Lifesaving Society Swimming Levels
Please use this chart to determine which Preschool or Swimmer Level is appropriate for your child based on swimming ability.
IMPORTANT NOTE: For safety reasons, it is very important that you select the correct level based on your child’s swim skills. Swim Camp is designed on group lessons, and therefore we are not able to offer one-to-one support for campers who don’t have the prerequisite swim skills for the level in which they are registered. Since it’s not possible to make a switch once camp begins, ALL campers registered for Swim Camp will be required to upload their latest swim progress or attend an in-water assessment at Branksome BEFORE MARCH 3, 2024. Parents/guardians can upload their swim camper’s most recent swim progress report to their online Campbrain account. Swim assessments will be offered on both Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00-1:55 p.m. from January 13/14 to March 2/3, 2024 (excluding February 17/18). To book a swim assessment, please email swim@branksome.on.ca. Please note that your swim camp registration may be cancelled if we don’t receive a recent progress report or the results of a swim assessment by March 3rd. While we will do our best to accommodate switches into other levels if needed, this is not a guarantee as switches are based on availability. We are here to assist you to determine your camper’s level, or assist with the documentation required. Please email camps@branksome.on.ca with any questions.
| LEVELS | REQUIREMENTS | PREREQUISITES |
|---|---|---|
| Preschool 4-5 | Ages 4-5, completed Preschool 3 | Preschool 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.
Preschool 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 metres, interval training and get a giggle out of whip kick. |
| Swimmer 1 | Ages 5-7 | 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. |
| Swimmer 2 | Ages 5-7, completed Swimmer 1 | 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). |
| Swimmer 3 | Ages 5-7, completed Swimmer 2 | 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. |
| Swimmer 4 | Ages 8-10, completed Swimmer 3 | 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. |
| Swimmer 5 | Ages 8-10, completed Swimmer 4 | 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. |
| Swimmer 6 | Ages 8-10, completed Swimmer 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. |
| Swim Patrol (Swimmer 7-9 + Aquatic Sport) | Ages 10-12 |
Rookie Patrol: 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 Patrol: 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 Patrol: 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 defense methods, victim removals and rolling over and supporting a victim face up in shallow water. |