Purpose: To begin developing positive attitudes, good swimming habits, and safe practices in and around the water. Participants start at about 6 years of age.

Course Requirements:

• Enter water using ramps, steps, or side
• Exit water using ladder, steps, or side
• Blow bubbles for 3 seconds
• Bobbing 5 times
• Open eyes underwater and retrieve submerged objects
• Front and back glide, recover to a vertical position
• Back float for 5 seconds
• Roll from front to back and from back to front
• Treading water arm and hand action
• Alternating, simultaneous leg and arm actions on front and back
• Combined leg and arm actions on front and back

Purpose: To give participants success with fundamental skills, including learning how to float without support and to recover to a vertical position.

Course Requirements:

• Step or jump from the side into shoulder-deep water
• Exit water using ladder, steps, or side 
• Fully submerge and hold breath
• Open eyes underwater and retrieve submerged objects
• Front, jellyfish, and tuck floats for 10 seconds
• Front and back glide, recover to a vertical position
• Back float for 15 seconds
• Roll from front to back and from back to front
• Tread water for 15 seconds
• Change direction of travel while swimming on front or back
• Combined leg and arm actions on front and back
• Finning arm actions on back
• Bobbing 10 times

Purpose: To provide additional guided practice in deeper water, develop participants' confidence in the learned strokes, and improve other aquatic skills.

Course Requirements:

• Jump into deep water from side, submerge, return to surface then to side
• Headfirst entry from the side in seated or kneeling position
• Bobbing while moving to safety
• Rotary breathing
• Survival float for 30 seconds
• Back float for l minute
• Tread water for l minute
• Change from vertical to horizontal position on front and back
• Open turns, flutter, and dolphin kicks on the front and back
• Push off in streamlined position on front, then begin kicking
• Swim front crawl for 15, 25 yards
• Swim elementary backstroke for 15, 25 yards
• Scissor and breaststroke kicks
• Headfirst entry in compact and stride position
• Feet-first surface dive and underwater swim
• Tread water using two different kicks
• Survival swim for l minute
• Breaststroke, back crawl for 15 yards
• Butterfly, sidestroke for 15 yards
• Push off in streamlined position on back, then begin kicking

Purpose: To orient preschool-age children to the aquatic environment and to help them acquire rudimentary levels of basic aquatic skills. Participants begin the program at about 4 or 5 years old.

Course Requirements:

• State two pool rules
• Jump into chest-deep water
• Fully submerge and hold breath underwater for 5 seconds
• Bobbing, 5 times
• Front glide and back glide, recover to vertical position
• Back float for 10 seconds
• Front float for 5 seconds
• Change direction of travel while swimming on front or back
• Combined arm and leg actions on front and back for two body lengths

Purpose: Familiarize children between the ages of 6 months and approximately 3 years with the water and teach swimming readiness skills and provide safety information for parents and teach techniques parents can use to orient their children to the water. All skills are done with parent assistance.

Course Requirements:

• Getting wet through play and kicking
• Entering and exiting the water with guided assistance
• Blowing bubbles on the surface and with face submerged
• Fully submerge underwater
• Floating on front and back
• Gliding on front and back
• Rolling front to back and back to front
• Kicks on front and back
• Arm action on front and back
• Learn multiple different holds and supports (parents)