Swimming Lessons
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Group Swim Lesson Registration
Opens Tuesday, May 13th, 2025 for residents and Tuesday, May 20th, 2025 for non-residents
The City of Thorold offers swimming lessons based on the Canadian Lifesaving Program for all ages and abilities. There are several lesson formats including two week sessions and evenings for nine weeks. Find a lesson that best suits your family's needs! Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Payment is due upon registration. Once lessons are full, we will close registration on that particular session.
Two Week Sessions
The City of Thorold offers four two-week sessions throughout the summer. Participants will attend 9 or 10 classes over two weeks, at the same time each day. The two week schedules for 2025 are as follows:
Term 1 June 30 to July 11 (Week 1 & 2 is Monday to Friday) *No lessons on July 1
Term 2 July 14 to July 25 (Week 1 and 2 is Monday to Friday) *Bronze Medallion is July 21 to 26 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Term 3 July 28 to Aug 8 (Week 1 & 2 is Monday to Friday)
Term 4 Aug 11 to Aug 22 (Week 1 and 2 is Monday to Friday) *Bronze Cross is August 18 to 24 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Full Term Session
The City of Thorold offers weekly swim lessons in the evenings for participants to join throughout the summer. Each class will take place at the same time each week for nine weeks.
The full season for 2025 starts June 30 with the last class on Aug 28 (9 weeks).
Download and print all of the swim schedules at home >>>
Private and Semi-Private Lesson Registration
Opens Monday, May 26 for residents and Monday, June 2 for non-residents
Private Swimming Lessons
Private swim lessons offer individualized attention and ample practice time for participants aged 3 and up. These lessons are available for Lifesaving Society levels: Preschool, Swimmer 1–6, Teen, and Adult.
Semi-Private Swimming Lessons
Semi-private lessons pair one instructor with two participants, making them ideal for siblings or friends at similar skill levels. You may upgrade a private lesson to semi-private by selecting your preferred private lesson time and emailing us at aquatic.supervisor@thorold.ca to request the change. For the best experience, we recommend that both participants be within one swim level of each other.
Instructor Requests
You may request a specific instructor or the gender of your instructor for private lessons. While we strive to accommodate all requests, we cannot guarantee availability. Please reach out by email or phone for instructor preferences.
Private lessons will be offered in 2 different ways:
- Mornings – Monday to Friday for 1 week each (4 or 5 classes per week)
- Evenings – 1x per week for the whole summer (8 or 9 classes for the summer)
| Morning Classes |
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All morning classes are offered at either 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., or 11:30 a.m.
Term 1 – Week 1 (June 30th-July 4th) – 4 classes (no classes on July 1st) Term 1 – Week 2 (July 7th – 11th) – 5 classes Term 2 – Week 1 (July 14th – 18th) – 5 classes Term 2 – Week 2 (July 21st – 25th) – 5 classes Term 3 – Week 1 (July 28th – Aug 1st) – 5 classes Term 3 – Week 2 (Aug 4th – 8th) – 5 classes Term 4 – Week 1 (Aug 11th – 15th) – 5 classes Term 4 – Week 2 (Aug 18th – 22nd) – 5 classes |
| Evening Classes |
|
All evening classes are offered 1x per week at either 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Mondays – June 30th to Aug 25th – 9 classes Tuesdays – June 30th to Aug 25th – 8 classes (no classes on July 1st) Wednesdays – June 30th to Aug 25th – 9 classes Thursdays – June 30th to Aug 25th – 9 classes |
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Pricing |
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Private Lesson - $21.00 per class Semi-Private Lesson - $12.50 per person, per class
Pricing will be pre-determined by the amount classes (eg. 5 classes x $21 per class = $105). Please note: Pricing will not be pro-rated if you are unable to attend a class. |
There are 3 ways that you can register for regular, semi-private and private swimming lessons:
Call us
Call us anytime Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 905-227-6613 ext. 403. Staff will return your call within 1-2 business days. Payment is due upon registration. Credit card payments are accepted over the phone, and will be subject to a small transaction fee.
In-Person Registration Dates for Group Swim Lessons:
Location: Thorold Community Pool (111 Richmond St)
Residents Date: Tuesday, May 13
Time: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Non-Residents Date: Tuesday, May 20
Time: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
In-Person Registration Dates for Private and Semi-Private Swim Lessons:
Location: Thorold Community Pool (111 Richmond St)
Residents Date: Monday, May 26
Time: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Non-Residents Date: Monday, June 2
Time: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Online
Registration can be made online at the link below. Credit card payments are accepted online, and will be subject to a small transaction fee.
Program Descriptions:
The City of Thorold offers swimming lessons based on the Canadian Lifesaving Program for all ages and abilities. Please review program descriptions below to ensure that your child is in the correct swim level before registering for swim lessons on May 13th or May 20th. Please have your child bring their previous report card to the first swim class. If it is your child's first time, it is up to the swim instructor to test their swimming skills to ensure that they are registered in the appropriate swim level.
Cost: $50.50
Parent and Tot is offered for infants and toddlers ages 4 months to 3 years old. This is a great introduction to water. Participants will enjoy splashing, singing, and playing while learning introductory swimming skills.
| Level 1 |
| Designed for the 4 to 12-month-old to learn to enjoy the water with the parent. |
| Level 2 |
| Designed for the 12 to 24-month-old to learn to enjoy the water with the parent. |
| Level 3 |
| Designed for the 2 to 3-year-old to learn to enjoy the water with the parent. |
Cost: $52.50
Preschool lessons are available to children ages 3 to 5 years old. These young swimmers will learn basic swimming skills and basic water safety.
| Level 1 |
| We encourage the parent to participate until their child lets them know they can do it themselves (thank you very much). These preschoolers will have fun learning to get in and out of the water. We'll help them jump into chest deep water. They'll float and glide on their front and back and learn to get their faces wet and blow bubbles underwater. |
| Level 2 |
| These preschoolers learn to jump into chest-deep water by themselves, and get in and get out wearing a lifejacket. They'll submerge and exhale underwater. Wearing a lifejacket they'll glide on their front and back. |
| Level 3 |
| These youngsters will try both jumping and a sideways entry into deep water while wearing a lifejacket. They'll recover objects from the bottom in waist-deep water. They'll work on kicking and gliding through the water on their front and back. |
| Level 4 |
| Advanced preschoolers will learn to do solo jumps into deeper water and get out by themselves. They'll do sideways entries and open their eyes underwater. They'll master a short swim on their front wearing a lifejacket and gliding and kicking on their side. |
| Level 5 |
| These youngsters get more adventuresome with a forward roll entry wearing a lifejacket and treading water for 10 sec. They'll work on front and back crawl swims for 5 m, interval training and get a giggle out of whip kick. |
Cost: $52.50 (Swimmer 1/2), $57.25 (Swimmer 3/4/5/6)
Swimmer 1 through 6 are available for children and youth ages 5-12. These levels progress from basic to more advanced swimming skills.
| Level 1 |
| These beginners will become comfortable jumping into water with and without a lifejacket. They'll learn to open their eyes, exhale and hold their breath underwater. They'll work on floats, glides and kicking through the water on their front and back. |
| Level 2 |
| These advanced beginners will jump into deeper water, and learn to be comfortable falling sideways into the water wearing a lifejacket. They'll be able to support themselves at the surface without an aid, learn whip kick, swim 10 m on their front and back, and be introduced to flutter kick interval training (4 x 5 m). |
| Level 3 |
| These junior swimmers will dive and do in-water front somersaults and handstands. They'll work on 15 m of front crawl, back crawl and 10 m of whip kick. Flutter kick interval training increases to 4 x 15 m. |
| Level 4 |
| These intermediate swimmers will swim 5 m underwater and lengths of front, back crawl, whip kick, and breaststroke arms with breathing. Their new bag of tricks includes the completion of the Canadian Swim to Survive® Standard. They'll cap it all off with front crawl sprints over 25 m and 4 x 25 m front or back crawl interval training. |
| Level 5 |
| These swimmers will master shallow dives, cannonball entries, eggbeater kicks, and in-water backward somersaults. They'll refine their front and back crawl over 50 m swims of each, and breaststroke over 25 m. Then they'll pick up the pace in 25 m sprints and two interval training bouts: 4 x 50 m front or back crawl; and 4 x 15 m breaststroke. |
| Level 6 |
| These advanced swimmers will rise to the challenge of sophisticated aquatic skills including stride entries, compact jumps and lifesaving kicks like eggbeater and scissor kick. They'll develop strength and power in head-up breaststroke sprints over 25 m. They'll easily swim lengths of front crawl, back crawl, and breaststroke, and they'll complain about the 300 m workout. |
Cost: $68.25
The Swim Patrol provides enriched training for those who are ready to go beyond l Swimmer 1-6. Swim Patrol's three levels - Rookie, Ranger, and Star - continue to develop participants' swim strokes and provide the skill foundation that prepares them for success in the Society's Bronze medal awards.
| Rookie |
| Swimmers continue stroke development with 50 m swims of front crawl, back crawl and breaststroke. Lifesaving Sport skills include a 25 m obstacle swim and 15 m object carry. First aid focuses on assessment of conscious victims, contacting EMS and treatment for bleeding. Fitness improves in 350 m workouts and 100 m timed swims. |
| Ranger |
| Swimmers develop better strokes over 75 m swims of each stroke. They tackle Lifesaving Sport skills in a lifesaving medley, timed object support and rescue with a buoyant aid. First aid focuses on assessment of unconscious victims, treatment of victims in shock and obstructed airway procedures. Skill drills develop a strong lifesaving foundation. |
| Star |
| Swimmers are challenged with 600 m workouts, 300 m timed swims and a 25 m object carry. Strokes are refined over 100 m swims. First aid focuses on treatment of bone or joint injuries and respiratory emergencies including asthma and allergic reactions. Lifesaving skills include defence methods, victim removals and rolling over and supporting a victim face up in shallow water. |
Private Lesson: $21.00/class per person
Semi-Private Lesson: $12.50/class per person
Private and semi-private lessons can be accommodated upon request. These lessons are available for individuals who may require additional one on one support. Private lessons are available to all levels and abilities.
| Private |
| Thirty minute lessons are available to all abilities. Register for multiple weeks for long term progress. |
| Semi-private |
| Thirty minute semi-private lessons can be schedule for two individuals of similar ability. Participants are responsible for finding a second person prior to registration. |
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