For children aged five years and over, group lessons are a series of progressive classes catering to all abilities. Children progress through the levels of achievement working towards the end goal of performing five water safety skills continuously.

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Our Swimsmart programme is available at Graham Condon, Jellie Park, Pioneer, Taiora QEII and Te Pou Toetoe: Linwood Pool.

Community Services Card and Hāpai Access(external link) cardholders are entitled to a 25% discount on all Swimsmart memberships on presentation of a valid card.

Timetable

Monday to Friday from 3.30pm.
Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8am. 

25-minute lessons.

Lessons run in parallel with school terms.

For specific class times please call 941 8999 or visit your nearest facility

Jellyfish

For the non-confident beginner who has had little or no aquatic programme experience. The classes focus on safe entries and exits, blowing bubbles and submerging in water and floating in the water with assistance.

Flounders

This class is designed to work on floating and propulsion skills. This is the right class if your child can: Float on front and back relaxed with assistance, blow bubbles and can go underwater and retrieve objects from the bottom of the pool.

Stingrays

This class is designed to teach the basics of freestyle, backstroke and water safety skills. This is the right class if your child can: Float on front and back, kick on front and back with a board.

Sharks

A class that introduces breathing techniques, survival backstroke and works on increasing water safety knowledge. This is the right class if your child can:

  • swim with confident freestyle arms
  • swim backstroke independently

Tiger Sharks

This class is designed to consolidate breathing skills with freestyle and backstroke and water safety survival skills including using a lifejacket. This is the right class if your child can:

  • swim 10m freestyle with breathing
  • swim 10m backstroke

Barracudas

A class designed to increase swimming distance in freestyle and backstroke, introduce breaststroke arms and a 50m survival swim. At the beginning of this class, the child should be able to:

  • breathe with their freestyle 15m
  • backstroke 15m
  • demonstrate propulsion through the water using a sculling action

Marlins

Designed to consolidate techniques of freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke while combining water safety skills learned in earlier levels to be able to perform a sequence of 5 water safety skills continuously. This is the right class if your child can:

  • swim 25m freestyle with bilateral breathing
  • swim 25m backstroke
  • swim breaststroke

Junior Learners

A great opportunity for children aged nine to 14 years who have never learned to swim. Designed to build confidence and water safety skills for the older swimmer within a small group, starting with floating and moving onto freestyle and backstroke techniques.