Gladstone Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts

Community Center - American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim Group Lessons

Gladstone strives to offer one of the best swim lesson programs in the area. As an authorized American Red Cross: Learn-to-Swim provider, instructors are certified and teach to a national curriculum. Swim lessons are offered year round in our temperature controlled indoor pools and each summer at our outdoor pool! Registration for any of our group swim lesson programs can be completed online, over the phone by calling our Front Desk, or in-person at the Gladstone Community Center.

Indoor Group Swim Lessons


MONDAY / WEDNESDAY
EVENING LESSONS

Session 2023.MW.4
(8 Lesson Session)
Session Dates: April 17 - May 10
Lessons are 45 minutes in length unless noted otherwise.
Registration Dates
Members: April 5($49)
Non-Members: April 7($70)
Due to limited instructor availability, class offerings may be modified without notice
TIME
PT *
AT *
1-2
3
4-5
5:00 - 5:45PM
5:55 - 6:40PM
6:45 - 7:30PM
Indicates Level is being offered
* Indicates Level is 30-minutes in duration

Future Monday / Wednesday Evening Lesson Sessions
Register Online

SATURDAY
MORNING LESSONS

Session 2023.S.3
(8 Lesson Session)
Session Dates: May 6 - June 24
Lessons are 40 minutes in length unless noted otherwise.
Registration Dates
Members: April 22($49)
Non-Members: April 24($70)
TIME
PT *
AT *
1-2
3
4-5
8:15 - 8:55AM
9:00 - 9:40AM
9:45 - 10:25AM
10:30 - 11:10AM
11:150 - 11:55AM
Indicates Level is being offered
* Indicates Level is 30-minutes in duration
Future Saturday Morning Lesson Sessions
Register Online




Lesson Level Descriptions

Parent Tots (6 months - 3 years old)

Suggested for: Children under the age of 3. Parents participate in the water.

Purpose: To provide water orientation for both parent and child through numerous water adjustment activities emphasizing fun and water safety.

Description: Designed for children 6 months to 2 years of age, this program builds swimming readiness by emphasizing fun in the water. Parents and children participate in eight 30-minute lessons that help participants become comfortable and safe in the water. Elementary skills, including water entry, bubble blowing, front kicking, back floating, underwater exploration, and eventual submersion will be introduced.

Aqua Tots (3 - 5 years old)

Suggested for: Children between the ages of 3 and 5 of all skill levels or 5 to 7 year olds that are too frightened of the water to learn basic swimming techniques.

Purpose: Participants learn through games that incorporate basic water skills.

Description: Class is limited to six students with a 30-minute time limit. Skills introduced include: entering and exiting water independently/submerging face/blowing bubbles/front and back float glide with support/flutter kicking/intro to life jackets

Level I - Introduction to Water Skills
(5 - 14 years old)

Suggested for: Beginner swimmers that are comfortable in the water but cannot yet swim effectively.

Purpose: To orient participants to the aquatic environment and teach them elementary skills that can be built on as they progress through the Red Cross Learn-to-Swim Program.

Prerequisite: Participants must be a minimum of 5 years old.

Description:Skills participant will learn and must successfully demonstrate to advance include: submerging face for 3 seconds/blowing bubbles/opening eyes underwater and picking up an object/10 chest-deep bobs/front and back float with support-5 seconds/combined stroke on front and back with support-5 feet
Learn-to-Swim II - Fundamental Skills
(5 - 14 years old)

Suggested for: Beginner swimmers that can float and swim short distances on their own.

Purpose: To build on the fundamental aquatic locomotion, safety and rescue skills presented in Level I.

Prerequisite: A Learn-to-Swim Level I certificate or demonstrated competency in Level I skills.

Description: Skills participant will learn and must successfully demonstrate to advance include: holding breath and submerging entire head-10 seconds/opening eyes underwater and picking up submerged object/front and back glide-2 body lengths/changing direction of travel with paddling, front and back unsupported/flutter kicking on front and back with arm actions, unsupported-15 feet/stroke on front and back using kick and alternating arms-15 feet/turning over from front to back and back to front unsupported/basic rescue skills
Learn-to-Swim III - Stroke Development
(6 - 15 years old)

Suggested for: Intermediate swimmers that are capable of swimming the length of a pool and are comfortable in deep water, but may not have great technique with different swimming strokes.

Purpose: To build on the aquatic locomotion, safety, and rescue skills presented in Level II.

Prerequisite: A Learn-to-Swim Level II certificate or demonstrated competency in Level II skills.

Description: Skills participants will learn and must successfully demonstrate to advance include: jumping into deep water from the side/head-first entry into deep water, sitting or kneeling position/submerging and retrieving object in chest-deep water-3 times/front and back glide 2 body lengths/changing from vertical to horizontal in deep water, front and back/treading water-30 seconds/front and back crawl with rhythmic breathing pattern-15 yards/butterfly kick and body motion-15 feet/general and personal water safety
Learn-to-Swim IV - Stroke Improvement
(10 - 17 years old)

Suggested for: Strong swimmers that are capable of swimming multiple lengths of the pool without tiring and have basic knowledge and skills with multiple swimming strokes.

Purpose: To develop confidence and competency in the aquatic locomotion, safety and rescue skills presented in the Red Cross Learn-to-Swim program thus far.

Prerequisite: A Learn-to-Swim Level III certificate or demonstrated competency in Level III skills.

Description: Skills participants will learn and must successfully demonstrate to pass include: diving in from side into deep water, compact or stride position/swimming underwater-3 body lengths/feet first surface dive-submerging completely/survival float in the deep end-1 minute/open turns on front and back-gliding at least 2 body lengths before stroking/treading water-1 minute using 3 variations of kicks/front and back crawl-25 yards/breaststroke, butterfly, elementary backstroke-15 yards/swimming on side with scissor kick-15 yards/general and personal water safety, and basic rescue skills
Learn-to-Swim V - Stroke Refinement
(10 - 17 years old)

Suggested for: Strong swimmers capable of swimming all four competitive strokes with relative ease.

Purpose: To coordinate and refine the key strokes presented thus far in the Red Cross Learn-to-Swim program and to open turns, feet-first surface dive and springboard diving.

Prerequisite: A Learn-to-Swim Level IV certificate or demonstrated competency in Level IV skills.

Description: Skills participants will learn and must successfully demonstrate to pass include: shallow dive from the side of the pool/shallow dive, glide 2 body lengths and begin any front stroke/swimming underwater-15 yards/tuck and pike surface dives/back float in the deep end-2 minutes/front and back flip turns/tread water using 2 different kicks-2 minutes/front and back crawl-50 yards/butterf