The American Red Cross Swimming and
Water Safety Program features six levels of learn to swim instruction
to help swimmers of all ages and abilities develop their swimming
and water safety skills. It is designed to give students a positive
learning experience. American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim teaches aquatic
and safety skills in a logical progression. The objective is to teach
people to swim and to be safe in, on and around the water.
Skills are categorized in the
following way:
• Water Entry
and Exit
• Breath Control and Underwater
Swimming
• Buoyancy
• Changing Direction and
Position
• Treading
• Swimming on Front, Back
and Side
• General and Personal
Water Safety
• Helping Others
Not every level includes skills
in all categories. Nor is it necessary to introduce the skills in
the order of categories listed above. It is very important, however,
to introduce safety skills in the first lesson of each level, so
participants are aware of what they can do to be safe around the
water.
Students in Level 1 are oriented to the aquatic
environment and gain some basic skills in each category. At later
levels, students build on their basic skills to learn propulsive
movements on the front, back and side. They learn different strokes
at various levels and then refine them at later levels. Personal
safety and rescue skills are included to help students meet safety
goals. By the end of Level 6, students have all the prerequisite
skills and have developed the necessary fitness level for entrance
into the American Red Cross Lifeguard Training and Water Safety
Instructor Courses. The six Learn-to-Swim levels and the objectives
for each level include:
Level
1 - Introduction to Water Skills. Helps students feel comfortable
in the water and to enjoy the water safely. Level
2 - Fundamental Aquatic Skills. Gives students success with
fundamental skills. Level 3 - Stroke
Development. Builds on the skills in Level 2 by providing additional
guided practice. Level 4 - Stroke Improvement. Develops
confidence in the strokes learned thus far and to improve other aquatic
skills. Level 5 - Stroke Refinement. Provides
further coordination and refinement of all the strokes. Flip turns
on the front and back are also introduced. Level
6 - Swimming and Skill Proficiency. Refines the strokes so
students swim them with ease, efficiency, power and smoothness over
greater distances. Level 6 is designed with "menu" options.
Each of these options focus on preparing students to participate in
more advance courses, such as Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard
Training. These options include: