Our centre is closed from 21 Dec to 12 Jan / Admin reopens from 9am on 6 Jan / Holiday Intensives 13-17 & 20-24 Jan!
Our centre is closed from 21 Dec to 12 Jan / Admin reopens from 9am on 6 Jan / Holiday Intensives 13-17 & 20-24 Jan!
Swimming is an important LIFE SKILL and an essential skill to learn as a child living in and around Newcastle with its many beautiful water ways and swimming locations. At ELSC we are passionate about delivering every swimming lesson with purpose! Not only do our lessons provide basic swimming stroke tuition but more importantly, swimming skills are taught in conjunction with personal aquatic survival instruction and education.
The School Age Octopus level will focus on developing water confidence and independent range of propulsive movements. Octopus students will learn personal aquatic survival skills and are introduced to swimming fundamentals such as breath control (blowing bubbles), submersion, kicking, paddling and floating on the back. Mini Octopus lessons are delivered in a relaxed, happy and nurturing environment. Forceful teaching techniques are not part of our teaching methodology. At the end of the Mini Octopus level the child will display confidence in the water demonstrating a range of basic unassisted skills such as safe entry and exit, submersion, back float and survival roll, monkey wall pull out and independent prone swim up to a distance of 3 metres.
The School Age Seahorse level focus on further development of water confidence, have a basic awareness of water safety through further personal aquatic survival education and continual progression of swimming fundamentals. Seahorse students will increase their swimming distance up to 5M (and return) and explore a variety of swimming areas and platforms. Students will continue to develop a stronger swimming position (horizontal) on both front and back. Students will strengthen kicking action and develop longer and bigger arm action. Seahorse students will have a greater awareness of exhaling air through both mouth and nose through improved submersion skills and learn to co-ordinate breath with consistent and continual arm action. Students will further develop their floating, survival rolls and forward roll (summersault) skills. Treading water and sculling hands are developed in readiness for ‘froggy kick’. Students will continue to demonstrate safe pool entry and exits. The instructor will further educate the student on safety within the swimming facility and other aquatic environments.
Turtles swim in an area of 8M (and return, a 16M complete rotation). This level will focus on further improvement of a horizontal swimming position and stronger, more proficient freestyle and backstroke kick action. Turtle students will be introduced to side breathing, coordinating the breath with big arm freestyle. Backstroke arm action and timing of breath will be further developed here. Breaststroke kick (froggy kick) will be introduced with treading water and sculling skills still a big part of the teaching rationale. Dolphin kick (wiggle worm), is a fun element of the Turtle level and encourages wiggle worm to be performed both on top and also under the water, enhancing submersion and breath control skills. Personal aquatic survival skills eg: floating, survival rolls, clothed swims and survival strokes are continually practiced in the Turtle Level.
Stingray students will focus on further development of kicking action, reinforcement of correct body position and streamlined swimming. Students can demonstrate long axis freestyle and backstroke over increased distances of up to 12.5M & return. Further development of breaststroke kick and the introduction of breaststroke arms happens here. Continual development of butterfly kick (wiggle worm) will occur in the Stingray level. Students will strengthen their already established side breathing pattern in freestyle, working with a 2 to 4 stroke breathing pattern. Students with an already established bilateral breathing pattern will continue to refine their breathing pattern with focus on correct head positioning with a relaxed, smooth head roll. Basic tumble turns (forward rolls) and diving skills are further developed. Students will also learn underwater streamline push off from wall on front and back using a dolphin kick action. Stingray students will consistently display safe pool entry and exits. The Stingray level will continue with personal aquatic survival education with constant reinforcement of aquatic safety and survival skills in different aquatic environments.
LEVEL 3 – School Age Body Position and Streamline Class
Dolphin students will swim in 25M lengths with an instructor on the side of the pool for greater observation of swimmers. The Dolphin student will focus on maintaining good Swimming Technique over a greater distance. Dolphins will swim all four swimming strokes as well as refining survival swimming strokes as part of the personal aquatic survival check list. Advanced sculling and treading water skills are practiced with a focus on increased efficiency and duration. Dolphins will learn pre-squad skills such as awareness and understanding of written white board sessions eg 4 x 25 f/s on 60, pace clock understanding eg ‘leave on the black 0’ or ‘red 30’, swimmers are introduced to basic training aids such as pull buoy and fins (flippers) for specific skill isolation drills. Underwater streamline start and wall push off is further developed in this level. Dolphin students will increase their swimming fitness and learn to link multiple laps refining and strengthening the freestyle tumble turn. Dolphin swimmers are required to wear swimming cap and goggles and have access to personal training aids such as fins and water bottle at each class. All personal training items must be labelled with student first and last name.
LEVEL 4 – School Age – Complete Stroke Timing & Personal Aquatic Survival
Here’s an email we recently received highlighting the importance of our Water Safety Program.
Hi East Lakes Swim Centre,
I just want to say a huge thank you for everything you do. But in particular I want to praise your Water Safety Program.
On the Easter weekend, myself and my girls were staying at a hotel in Sydney. The hotel had a pool. Both my girls are students at your swimming school. Miss 3 is not yet confident in the pool.
Miss 7 was in the pool. Miss 3 entered the pool when my back was turned and had a drowning incident.
On entering the water, Miss 3 sunk straight to the bottom of the pool. I turned around to see just the very top inch of her head above the water. She was standing vertically on the floor of the pool, nearly completely submerged. Miss 7 realised quickly that her sister could not breathe and swam and lifted her up. She held her above the water and brought her to the side of the pool, where I lifted Miss 3 out of the pool. Miss 3 was frightened and I was very concerned. I monitored her in the coming weeks. I will never be able to erase the image of Miss 3 standing under the water from my mind.
Miss 7 knew what to do and acted calmly and quickly. I believe that this is a credit to your Water Safety programmes at East Lakes. Thank you so much. You really are making a difference to the lives of our children. Please always keep doing what you are doing.
K.W.
28/04/2022
