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Registration for Spring 2024 is open.

Swim Lessons

Swim Lessons

Bartlett Park District Swim Academy

Swim lessons are held year-round at our indoor facility for individuals six months of age and older. Instruction is available in the form of group swim lessons, semi-private swim lessons, and private swim lessons. Fall, winter, and spring classes run primarily in the evenings and weekend mornings, but a limited number of classes are also offered during the daytime on weekdays.

Learning to swim is unique to each person. Some people are visual learners and can learn through the “watch me method”, some are auditory learners and are able to transfer the direction someone gives into what they need to do, some are experience based and need to “practice, practice, practice” and some are a mixture of them all. Our Swim Academy instructors will provide all of these methods to teaching your student. Our teaching is based upon a natural progression of mastery of skills that provide a successful transition to the next level. This creates a foundation for each student to build upon and achieve success. Whether you are looking for a program to provide water safety or if you are looking for a program to build the foundation for the next Olympic Athlete the Bartlett Swim Academy is the answer.

  • Safety is always our number one priority and lifeguards are on duty at all times during lessons.
  • Our friendly instructors make learning fun and we emphasize swimming as a lifelong skill.
  • Affordable pricing and small group, semi-private, private, and custom lessons are available for a variety of ages on different days and times.
  • At the end of each session the student is given a Splash Central admission coupon to come back and practice their skills and have fun!

Bartlett Barracudas Swim Team

During the summer the Bartlett Park District runs a recreational swim team at the outdoor aquatic center called the Bartlett Barracudas. The team is for individuals from five years of age through 18 years of age. The team fosters healthy sportsmanship and promotes swimming technique. It is strongly recommended that individuals wishing to join the team successfully complete the Bartlett Park District swim lesson program in its entirety. Registration for the Barracudas is published in the spring park district program guide.

For additional information, call 630-540-4890.

Parent and Tot Swimming Exploration

Come and explore the water with your infant or toddler. This class, with an adult in-water, is designed to facilitate familiarity with the water and build comfort. Instructors will act as facilitators and coordinate both structured and unstructured activities to promote water exploration.

Tiny Tot Adventurers

Toddlers that are comfortable being independent in the water and being without a parent are ready for the introductory class to our Bartlett Park District Swim Academy program. This class focuses on development of motor skills in the water, including comfortability, supported floats, and arm circles. The ultimate goal of this class is to adequately prepare the student for entry into our Basic Skills series of classes and basic safety and skill development. Students will be encouraged to achieve a level of comfort where they can put their entire head and body under the water. Students will also be given structured opportunities to further explore the water environment.

Basic Skills I

After graduation from Advanced Tiny Tot, students will be ready to enter the core program curriculum of the Bartlett Park District Swim Academy. Basic Skills I promotes early stroke development with the refinement of arm circles, kicks, and an introduction to rotary breathing. Instructors will also encourage students to float independently on their front and back. Finally, with time being spent in the Splash Central Lap Pool, students will also cover safety rules at the start and end of class each day.

Basic Skills II

Building on the curriculum from Basic Skills I, students will continue to develop front crawl and back crawl with the ultimate goal of swimming 10-15 yards independently with instructor supervision. Rotary breathing will also be reinforced in an effort to develop a clean stroke needed for successful completion of the next class, Basic Skills III, and graduation into the Advanced Skills series.

Basic Skills III

The capstone class of the Basic Skills series focuses on stroke refinement, additional opportunities for deep water skill-building, and increased emphasis on distance swimming and endurance. To successfully graduate from Basic Skills III, students must be able to independently swim the full length of the Splash Central Lap Pool (25 yards) using a relatively refined and clean front crawl and back crawl. Students will also receive introduction to the stroke components of breaststroke through development of elementary backstroke.

Advanced Skills I

The initial class in this series offers students an opportunity to continue developing advanced strokes such as breaststroke. Students will build endurance by swimming regular lengths of the pool. Advanced safety skills will be introduced and discussed and students will be given the opportunity to attempt basic diving techniques.

Advanced Skills II

Students will continue the development of all four major strokes: front crawl (freestyle), back crawl (backstroke), breaststroke, and butterfly. Students will continue to develop their ability to swim greater distances, which is important from both a safety and competitive standpoint. Finally, proper usage of lifejackets will be demonstrated and applied during class.

Advanced Skills III

The final course in the Advanced Skills series focuses on retention of all four major strokes: front crawl (freestyle), back crawl (backstroke), breaststroke, and butterfly. Students will receive additional training on how to apply these strokes in both a leisure swimming and competitive environment. Additional endurance-building activities for students will help facilitate their graduation from the program. Graduation will propel students into confident and safety oriented independent swimmers.

Intro To Competitive Swimming

For students completing Advanced Skills III who have the desire to swim competitively, this course will weave elements of a swim team environment into stroke refinement and development. Students will learn the basics of flip turns and proper starting techniques. The Bartlett Park District Swim Academy recommends this course for any individual desiring to swim for the Bartlett Barracudas Swim Team for the first time.

Stroke Refinement

Students will focus and develop and enhance one of the four major strokes: Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, or Butterfly. Students will learn and gather the ability to refine and sustain good form and endurance in the stroke that most interests them. Stroke refinement is perfect for swimmers that are interested or who currently participate in recreation or competitive teams.

Adult

Whether you have a fear of swimming, want to improve your swimming skills, or are looking for a year-round fitness activity, the Bartlett Park District Swim Academy’s Adult Swim Lessons are for you. Lessons will be taught based upon your present skill level. Instructors take time to work with each student and maintain and comfortable a class environment.

Private

Receive a more personalized approach with the Bartlett Park District Swim Academy’s private swim lessons. The one-on-one technique of these lessons help to facilitate a more effective learning environment for certain swimmers. Instructors will build strong relationships with students in order to understand their needs. These classes tend to fill up quickly, so register early!

Semi-Private Buddy Swim Lessons

Looking for a smaller group lesson?  These lessons will have a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio and are tailored to meet your personal needs. You must register with one or two additional swimmers. Single participants will not be registered. Families or friends may sign up together to motivate each other. No online registration available. All parties in the lesson need to be present upon registration or else class will not be eligible to run. To create a smoother registration process, please be sure to fill out a questionnaire when registering. Questions will include partner’s name(s), ages, skill level and instructor request (if any). Lessons will be more progressive with similar skill levels.

Advanced Private Swim Lessons

Get a more advanced approach with these lessons. These are taught by advanced instructors and swim team coaches and are for those swimmers and competitors looking to improve their stroke. Lessons are 30 minutes in length for a series of six lessons. Register for class and an instructor will call you within one week.

Custom Private Lessons

Would you like to take private swim lessons but the scheduled times just don’t work? Is your favorite instructor already requested at a regular Private Swim Lessons time? Now you can schedule your time and instructor. Just register at the front desk and fill out the request form and the instructor will be in contact with you. Online registration is not available. This is the ONLY Private Lesson class that will allow you to take classes outside regularly published class times.

Introduction to Springboard Diving

Students will learn basic fundamentals and diving techniques, and how to ride the diving board, enter the water feet first and perform a forward head-first dive from the end of the board. They will also learn how to jump safely off the diving board backwards and how to perform a jump while twisting in the air and landing feet first.

Intermediate Springboard Diving

Students will learn how to use their arms to improve the “five step approach” learned in the intro class. Elementary skills including the back jump and inward dive will be expanded to include arm usage. More complex movements will be added to the head-first dive including front and back twists.

Advanced Springboard Diving

This course is designed to reinforce the five major types of dives taught in the previous two classes: front, back, inward, reverse, and twist. Students will have more freedom to safely experiment with somersaults and twists in their dives. Students will master the “five step approach” and riding the diving board.

Swim Lesson Evaluation

Swim Lesson evaluations are very important to us so that we can continue to improve and make changes to our program. Please download the evaluation, fill it out, save it, and email it in to us or drop it off at the BCC registration desk or at Bartlett Aquatic Center.