Swim Level Explanations
Level 1: Introduction to Water Skills
Purpose: Helps students feel comfortable in the water.
Level 1 participants learn to:
- Enter and exit water safely
- Open eyes underwater, pick up submerged object
- Swim on front and back using arm and leg actions
- Submerge mouth, nose, and eyes
- Float on front and back
- Follow basic water safety rules
- Exhale underwater through mouth and nose
- Explore arm and hand movements
- Use a life jacket
Level 2: Fundamental Aquatic Skills
Purpose: Gives students success with fundamental skills.
Level 2 participants learn to:
- Enter water by stepping or jumping from the side
- Open eyes underwater, pick up a submerged object
- Roll over from front to back, back to front
- Swim on side
- Exit water safely using ladder or side
- Float on front and back
- Tread water using arm and leg motions
- Move in the water while wearing a life jacket
- Submerge entire head
- Perform front and back glide
- Swim on front and back using combined strokes
Level 3: Stroke Development
Purpose: Builds on the skills in Level 2 through additional guided practice.
Level 3 participants learn to:
- Jump into deep water from the side
- Bob with the head fully submerged
- Perform survival float
- Butterfly—kick and body motion
- Use Check-Call-Care in an emergency
- Dive from kneeling or standing position
- Use rotary breathing in horizontal position
- Change from horizontal to vertical position on front and back
- Perform the HELP and Huddle position
- Submerge and retrieve an object
- Perform front and back glide
- Perform front and back crawl
- Perform a reaching assist
Level 4: Stroke Improvement
Purpose: Develops confidence in the skills learned and improves other aquatic skills.
Level 4 participants learn to:
- Perform shallow dive or dive from stride position
- Perform open turns on front and back using any stroke
- Perform the following: front and back crawl, breaststroke, butterfly, elementary
Backstroke, swim on side using scissors-like kick
- Swim underwater
- Tread water using sculling arm motions and kick
- Perform feet-first surface dive
- Use safe diving rules
- Perform a throwing assist
Level 5: Stroke Refinement
Purpose: Provides further coordination and refinement of strokes.
Level 5 participants learn to:
- Tread water with two different kicks
- Learn survival swimming
- Perform rescue breathing
Perform the following: standing dive; shallow dive, glide two body lengths and begin any front stroke; tuck surface dive; pike surface dive; front flip turn; backstroke flip turn; front and back crawl; butterfly; breaststroke; elementary backstroke; sidestroke
Level 6: Swimming and Skill Proficiency
Purpose: Refines the strokes so students swim them with ease, efficiency, power and smoothness over greater distances. Level 6 is designed with “menu” options that focus on preparing students to participate in more advanced courses, including the Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard Training courses. These options include:
- Personal Water Safety
- Fitness Swimming
- Lifeguard Readiness
- Fundamentals of Diving