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Swimming Lessons
The City of Medicine Hat proudly offers swim instruction and water safety lessons for all ages, at both the Big Marble Go Centre (BMGC) and Crestwood Recreation Centre (CRC), as well as outdoor pools in the summer months. Below, you can learn about our youth programs, private lessons, and even leadership training to become a lifeguard.
The Starfish Swimming curriculum is designed for students aged 6-months to adult. Benchmarks are established at each stage in the program that combine both swimming and safety skills. Students participate in experiential learning activities that allow them to explore the water in a creative and comfortable environment. Correct swimming techniques are taught from the very beginning, providing an easy transition to swim team.
If unsure what class to register your child in for swimming lessons, we do swim assessments free of charge.
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The purpose of this course is to develop in very young children a high comfort level in the water while at the same time training the adults who accompany them in water safety and drowning prevention. This course does not teach children to become accomplished swimmers or to survive in the water; it does provide a confidence-building, fun, and loving experience. One adult must be in the water with each child. Swim diapers are required. |
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1. StarBabies™ - ages 6-18 months
StarBabies provides an orientation to water for babies and their parent/caregiver. The goal is to help babies gain comfort in the water and to teach parents/caregivers body position and submersion.
Swim benchmarks include being relaxed in the water on front, back, vertical and side as well as entering the water with a submerge and exiting.
2. StarTots™ - ages 18-36 months
StarTots provides an orientation to water for babies and their parent/caregiver. Swimmers work on air recovery and rollover, as well as forward movement.
The swim benchmarks include submerging off the wall, coming to surface and getting into back position, along with moving through the water independently.
Designed to meet the needs of children ages 3 and up, this course will develop a high comfort level in the water and a readiness to swim, and for those children who are developmentally ready, it will teach functional swim skills. This class approaches teaching swimming through creative, fun activities in the water. Students work toward developing the five competencies and progress toward achieving the benchmarks at their own pace in a small-group setting.
Once a swimmer has completed all levels of Swim School, proceed to Starfish Stroke School.
1. White - ages 3-5 and 6+
Introductory level where the focus is on readiness. Swimmers will learn to ask permission to enter the water and submerge under water.
2. Red - ages 3-5 and 6+
This level focuses on body positions and air exchange. Skills include float and kicking. Skill benchmark is a jump in and getting onto back to breathe for 5 seconds.
3. Yellow
The yellow level focuses on forward movement and direction change. Skills includes surface support, beginner stroke on front and back and direction changes in water.
Yellow is for swimmers who are not afraid, can float on their front and back, and can jump in and return to the surface.
4. Blue
The blue level focuses on streamlined movement and side breathing. Skills include glides with kicks, and a focus on side glides and rolls.
Blue is for participants who can float, swim a beginner stroke and roll from front to back and back to front with no assistance.
5. Green
The green level focuses on water competency. Skills include head first entries, freestyle drills, kicking drills and treading water.
Green is for swimmers who can tread water for at least 20 seconds, can glide in all positions and is comfortable in the deep water.
This course is for students who have achieved the green Swim School benchmarks. Students develop endurance, refine freestyle and learn stroke technique for backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke.
Each lesson is option, but for optimal learning and results, they should be taken in the following order:
1. Freestyle and Backstroke
Focus is on learning these two strokes and with their corresponding drills.
2. Resting Strokes (Elementary Backstroke and Sidestroke)
In Resting Strokes, focus is on Elementary Backstroke and Sidestroke. The skill benchmark is 25m swim of each stroke.
3. Butterfly
The yellow course focuses on learning the Butterfly stroke.
4. Breaststroke
In blue, swimmers will focus on learning the Breaststroke.
5. Endurance
In this class, swimmers focus on endurance, starts and turns.
If you are registering a swimmer that requires adaptations or specialized services, please contact us. We look forward to working with you and your swimmer to create a positive experience.
Private lessons are a great way to acquire those last few skills needed to pass a swim level or introduce a reluctant swimmer to the water. Our qualified instructors will assess skill level and provide personalized instruction to help you achieve your goals. These lessons are not intended to complete a full lesson set and there is no guarantee that you will have the same instructor when booking more than one private session.
Because of water depth, different pools have different minimum age requirements for private lessons to ensure success:
What do the Starfish Swimming programs look like?
Parented has two levels based on age, Swim School has four different lesson types (White/Red, Yellow, Blue and Green) and Stroke School has five different lesson types (Freestyle/Backstroke, Resting Strokes, Butterfly, Breaststroke and Endurance).
What are the teacher/student ratios?
What level should I put my child into?
Can a swimmer skip a level in Swim School or Stroke School?
What happens if someone registers in the wrong lesson?
How does swim assessment work?
Swim assessments are released weekly to book online. An instructor will then ask to see skills to suggest the appropriate level to book into. This is not a private lesson and improvements on skills will not be made.
Swimmers are evaluated by their instructor as they currently are with the use of a hard copy report card. When they meet the benchmarks within the lessons, they will be ready to move to the next level.
What are the benefits of using Starfish Swimming Canada?
The skills taught by Starfish Swimming Canada focus more on benchmark evaluations rather than skill proficiency. It is beneficial developmentally for swimmers.
We are able to place more swimmers in lessons (approximately 100 more swimmers per set).
Swimmers will have the opportunity to learn and master stroke skills such as elementary backstroke, sidestroke, and butterfly.
Contact Us
Big Marble Go Centre
2000 Division Ave N
Medicine Hat, Alberta
T1C 1X9
403-502-8566
Email us
Crestwood Recreation Centre
1701 21 St SE
Medicine Hat, Alberta
T1A 2C2
403-529-8320
Email us
Parks
88 Kipling Street SE
Medicine Hat, Alberta
T1A 1Y3
P: 403-529-8333
F: 403-529-8254
Email us
Recreation
2000 Division Ave N
Medicine Hat, Alberta
T1C 1X9
403-502-8566
Email us
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