Hippo in the Bathtub originally followed the Lifesaving Society’s “Swim to Life” swim program when we first started offering backyard swimming lessons in Ottawa. We choose this program since the City of Ottawa pools were currently using the program at their pools. In 2012, the City switched to the Red Cross swim program and we enthusiastically followed suit. Us Hippos LOVE the Red Cross swim program as it has many great awesome components and has amazing content. In this blog post, find out why we love the Canadian Red Cross swim program, and why you should to!
Do you remember learning to swim? Chances are you’ve been exposed to one of the many Red Cross swim programs that have successfully taught millions of Canadians to swim and certified thousands of water safety instructors over the course of more than 60 years. Our hippos think its super awesome that because of the Canadian Red Cross, you can find respected and recognized swim courses from coast to coast.
We love that these programs are based on the most up to date research on topics like why and how people drown, injury prevention methodology and so much more. This makes for a well rounded program that not only focuses on the five main strokes, endurance and fitness; but also on a variety of safety skills for in and around the water that will last you a lifetime.
The progressions between each swim level are also very well done and makes for a smooth transition. Each levels typically only introduces a few new skills as not to overwhelm the swimmer. Other skills in the level just become a little more technical and longer. For example, in Swim Kids 4, swimmers learn front crawl for the first time but they only have to do it for 10 meters. In Swim Kids 5, they have to do front crawl for 15 meters with slightly better technique. These skill progressions are very well laid out and makes for an optimal learning experience.
For these reasons and plenty more the Red Cross remains Canada’s top choice for learn to swim programs. Come jump in with us and experience it for yourself!
More information about the Red Cross swim program can be found on the following page: