Summer swimming lessons for everyone

With temps heating up, swimming may be just the thing to help stay cool all summer. There are lots of opportunities in New Eastside to get comfortable in the water, learn water safety techniques and perfect your stroke.

The British Swim School, a franchise organization that has been in operation for the past 35 years, comes to North Harbor Tower several times a week with a “swim school in a box” concept that is customized to each specific location where the program takes place.

John Hale, Operations and Marketing Director, says BSS focuses on survival first in a small, intimate setting, which is unique to the industry. “Using muscle memory, we train children as young as three months to turn (over in the water) and cry for help,” he says.

Older children might work on turning, coordination, breathing, and stamina. For adults, BSS adapts to specific goals like treading water, triathlon training, overcoming fear or lap swimming.

Coach Kathy Kelly and her team of four instructors have been offering her swim program at the Aqua pool for the past five years. Kelly says they teach all ages starting at six months, but perhaps their biggest growing group is adults who are afraid of the water and want to learn to swim. “Swimming is not just a sport, it’s a life saving skill,” she says. “It’s also one of the best all body exercises you’ll find.”

There are also private instructors like Rachel Horol, who has been sharing her aquatic expertise in individual New Eastside pools for the past three years. “I offer private and semi-private swim classes, focusing mainly on early childhood independence, safety and stroke development,” she says. “Swimming independently, reaching goals, and conquering the fear of water are such personal achievements that, when a child succeeds, it gives them confidence in other areas of life.”

If indoor swimming pools don’t provide enough fun, summer beach season is upon us and Ohio Street Beach is likely the perfect training site for open water swimming. It’s possible to swim a half mile north towards Oak Street Beach without being more than a short distance from the seawall and shallow water. There are lockers, restrooms and Café Oliva right on the beach to help with refueling after a challenging open water swim.

Whatever your water goals might be for the summer, there are an abundance of local options to help you achieve them. Contact the instructors for more information on scheduling, pricing and other information.

— Angela Gagnon, Staff Writer