Set 1 at Tie Lake - Beginners Only
​Tie Lake offers an excellent public swimming area for beginner to beginner/intermediate swimmers. It is well maintained with change rooms, picnic tables, toilets, ample parking and lots of grassy space. The public swimming area is enclosed by a buoy line approximately 35-40 meters wide by 10-15 meters from the shore out to the line. It is a gradually sloping beach at a consistent angle (no sharp drop offs), with the deepest area before the buoy line being about 1.5 meters deep, though it may be less this year due to low snow pack. There's plenty of smooth sand, beautiful shells, cool rocks and dragonflies to find!
The temperature varies depending on when the ice went out that year, how much water fills it, if there is an early heatwave (which turns it into a bath), or whether there's thunderstorms - every day, week and year is different. That's the nature of learning outdoors in open water and the elements.
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Beginner lessons will also be offered in Sets 2 and 3 at Lake Koocanusa! All on the same pre-registration form.
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You may learn with Swim Instructor Sarah, or our new Swim Instructor Ellie.
The Details
Who
Recommended for swimmers 4-7 years who can swim less than around 10 meters independently (i.e. any Preschool level or Swimmer 1-2 only). Previous years have shown it’s not warm enough or calm enough to provide a comfortable learning environment for those under 4 years, and there isn’t enough space or depth to challenge older or more advanced swimmers. Due to the 30 year lowest snow pack, it will likely only be suitable for beginner swimmers this year, so if your child can confidently swim more than 10 meters on their front and back, Tie Lake may not be suitable to advance their skills - please see Lake Koocanusa options instead.
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Preferably, you will organize your own swimmer’s match (sibling, cousin, friend) in advance of pre-registration, or you can request a match for your single swimmer by describing their ability on the pre-registration form. If you are asking family or friends to find a match for your swimmers, please keep in mind that anything more than a 2 year age gap will usually result in a different ability. Similar ability means they will learn well together. Example 1: If one swimmer can barely swim 2M, but the other swimmer can confidently swim 10M, then the more proficient swimmer may not be challenged as much, as we will need to stay shallow and close. Example 2: If one swimmer can swim 5M, and the other can swim 10M (or 10M versus 20M), this may work fine as they can complete different distances as they progress. Experience has shown that having a good match makes all the difference in boosting confidence, encouraging swimmers to challenge themselves and progress faster, and providing a more fun experience. A lot of time and consideration is taken when selecting a match for your swimmer.
What
Beginner private and semi-private lessons include 6 x 30 minute lessons at the same time on each day of the set.
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Lessons take a child led approach, working at each swimmers' own pace, using a variety of equipment, games and activities to build comfort, confidence and competence in the water. Lessons are fun, calm, encouraging, and swimmers progress on to new skills as soon as they are ready. We focus first and foremost on survival skills, water safety, and developing their swimming skills.
When
Lesson times include 1pm, 1.30pm, 2pm, 3pm, 3.30pm or 4pm.
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Set 1 Dates: July 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12
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Makeup lesson dates have been scheduled at the end of each week (July 6 and 13) just in case lesson days need to be rescheduled due to thunderstorms, wildfire smoke, Instructor illness or similar. Please also keep these in dates available in your calendars, and your Instructors will too. Hopefully we won't need them!
Where
Tie Lake Public Swimming Area. The closest address for Google maps is: 6399 Tie Lake Rd, Jaffray, BC V0B 1T0.
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​Directions:
- From Jaffray: heading West, turn right off the highway opposite the Shell gas station onto Tie Lake Road.
- Follow the main road until you reach the end (marked Tie Lake Regional Park on Google maps). Do not turn right to the camping/recreation site.
- The road is paved right to the end, where you will find a large looped parking area and several scattered toilets, changing rooms and picnic tables available to use.
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Please note: these are private swim lessons on a public beach – there is no affiliation with Tie Lake Regional Park or RDEK.
Investment
There is a non-refundable registration fee of $20, which is put towards the immense time it takes for this solo human to complete registration, match swimmers, develop schedules, plan lessons, courses and sets, daily set up/set down, website and administration, professional development - on top of high expenses to cover insurance, operating costs and more.
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Semi-private lessons (30 mins) include 2 swimmers of similar age and ability - book with a sibling or friend, or request a match. The cost is $36 per swimmer/per lesson plus tax and registration fee (i.e. $36 x 6 lessons + 5% tax + $20 registration = $246.80 each total).
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Private one-on-one lessons (30 mins) are only available by request, such as for swimmers with diverse learning needs and/or disabilities. The cost is $72 per lesson plus tax and registration fee (i.e. $72 x 6 lessons + 5% tax + $20 registration = $473.60 total).
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Please note: lesson costs have had to be increased a little this set to try to keep up with high costs of living, increased special risk insurance costs, drive time and fuel, and reducing pre-registered sets to allow for wet weather make up days, as well as taking out late August lessons, which have historically been cancelled anyway due to thunderstorms and wildfire air pollution.
Progress
We will not be offering the Lifesaving Society (previously Red Cross) swim program at the lake, as many skills cannot be completed in the open water, distances are a challenge to measure and the lesson sets are shorter during the Summer season. If you plan to join group swim classes at your local aquatic center in the future, you can request a swim assessment from them so they are placed in the appropriate level. We would like to offer a stronger focus on survival swimming, open water safety skills and endurance. Verbal feedback will be provided on your final lesson day.