Older beginners
Ages 8–15 years
Beginner courses for older children who have never swum before, or who have limited swimming experience.
All classes are 30-minute sessions.
Swordfish Tahi
This course is designed to build confidence in beginners. No assessment is required to enter this class.
In this introduction class your child will learn to:
Safely enter and exit the pool
Submerge whilst holding their breath and blowing bubbles
Unassisted front float
Unassisted backfloat
Glide on their front in a streamline position
Glide on their back with hands by their side
Practise the following water safety skills:
Regain feet easily from a front and back float,
Signal for help
Assisted roll from their front to their back, and back again
Float and signal for help with and without an aid
Correctly fit a life jacket do a step entry into deep water, HELP position and signal for help, return to the edge for a safe exit
Duck dives and move underwater for a slow count of 5.
Swordfish Rua
An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child is comfortable submerging whilst holding their breath and blowing bubbles, can float and glide on their front and back.
In this beginner class your child will learn:
Kicking on their front
Kicking on their back
Introduction to butterfly kick
Introduction to breaststroke kick
Practise the following water safety skills:
Control breathing whilst floating on back for 1 minute
Float and signal for help with and without an aid
Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out
Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.
Swordfish Toru
An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can kick on their front and back and can do beginner breaststroke and butterfly kick.
In this advanced beginner class your child will learn:
Freestyle Arms
Continuous backstroke arms with pull
Introduction to sculling arms.
Practise the following water safety skills:
Sculling on back head first and feet first
Survival backstroke
Control breathing whilst floating on back for 1 minute
Float and signal for help with and without an aid
Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out
Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.
The skills learnt in this class prepare your child to enter the school-age Snappers class.
Swordfish Whā
An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can do freestyle arms, continuous arms on back with pull, beginner sculling arms, beginner breaststroke and butterfly kick.
In this intermediate class your child will learn:
Freestyle
Backstroke with body rotation and pull
Streamline butterfly Kick.
Practise the following water safety skills:
Survival backstroke
Sculling on back headfirst and back feet first
Do a reach-and-rescue throw with a buddy
Control breathing whilst floating on back for 1 minute
Float and signal for help with and without an aid
Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out
Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.
The skills learnt in this class prepare your child to enter the school-age Bronze Sharks class or Shark Clinic.
Swordfish Rima
An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can freestyle, backstroke, beginner breaststroke kick, streamline butterfly kick and beginner sculling arms.
In this advanced intermediate class your child will learn:
2 x 12.5 metres of freestyle
2 x 12.5 metres of backstroke
2 x 12.5 metres of breaststroke with correct timing
Practise the following water safety skills:
Survival backstroke
Sculling on back head first and feet first
Entries—slide entry, step entry, ladder entry, wade entry, compact jump entry, stride entry, fall-in entry.
Do a reach-and-rescue throw with a buddy
Control breathing whilst floating on back for 1 minute
Float and signal for help with and without an aid
Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out
Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.