Swim Levels
Every swimmer starts somewhere different. Some are dipping a toe in for the first time. Some have been in lessons for years and still won't put their face under. Some are adults who never learned and are quietly tired of sitting on the lounger.
These are the levels we teach, and what your swimmer works on in each one. If you're not sure where your child fits, that's completely normal — pick the one that sounds closest and your coach will confirm it in the first lesson.
Because lessons are private, your swimmer moves at their own pace. Nobody waits for the rest of the group, and nobody gets rushed past something they haven't got yet.
Not sure which level?
Four streams, 16 levels. Tap a stream, or go straight to a level.
Never been in a pool, or still a baby or toddler
Parent & TotTwelve and up, including adults starting from zero
Teen / Adult
Stream 1 of 4
Parent & Tot
Typically 4 months to 3 years. You're in the water with them the whole time.
Parent & Tot 1
Your first time in the pool together. This level is about your tot deciding the water is a good place to be — and about you learning the holds that keep them secure and comfortable.
What you'll work on
- Getting in and out of the water safely together
- The supported holds — on their front, on their back, head and back supported
- First floats on front and back, with your support
- Splashing, reaching, paddling, and kicking
- Getting used to a lifejacket in the water
- Water Smart basics: staying within arms' reach
Ready for the next level when they're comfortable being held in the water and starting to show readiness for getting their face wet.
Parent & Tot 2
Faces get wet. This is the level where bubbles happen, and where your tot starts making short passes through the water between you and the coach.
What you'll work on
- Seated entries and getting out of the water
- Blowing bubbles on and in the water
- Getting their face wet and comfortable in the water
- Reaching just below the surface to pick something up
- Front floats with their face in the water, and back floats, with your support
- Kicking on front and back
- Short passes through the water with continuous contact
Ready for the next level when they're happy putting their face in the water and can be passed short distances without distress.
Stream 2 of 4
Preschool
Typically 3 to 5 years. Your swimmer is in the water with their coach, and you watch from the side.
Preschool 1
The first level where they're in the water with their coach instead of you. Most of this level is about trust — getting in, getting their face wet, and finding out that floating works.
What they'll work on
- Getting in and out of the water safely
- Jumping into chest-deep water with support
- Putting their face in the water and blowing bubbles
- Front and back floats, with support
- First glides on front and back
- Moving around safely in shallow water wearing a lifejacket
Ready for the next level when they'll put their face in the water and can float on front and back with their coach's support.
Preschool 2
They start doing things on their own. Submerging is no longer a negotiation, and they begin rolling from front to back — the skill that becomes their first real safety habit.
What they'll work on
- Getting in and out of shallow water wearing a buoyant aid
- Jumping into chest-deep water
- Going fully underwater and blowing the air out
- Floating on front and back, and rolling between the two
- Kicking on their back, five metres
- Glides on front and back
Ready for the next level when they'll submerge willingly and can roll from front to back and back again.
Preschool 3
A big one. This is where the buoyant aid comes off for floating — they hold themselves up, and they kick under their own power.
What they'll work on
- Jumping and entering deep water wearing a lifejacket
- Floating on front and back for five seconds, unaided
- Rolling from front to back and back to front
- Holding their breath underwater and picking an object off the bottom
- Glides on front and back
- Flutter kicking on front and back, five metres each
- Their first Swim to Survive sequence: back float, roll to front, swim
Ready for the next level when they can float unaided and kick five metres on front and back.
Preschool 4
Deep water stops being the scary end of the pool. They tread with a buoyant aid, open their eyes underwater, and put together their first front crawl.
What they'll work on
- Jumping into deep water, coming back and getting out
- Sideways entries
- Treading water with a buoyant aid, ten seconds
- Opening their eyes underwater and recovering an object from chest-deep water
- Flutter kicking on front, back, and side — up to seven metres
- First front crawl, wearing a buoyant aid
- Swim to Survive: enter deep water, tread fifteen seconds, swim five metres
Ready for the next level when they're confident entering deep water and swimming a short distance back.
Preschool 5
The last preschool level. They tread water with nothing to hold onto, and they swim front and back crawl on their own.
What they'll work on
- Forward roll entry wearing a lifejacket
- Treading water for ten seconds, unaided
- Submerging and holding their breath for five seconds
- Whip kick in a vertical position
- Front crawl and back crawl, five metres each
- Kick intervals — four sets with rest between
- Swim to Survive: enter deep water, tread twenty seconds, swim ten metres
Ready for the next level when they can tread unaided and swim front and back crawl short distances. Most swimmers move into Swimmer 1 or 2 from here.
Stream 3 of 4
Swimmer
Typically 5 years and up. The school-age stream, from first lesson through to strong, confident swimming.
Swimmer 1
The starting point for school-age swimmers, whatever they've done before. If your child is nervous, this is where we begin, and there's no shame in it — we start plenty of eight- and nine-year-olds here.
What they'll work on
- Getting in and out of shallow water, jumping into chest-deep water
- Jumping into deep water wearing a lifejacket, and treading for thirty seconds
- Holding their breath, blowing bubbles, opening their eyes underwater
- Floating on front and back, and rolling between them
- Glides and flutter kicking, front and back
- First front crawl with a buoyant aid
- An introduction to Swim to Survive: jump, tread, swim
Ready for the next level when they can float, kick, and are comfortable in deep water with a lifejacket.
Swimmer 2
The lifejacket starts coming off. They tread water on their own and swim ten metres of front and back crawl.
What they'll work on
- Jumping into deep water, returning, and getting out
- Sideways entries wearing a lifejacket
- Treading water fifteen seconds, unaided
- Retrieving an object from the bottom of chest-deep water
- Flutter kicking on front, back, and side, ten metres
- Whip kick, vertical, with a buoyant aid
- Front crawl and back crawl, ten metres each
- Swim to Survive: in a lifejacket — jump, tread thirty seconds, kick fifteen metres
Ready for the next level when they can swim ten metres of front and back crawl and tread unaided.
Swimmer 3
Diving starts. They get their first kneeling dive, they're comfortable enough underwater to do somersaults and handstands, and their swim distance doubles.
What they'll work on
- Kneeling dive and forward roll into deep water
- Treading water thirty seconds
- Handstands in shallow water, front somersaults in the water
- Flutter kick with a direction change
- Whip kick on back, ten metres
- Front and back crawl, fifteen metres
- Swim to Survive: jump into deep water, tread thirty seconds, swim twenty-five metres
Ready for the next level when they can swim fifteen metres of front and back crawl and complete the twenty-five metre Swim to Survive sequence.
Swimmer 4
Standing dives, a full minute of treading water, and the first pieces of breaststroke. This is the level where swimming starts to look like swimming.
What they'll work on
- Standing dive into deep water
- Treading water for one minute
- Swimming five metres underwater
- Whip kick on front, fifteen metres, and breaststroke arm drills
- Front and back crawl, twenty-five metres
- Fitness sets: four lengths of twenty-five metres with rest
- Swim to Survive: roll entry, tread one minute, swim fifty metres
Ready for the next level when they can swim twenty-five metres of front and back crawl and tread water for a full minute.
Swimmer 5
Breaststroke becomes a real stroke. Distances get long enough that fitness starts to matter, and they're treading water for two minutes.
What they'll work on
- Shallow dive, tuck jump and cannonball into deep water
- Treading water two minutes, and stationary eggbeater kick
- Back somersaults in the water
- Breaststroke, twenty-five metres
- Front and back crawl, fifty metres
- Head-up front crawl
- Sprint and interval sets
- Swim to Survive: roll entry, tread ninety seconds, swim seventy-five metres
Ready for the next level when they can swim fifty metres of front and back crawl and twenty-five metres of breaststroke.
Swimmer 6
The top of the stream. A hundred metres of front and back crawl, fifty of breaststroke, and structured workouts. Swimmers finishing here are ready for lifesaving courses, junior lifeguard programs, or a swim club.
What they'll work on
- Stride entry and compact jump into deep water
- Legs-only surface support, forty-five seconds
- Swimming underwater to recover an object, ten metres
- Eggbeater kick on back and scissor kick, fifteen metres
- Breaststroke, fifty metres
- Front and back crawl, one hundred metres
- Head-up swimming, twenty-five metres
- A structured three hundred metre workout
Stream 4 of 4
Teen / Adult
Typically 12 and up, including adults who never learned. Same private lessons, same coaches, no group of kids to be self-conscious in front of.
Teen / Adult 1
For anyone starting from the beginning. If you've spent years avoiding pools, or telling people you can swim when you can't, this is the level. Private lessons mean nobody's watching but your coach.
What you'll work on
- Getting in and out of shallow water, and into deep water and back
- Treading water in a lifejacket, thirty seconds
- Holding your breath, exhaling underwater, opening your eyes
- Floating on front and back, and rolling between them
- Glides and flutter kicking on front, back, and side
- Front and back crawl, ten to fifteen metres
- Swim to Survive: jump, tread thirty seconds, swim on your back
Ready for the next level when you can float, kick, and swim a short distance of front and back crawl.
Teen / Adult 2
Deep water without a lifejacket, standing dives, and enough distance that you could get yourself out of trouble.
What you'll work on
- Standing dive, forward roll entry with and without a lifejacket, cannonball
- Treading water one to two minutes
- Handstands, front somersaults, swimming five to ten metres underwater
- Whip kick on front and back, and breaststroke arm drills
- Front and back crawl, twenty-five to fifty metres
- Interval and sprint sets
- Swim to Survive: roll entry, tread one minute, swim fifty metres
Ready for the next level when you can swim fifty metres and tread water for a minute without support.
Teen / Adult 3
Real distance and real fitness. Fifty to a hundred metres of front and back crawl, breaststroke, and structured workouts — the point where swimming becomes something you can do for exercise rather than something you're getting through.
What you'll work on
- Shallow dive, stride entry, and compact jump into deep water
- Legs-only surface support, thirty to sixty seconds
- Back somersaults, and swimming underwater to recover an object
- Eggbeater and scissor kick
- Breaststroke, twenty-five to fifty metres
- Front and back crawl, fifty to one hundred metres
- Interval training, sprints, and a three hundred metre workout
Still not sure where to start?
Pick the level that sounds closest. Your coach will check in the first lesson and move you if it isn't right — that's one of the things private lessons are good for.
If you'd rather ask first, give us a call or send a message and we'll help you place your swimmer.