SWIMMING LESSONS IN FEDERAL WAY!
The Federal Way Community Center is here to help teach everyone how to swim! Infants, toddlers, and even adults can learn basics in our pools but also gain water safety skills and advanced swim techniques that help them stay safer in and around water.
See our schedule and course descriptions below to find the perfect swimming lessons for your needs!
SWIM TEST MAY BE REQUIRED
Swimming tests are required for P2, P3, P4, Youth 2 levels and higher. These are used to determine the correct placement in our swimming programs.
Tests are given during any scheduled Open Swim time. See the pool schedule here for times.
No appointment is needed, walk-ins are welcomed. No registration or fee is required for a swim test.
TOT & PRESCHOOL SWIM LESSONS
Parent Tot Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Non-Swimmer to Beginner – Skills are done with adult support at all times.
Ages: 6 months- 2.5 years (No Placement Test Needed)
Purpose: Familiarize children with the water and teach swimming readiness skills. Provide safety information for parents and teach techniques parents can use to orient their children to the water. This course is not designed as a drown-proofing class.
Course Objectives: Different types of water entries and exits. Holding and support techniques and water adjustment activities. Breath control and submerging. Fundamentals of floats and glides. Introduction to arm and leg action on front and back. Water safety skills and lifejacket use.
Preschool 1 Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Non-Swimmer to Beginner – Skills can be done with support from instructor.
Ages: 2.5-5.5 years (No Placement Test Needed)
Purpose: Familiarize children to the aquatic environment and help them acquire rudimentary basic aquatic skills. Help participants begin to develop positive attitudes and safe practices in and around water.
Course Objectives: Water adjustment skills. Breath control and submerging. Introduction to glides and floats. Fundamentals of swimming. Basic water safety skills.
Preschool 2 Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate – Skills can be done with some assistance from the instructor.
Ages: 2.5-5.5 years (New Students Must Take a Placement Test)
Purpose: Build on and improve skills learned in Preschool Level 1. Increase their knowledge of water safety topics.
Course Objectives: Breath control and rhythmic breathing. Develop gliding and floating skills. Introduction to unassisted swimming, combined arm and leg action on front and back – 3 body lengths. Water safety skills.
Preschool 3 Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Intermediate – Skills must be done independently.
Ages: 2.5-5.5 years (New Students Must Take a Placement Test)
Purpose: Increase proficiency and build on the basic aquatic skills learned in Preschool levels 1 and 2. Reinforce water safety concepts and skills introduced in earlier levels and introduce additional water safety topics.
Course Objectives: Rhythmic breathing and fully submerging for 10 sec. Further develop gliding skills and learn new floating techniques. Introduction to crawl stroke, backstroke, and elementary backstroke – 5 body lengths. Water safety skills.
Preschool 4 Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Advance – Skills must be done independently.
Ages: 2.5-5.5 years (New Students Must Take a Placement Test)
Purpose: Refine and strengthen aquatic skills, increasing distance. Introduce water rescue and water safety skills.
Course Objectives: Swimming underwater – 3 lengths. Crawl stroke with side breathing, backstroke, and elementary backstroke – 15 yards. Introduction to butterfly, sidestroke, and breaststroke. Sitting and kneeling dives.
YOUTH SWIM LESSONS
Youth 1 Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Non-Swimmer to Beginner – Skills can be done with assistance from instructor.
Ages: 5.5-12 years (No Placement Test Needed)
Purpose: Orient participants to the aquatic environment and help them gain basic aquatic skills. Help participants begin to develop positive attitude and safe practices around water.
Course Objectives: Water adjustment skills. Breath control and submerging. Introduction to glides and floats. Fundamentals of swimming. Basic water safety skills.
Youth 2 Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate – Skills can be done with assistance from instructor.
Ages: 5.5-12 years (New Students Must Take a Placement Test)
Purpose: Build on the basic aquatic skills and water safety skills and concepts learned in Level 1.
Course Objectives: Side breathing 5 times and fully submerging for 10 sec. Further develop gliding skills and learn new floating techniques. Introduction to crawl stroke, backstroke, and elementary backstroke– 5 body lengths. Rescue and water safety skills.
Youth 3 Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Intermediate – Skills must be done independently.
Ages: 5.5-12 years (New Students Must Take a Placement Test)
Purpose: Build on the skills learned in Levels 1 and 2 to help participants achieve basic water competency in a pool environment.
Course Objectives: Side breathing 15 times. Crawl stroke, backstroke, and elementary backstroke – 15 yards. Breaststroke and sidestroke kick – 15 yards. Sitting and kneeling dives. Rescue and safety skills.
Youth 4 Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Intermediate – Skills must be done independently.
Ages: 5.5-12 years (New Students Must Take a Placement Test)
Purpose: Improve participants’ proficiency in performing the swimming strokes that were introduced in Level 3.
Course Objectives: Crawl stroke and elementary backstroke – 25 yards. Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, sidestroke – 15 yards. Open turns at the wall. Underwater swim 3 to 5 lengths. Compact/stride jumps and kneeling/standing dives. Rescue and water safety skills.
Youth 5 Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Advance – Skills must be done independently.
Ages: 5.5-12 years (New Students Must Take a Placement Test)
Purpose: Help participants refine their performance of all six swimming strokes.
Course Objectives: Crawl stroke and Elementary Backstroke – 50 yards. Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, sidestroke – 25 yards. Flip turns at wall. Surface dives and standing dives. Rescue and water
safety skills.
Youth 6 Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Advance – Skills must be done independently.
Ages: 5.5-12 years (New Students Must Take a Placement Test)
Purpose: Refine strokes so participants swim them with greater efficiency and effectiveness over longer distances. Teach participants how to prevent aquatic emergencies in various aquatic environments and
to introduce and practice self-rescue techniques.
Course Objectives: Crawl stroke and elementary backstroke – 100 yards. Backstroke, breaststroke, sidestroke, butterfly – 50 yards. Competitive swim team turns at wall. Surface dives and block starts.
Rescue and water safety skills.
Safety Note: Students completing Youth level 6 have acquired confidence, which may exceed personal ability. Students should always swim with a buddy, in designated areas with “ON DUTY” lifeguards.
TEENAGER SWIM LESSONS
Beginner Teen Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Non-Swimmer to Beginner
Ages: 13-17 years (No Placement Test Needed)
Purpose: Designed for teens who are interested in learning how to swim or improve their basic swimming skills.
Course Objectives: Water adjustment skills. Breath control and submerging. Side berthing – 15 times. Glides and floats. Crawl stroke, elementary backstroke, and breaststroke – 15 yards. Rescue and water
safety skills
ADULT SWIM LESSONS
Beginner Adult Swimming Lessons
Skill Level: Non-Swimmer to Beginner
Ages: 18 years and up (No Placement Test Needed)
Purpose: Designed for adults who are interested in learning how to swim or improve their basic swimming skills.
Course Objectives: Water adjustment skills. Breath control and submerging. Side berthing – 15 times. Glides and floats. Crawl stroke, elementary backstroke, and breaststroke – 15 yards. Rescue and water safety skills.
We hope that you will take advantage of our Open Swims to practice the skills you are working on in your class!
Consistent practice will help you progress through the lesson program easier. Admission to the Open Swims is not included in the lesson fee, so please inquire about daily admissions or membership plans at the Front Counter. Children under the age of 7, must be accompanied by an adult in the water.
Questions about swimming lessons? Contact our Aquatics Coordinator, Jake!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
Cancellation/Changes:
Cancellations or changes must be received no later than 48 hours before the session begins. Refunds will be issued minus a $6 cancellation fee. No refunds will be given after that time or once the session begins. Exceptions to the cancellation policy for medical emergencies is at the discretion of the Aquatics Department, if a doctor’s note showing the dates coinciding with the lessons is provided.
Refunds will be issued for classes canceled by FWCC. Transfers to another class in the same session will be allowed provided that there is space available.
Missed classes:
We are unable to offer makeup lessons and there are no pro-rated credits/refunds for classes missed during the session.
For FWCC Online Swim Lesson Registrations: Key word search – swimming
1.The student/family needs a household account:
a) If they have an account with us already (meaning they have enrolled in any program) they can
use that information to login to their account – DO NOT CREATE A NEW ONE
b) If you are unsure if you have an account, don’t know your login information, or know you need
to create one – please contact a front desk staff member for help at (253) 835-6900.
2. New Students:
a) Will be able to register for the three beginner levels: Parent/Tot, Preschool 1, and Youth 1
b) If the student is not a beginner but has not had lessons at FWCC.
i. Please come in for a Placement Test on Fridays from 4:00-7:00pm prior to swim lesson
registration. If Fridays do not work for you, call Rachael Chapman at (253) 835-6946.
3. Current or Past Students:
a) Will be able to register for the last level they were registered for in the past. If they pass a level,
their instructor will note it down on their attendance sheet and an aquatics staff member will
update all the students class levels in the computer. Once your student’s file has been updated,
you will be able to register them for the next sequential class level.
4. Class Ages:
a) Parent/Toddler – For students age 6 months to 2.5 years old.
b) Preschool 1-4 – For students age 2.5 to 5.5 years old.
c) Youth 1-6 – For students age 5.5 to 12 years old.
5. Class Levels: Levels are based on skill, not age.
a) Level 1 – Non-swimmers to Beginner swimmers (Parent/Tot, Preschool 1, and Youth 1)
b) Level 2 – Beginner to Intermediate swimmers (Preschool 2, Youth 2)
c) Level 3 and above – Intermediate and Advance swimmers (Preschool 3-4, Youth 4-6)
6. Membership vs Non-Membership
a) You do not need a FWCC Membership to enroll in our swim lesson programming. If you choose
to enroll in a FWCC Membership, you will have access to the following:
i. Discount on Registration Fees
ii. Earlier Enrollment Dates
FWCC Members are allowed to register 7 days in advance to the class
start date, Non-Members are allowed to register 3 days in advance to
the class start date.
All children 6 years of age and younger must be accompanied by an Adult, (16 years of age or older), in the water
and that Adult must be within arms reach of the child at all times.
If the child is 3 years of age and under it is required that the child uses an approved swim diaper while using the
facility. Diapers other than swim diapers tend to leak when placed in a swimming pool
Please arrive with your student in their swimsuit at least 5 minutes before your lesson starts. We do not provide towels or swim goggles, please bring your own from home. We encourage students to not wear snorkel facemasks that cover the nose. After you have checked yourself into the front desk, please bring your child or children back to the Leisure Pool Deck (Parent/Tot, Preschool 1-4, Youth 1-3) or the Lap Pool Deck (Youth 4-6) to wait for the instructor.
Please have your student use the restroom BEFORE CLASS BEGINS. Your instructor will find you on deck at the start time of the swim lesson. Parents or guardians are allowed to sit on deck and watch the lesson. All children in the Parent/Tot class must have a parent or guardian in the water with them at all times. Children five years of age or older must use gender – appropriate-locker room or one of the family changing rooms. Swimming before or after the lesson is not
allowed.