YMCA Youth & Children Swimming Programs

Safety Around Water

WHAT IS SAFETY AROUND WATER?

The Y’s Safety Around Water program teaches children of all ages and from all backgrounds that water should be fun, not feared. It is designed to reach children at risk of drowning and teach them basic water safety skills. The program is offered to the community at little or no cost to students. The curriculum for Safety Around Water is made up of one primary stage, Intermediate, and two optional stages, Beginner and Advanced. While all three stages maybe incorporated into a program session, the primary focus of the program is helping all students achieve the benchmark skills taught in the Intermediate stage.

The Beginner and Advanced stages exist to help your Y meet students where they are. Students who come to the program needing to build the foundational skills of submersion and water acclimation can begin with the skills in the Beginner stage. Students who may be ready for more advanced versions of the two benchmark skills can progress to the Advanced stage.
INTERMEDIATE STAGE In this stage, students focus on forward movement in the water. They also learn basic self-rescue skills performed independently so they can swim to safety and exit if they fall into a body of water. Students who successfully complete this stage have achieved basic competency by learning two benchmark skills: –Swim, float, swim—sequencing front glide, roll, back float, roll, front glide, and exit–Jump, push, turn, grab.

This one week class is designed to remind swimmers, ages 4 and 14, how to be safe in and around water. Only this week of lessons will have buses running from all Noble County school districts and the Prairie Heights school area, to help get the children to YMCA.

Swimmers can sign up for whichever time slot fits their schedule! Just call the YMCA of print and fill out the registration form below. Spots are limited so sign up now!

COST: $10

REGISTRATION FORM: http://www.coleymca.net/Safety Around Water Participant Enrollment Form (2)-1.pdf

Registration opens April 28th, 2023

registration Ends May 30th, 2023

build confidence!

Swimming is great exercise, as well as a fun way to spend time together as a family. There’s nothing like spending an afternoon splashing around in the water and enjoying being together. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize how dangerous swimming can be without a clear understanding of potential hazards and how to handle themselves in any body of water.

We have a Swim Policy known as "Test, Mark, Protect" to ensure the safety of our swimmers!

Test

Any child not swimming next to a parent must take a swim test. This test will prove that the swimmer has the ability to
swim in water over the head and the ability to support themselves above the water until help arrives if they are in
trouble. The aquatics staff reserves the right to have a swimmer retake the swim test at any point in time.

Mark

Children are marked with a swim band to signify their swimming ability.

Protect

Testing and marking is the way we ensure that your children are protected. A swim band shows that they have been tested and marked. If they don't have a swim band, an adult must remain with the child and/or the child must a wear a life-jacket for their protection.

We have a variety of swim lessons broken down into stages to help navigate and help our future swimmers. Before signing your swimmer up for swim lessons, you must first have a swim assessment done with one of our swim instructors and they will put your swimmer in the appropriate stage.

Swim Starters ( recommended Ages 6 Months - 3 years of age )

In the two stages that make up this parent-child category, children learn to be comfortable in the water. Rather than teaching children how to survive in the water or become accomplished swimmers, Swim Starters focuses on developing swim readiness skills through fun and confidence-building experiences. Parents also learn essential skills in Swim Starters. Close supervision is the best way to prevent drowning. Parents learn how to supervise children in the water, how to prevent accidents, and how to plan for emergencies.

Swim Basics

In these three stages, students develop a high level of comfort in the water by practicing safe water habits, engaging in underwater exploration, and learning how to swim to safety and exit if they fall into a body of water. Group activities that reinforce learning help students progress. By the end of this series of stages, students 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

Swim Stroke

In these three stages, 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.
Once students have progressed through the stages in all three categories, they have the opportunity to follow three different pathways:
*Competition—for students who want to swim competitively either at the Y or for a different organization
*Leadership—for students who want to become a lifeguard or otherwise use swimming skills in their professional career
*Recreation—for students who want to make swimming a part of a healthy lifestyle and a way of getting the recommended amount of physical activity per day

Cost for Members: $18.00 / Non-Members $50.00

Here is a video sharing a story of a members experience with Swim Lessons!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T127kuqq7Y

Click here for full description of each stage.

Private Swim Lessons!

For more information about privates please contact the Aquatics Director at aquatics@coleymca.net

Bluefins Swim Team

Registration opening in April, in person, or online.

Through practice and competition, swimmers of all ages can improve swimming skills while building friendships and healthy habits that last a lifetime. A variety of competitive experiences are available to challenge novice and experienced swimmers alike. Swimmers compete at local, state, zone, and national level meets. The Bluefins' team goal is to help each swimmer be the best they can be while having fun.