SWIM LESSONS

The YMCA Swim Lessons program helps adults, kids, and families learn an important life skill and supports them in gaining the knowledge, ability, and stamina to become strong and confident swimmer.

The Y Swim Lessons accommodates varying abilities to help foster a sense of achievement as swimmers’ progress between levels. Through this approach, advanced swimmers flow more easily to higher levels while swimmers who need more instruction can learn at their own pace. This results in more confident swimmers who stick with lessons and develop a love for swimming that can last a lifetime.

Swim Lesson Finder

Answer the questions below to find the swim lesson that fits.

Swim Starters

Swim Starters develops water enrichment and aquatic readiness in children ages 6 months to 3 years. This category focuses on developing swim readiness skills through fun and confidence-building experiences. Parents also learn how to supervise children in the water, how to prevent accidents and how to plan for emergencies.

Swim Basics

Swim Basics develops personal water safety and basic swimming skills in students of all ages. Swimmers develop a high level of comfort in the water by practicing safe water habits, engaging in underwater exploration, and learning how to swim to safety and exit if they fall into a body of water.

Swim Strokes

Swim Strokes introduces and refines stroke technique in older students (school age, teens and adults). Having mastered the fundamentals, students learn additional water safety skills and build stroke technique, developing

skills that prevent chronic disease, increase social-emotional and cognitive well-being and foster a lifetime of physical activity.

Specialized Swim Lessons

Special Needs – Class is available based on enrollment. Please inquire with Naisha Scott nscott@ymcaulster.org for details.

Private Swim Lessons Inquiry

This is for the individual who needs or would like one on one attention. Instructors will assist you with a range of needs from fear of water to advanced swim techniques. Semi-private or Private packages to choose from. Lessons are scheduled at your convenience and according to pool & instructor availability.

Free Swim Lessons Available Through NY SWIMS

Thanks to funding provided through Governor Kathy Hochul’s NY SWIMS Initiative and the New York State Department of Health, The YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County is offering free swim lessons to local summer camps (Camp Starfish, Read and Write, Center for Creative Education, and the Village Camp) to help more children gain lifesaving water safety and swimming skills.

This initiative is designed to expand access to swim lessons for children who may otherwise face barriers to participation. Program availability and eligibility vary and are determined locally based on community needs and available capacity.