Summer 2024
Outdoor swim lessons and classes offered in July and August at Tie Lake (near Jaffray) and at Lake Koocanusa (*NEW* Koocanusa Campsite & Marina, near Baynes Lake).
Pre-Registration Opens:
8pm Thursday 2nd May
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Please read "How to Pre-register" and FAQ below, and click "See Full Details" of our service offerings BEFORE pre-registering.
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Please subscribe to the website (if you haven't already) to receive email updates.
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Great news! We have a new location to teach at Lake Koocanusa (Baynes Lake) this year - Koocanusa Campsite & Marina! While we were successful in gaining an RDEK Board endorsement to operate at Waldo Cove, the next step is applying to the Provincial Government, which could take up to a year... We are very excited and grateful to the Marina for allowing us to run our lessons there this year; it is a similar space to Waldo Cove (without the sudden drop off), with an enclosed swimming area, sandy beach, parking and facilities. More great news! We have now hired a second Swim Instructor to join us for the Summer season, so even more kids will get the chance to learn to swim. Beginner lessons will now be offered at both locations, during all lesson sets.
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We have extended our Summer sets to include 6 lessons/classes each this year due to popular demand. Due to the low water levels at Tie Lake and even further reduced snow pack this year, we will be offering only one set for beginner swimmers in early July there. We will also be offering two sets for beginner, intermediate and advanced swimmers at Lake Koocanusa late July and early August, and have decided not to go ahead with late August lessons, due to the frequency of cancelled lessons as a result of thunderstorms and wildfire smoke over the last 4 years of operating. We look forward to seeing older swimmers return to join us again, since they have been missing out lately due to the challenges of securing rental space in a larger pool than the hotel pool. We're trying our best to offer more in the Fall indoors set too and will be reaching out for support soon to make this happen.
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We apologize for the delay in getting registration open due to new RDEK/provincial rules to navigate, but we are grateful to have found an alternative solution. We understand that many of you may have booked up your Summers by now with other activities and camps, but we really hope you can still make these dates work for you. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
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Please note: Shaded dates at the end of each week have been put aside by your Swim Instructors as makeup days just in case lesson days need to be rescheduled due to thunderstorms, wildfire smoke, Instructor illness or similar,
Sets 2 & 3 at Lake Koocanusa - Beginners to Advanced
Beginner, intermediate and advanced private and semi-private lessons.
Includes 6 x 30 minute or 45 minute lessons at the same time on each day of the set. Recommended for swimmers 4 years+ of any ability.
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Intermediate/advanced small group classes (4 swimmers each).
Includes 6 x 45 minute classes at the same time on each day of the set. Recommended for swimmers 7-15 years who can swim at least 25 meters front crawl and back crawl independently, can tread water for at least 1 minute and are competent in deep water. Lifesaving skills included with the option of Junior Lifeguard Club program.
​How to Pre-Register
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Pre-registration will open at 8pm Thursday 2nd May, when a link/box will appear in the dark green strip at the top of this web page. This will take you to a Google form to fill out, which takes 2-4 minutes to complete (and will likely book out quickly). Please see Terms and Conditions before pre-registering.
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After you complete your pre-registration form, your details will be added into our tetris-game-of-color-coded-excel-spreadsheets to prioritize swimmers, match swimmers, and place in their availability (back-to-back siblings if possible). We will wait until the end of the weekend to start organizing swimming spots, and you can expect to receive an email by the end of the week (10th May), either offering you a lesson spot, or letting you know you missed out this set. You may receive a lesson spot with either Instructor Sarah or Instructor Ellie.
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If you are offered a lesson time, you will receive a link to our Jackrabbit Swim booking site, where you can complete your family registration on the Parent Portal (or log back in), enroll into your lesson time, complete waivers/policies and send e-transfer payment. This must be completed within 48 hours to secure your lesson booking. If you change your availability at this point, it is unlikely we can offer you an alternative spot, so please triple check your dates first.
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FAQ
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Why Pre-registration? The reason for pre-registration is that it allows for siblings to be placed back-to-back (or at the same time with different Instructors), allows single swimmers to be matched with another swimmer of similar age and ability, with the same availability, and allows prioritized swimmers (who often have no other accessible options) to have a chance to participate too. There is huge benefit from having a good match, as it often results in a more fun experience, encourages swimmers to challenge themselves more, creates faster progress, and helps to build confidence too.
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Prioritized Swimmer? This includes swimmers who are neurodivergent (Autistic, ADHD, OCD, trauma and more), have sensory processing challenges, other disabilities or medical challenges (diagnosed or awaiting assessment) AND it affects their ability to participate in other swim options available in our community, and/or they do not have their support needs accommodated there. We will also do our best to prioritize swimmers who were cancelled last Summer when all July lessons and some August lessons were cancelled due to my emergency trip back home, as well as rural swimmers who too often miss out.
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Not sure of their swimming ability? These options will be provided on the pre-registration form - You will be able to select a maximum of 2 options if you're not quite sure or they're between (Note: skills performed without a lifejacket). For reference, the Fernie Aquatic Center main pool is 25m long and 5m to the flags, and the leisure pool is 10m wide. The hotel pool at Canada's Best Value Inn is 8m long x 4m wide, so a "double lap" is 16m. If applicable, you can also include which swim level they completed last or which Swim Club pod they are in.
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New Swimmer - first set of formal lesson
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Learning to float, glide and go underwater with assistance
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Can swim a few meters with face in unassisted, almost float independently
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Can swim over 5m front and back kicks, float, jump in and go underwater
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Can swim over 10m front crawl and back crawl, can tread water 30 secs
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Can swim over 15m front crawl and back crawl, can tread water 1 minute
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Can swim over 25m front crawl, back crawl and learning breaststroke
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Can swim over 50m front and back crawl, and over 150m continuously
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Can swim over 75m front and back crawl, and over 300m continuously
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Can swim over 100m front and back crawl, and over 500m continuously
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Funding and Cost. If your swimmer has funding for homeschooling physical education, e-Streams, SelfDesign, disability funding (such as BC Autism funding) or similar, please let me know and we can arrange direct invoicing and billing (paid upfront for new swimmers if you're able, then refunded upon approval/receipt). Please allow an additional $20 for invoicing time. If your family is struggling to make ends meet at this time, please see our Upcoming Lessons​ page for information about kids' sports grants that you can apply for. We hope to offer more subsidized options in the near future too.
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Any questions? After checking this page for your answers first, please email any questions to Sarah at
mountainkids.swimlessons@gmail.com
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