Swim Kids 2.

Register for Swimmer 2.

These junior swimmers will dive and do in-water front somersaults and handstands. They’ll work on their 15-metre front crawl, back crawl and 10-metre whip kick. Flutter kick interval training increases to four 15-metre intervals. 

Former Red Cross Level – Swim Kids 3.

Register for Swimmer 3.

These intermediate swimmers will swim five metres underwater and lengths of front, back crawl, whip kick, and breaststroke arms with breathing. Their new bag of tricks includes the completion of the Canadian Swim to Survive Standard. They’ll cap it all off with front crawl sprints over 15 metres and four 25-metre front or back crawl interval training.

Former Red Cross Level – Swim Kids 4/5.

Register for Swimmer 4.

These swimmers will master shallow dives, cannonball entries, eggbeater kicks, and in-water backward somersaults. They’ll refine their front and back crawl over 50-metre swims of each and breaststroke over 25 metres. They’ll pick up the pace in 25-metre sprints and two interval training bouts: four 50-metre intervals of front or back crawl and four 15-metre intervals of breaststroke.

Former Red Cross Level – Swim Kids 6.

Register for Swimmer 5.

These advanced swimmers will rise to the challenge of sophisticated aquatic skills, including stride entries, compact jumps and lifesaving kicks like eggbeater and scissor kick. They’ll develop strength and power in head-up breaststroke sprints over 25 metres. They’ll easily swim lengths of front crawl, back crawl, and breaststroke, and they’ll complain about the 300-metre workout. 

Former Red Cross Level – Swim Kids 7.

Register for Swimmer 6.

Swimmers continue stroke development with 50-metre swims of front crawl, back crawl and breaststroke. Lifesaving sport skills include a 25-metre obstacle swim and 15-metre object carry. First aid focuses on the assessment of conscious victims, contacting EMS, and treatment for bleeding. Fitness improves in 350-metre workouts and 100-metre timed workouts. 

Former Red Cross Level – Swim Kids 8.

Register for Swimmer 7 - Rookie.

Swimmers develop better strokes over 75-metre swims of each stroke. They tackle lifesaving sport skills in a lifesaving medley, timed object support and rescue with a buoyant aid. First aid focuses on the assessment of unconscious victims, treatment of victims in shock and obstructed airway procedures. Skill drills develop a strong lifesaving foundation.

Former Red Cross Level – Swim Kids 9.

Register for Swimmer 8 - Ranger.

Swimmers are challenged with 600-metre workouts, 300-metre timed swims and a 25-metre object carry. Strokes are refined over 100-metre swims. First aid focuses on the treatment of bone or joint injuries and respiratory emergencies, including asthma and allergic reactions. Lifesaving skills include defence methods, victim removals and rolling over and supporting a victim face up in shallow water.

Former Red Cross Level – Swim Kids 10.

Register for Swimmer 9 - Star

You’ll work towards a 10 to 15-metre swim on your front and back. You’ll do jump entries from the side and recover an object from the bottom in chest-deep water. Improve your fitness and flutter kick with four nine to 12-metre interval training.

Register for Adult 1.

Kick it up a notch by working on two training workouts with four 25-metre intervals of kicking and front or back crawl. You’ll be able to perform dive entries and demonstrate breaststroke arms and breathing over 10 to 15 metres. You’ll support yourself at the surface for one to two minutes and show off your handstands in shallow water.

Register for Adult 2.

You’ll learn eggbeater, stride entries and compact jumps. You’ll be doing a 300-metre workout and sprinting 25 to 50 metres. You’ll also master your front crawl, back crawl and breaststroke.

Register for Adult 3. 

Why is Clarington moving to the Lifesaving Society as its Learn to Swim provider? 

Recently, the Red Cross announced that it is winding down its swimming and leadership programs. As a result, Clarington has decided to offer the Lifesaving Society Swim for Life program.

A full transition to the Lifesaving Society Swim for Life program will take place in time for the fall 2022 session.

The conversion chart below will help you determine where your child should be, based on where they were in the Red Cross program.

The length of the classes will continue to range between 30 to 45 minutes for Parent & Tot, Preschool and Swimmer levels. Rookie, Ranger and Star Patrol programs will run for 60 minutes. 

Are you still offering private and semi-private classes?

Yes, we are still offering semi-private and private classes.

Will the Lifesaving Society Swim for Life lessons cost more?

The Lifesaving Society Swim for Life program is comparable in price to our current programming.

Will there be report cards and progress recognition?

The Lifesaving Society Swim for Life program will continue to utilize report cards for swimmers at the end of each session. Stickers and badges will not continue into the new program.

Will the change ensure that my child will pass a level?

No. Each child will progress at their own rate. Our instructors are trained to adapt the program skills to each swimmer’s needs, helping all participants achieve their personal best in swimming and fitness.

We take lessons at different pools in Clarington. Will all pools run the same programs with the same evaluation?

The program will be the same at each location throughout Clarington.

Are the ages still the same (Parent & Tot, Preschool, Youth, Adult levels)?

Yes, age ranges will remain the same.

Why is my child now in a different level than before?

My child has not been swimming for a long time. Should I still put them in the next level from the chart?

If there has been a period where your child has not participated in formal swimming lessons, we encourage you to reach out to your closest community centre and speak with the customer service team to inquire about a swim assessment.

Are there changes to the Leadership programming?

No, leadership programs will remain the same.