Why should I take my child to the Swim and Survival Academy (SSA)?

Being trusted with the job of teaching children to swim is something we take seriously. A child’s life is too precious to take short cuts on their safety. We offer a comprehensive program which caters for swimmers from babies to adults.
We employ only a small percentage of people who apply for positions within our team. By selecting talented people and providing extensive in house training we develop outstanding swim teachers and coaches.
With a great program and passionate, well trained people, we nurture each child to learn the essential swimming and survival skills.
By providing quality staff, a carefully planned program and customer service we believe your child’s learning is in safe hands.

When can I start my child swimming?

We welcome children into our program from the age of 6 months. At this stage the lessons focus primarily on water familiarization and basic survival skills.
We run New Parent information Sessions for babies 0 -12 months, please click here for more information

How many children are in classes?

In our Tiny Tacker classes, where parents are in the water with their children, our classes have a maximum of 6 students in our Tiny Tacker classes. This provides a social environment, which gives plenty of voices for singing, whilst also allowing the teacher to work with each individual in the class.

In our beginner Learn to Swim classes we have a maximum of 4 swimmers. As the swimmers progress with their swimming skills, the classes increase to a maximum of 5 swimmers. As our in-house teacher training program requires teachers to assist qualified staff, you may have 2 teachers to every class, which also benefits the swimmers.

What is the pool temperature?

We believe it is important for a child to feel comfortable whilst they are learning to swim. Our pools are kept at 32 degrees. We have found that at temperatures below this children are distracted from learning if they are cold, on the flip side if the pool is any warmer swimmers tend to become lethargic.
Our pool surrounds and change rooms (floor and air) are heated in the winter months to ensure a perfect environment to swim all year round.

How big are the pools?

We have a 3 pool system at the Swim and Survival Academy. A 10m x 12m pool is used for our Learn to Swim program. This is complimented by our 6m x 2m deep water pool, purpose built for the survival component of our program.

The 3 lane 25m pool (with starting blocks) is utilized by our higher level swimmers and our squad athletes.

How long will my child need to do lessons for?

If your child does not choose to pursue swimming as a sport, or recreational activity it is important they have developed survival skills that are strong enough to call upon when needed.
For this reason we recommend the minimum level to attain would be at least Junior Squad. By Junior Squad children are able to swim 1km freestyle non stop, and have the ability to swim breaststroke fluently (a survival stroke). The children should have completed a distance swim, they have experienced treading water fully clothed for an extended period of time and they have learnt the basics of resuscitation.

Please Note:

It is important to remember that no person should swim alone and parents should not view swimming lessons as a substitute for active supervision when their child is in an aquatic environment.