GENERAL INFORMATION:
You will not receive a reminder that lessons are beginning, so please be sure to mark in your calendar after you receive your email registration confirmation.
We operate under Tufts University Academic Calendar and will have lessons scheduled even if they fall on otherwise recognized holidays (ie: Patriot Day, Columbus Day, Religious Holiday, etc..) and well as public and private school vacations.
There is no required equipment other than full coverage bathing suits, although goggles are highly encouraged for all levels, but especially for those in levels 3-5. We do try and carry some goggle available for purchase at the pool office - please ask a pool manager if interested.
Sleeved shirts/bathing suits are NOT recommended for learn to swim lessons unless wearing them for religious or personal reasons. Designed to be sun protectors, they limit mobility and add extra weight, making it more difficult to swim/tread/float. Also, please remember that LONG HAIR SHOULD BE TIED BACK and SICK children should be left home!
FEE:
SESSIONS #1-4 ~ $ 120.00 (4 lessons)
SESSIONS #5-12 ~ $ 180.00 (6 lessons)
Plus a 6% Service Charge added to your registration fee
WHERE:
Tufts University Hamilton Pool
161 College Avenue, Medford, MA, between Boston Ave and George St.
Click for Directions
All swim lesson participants must enter the building through the Main Bldg entrance.
AGE:
Open to all children aged 4-14 who are fully potty trained and able to happily walk onto the pool deck independently from their guardians.
- We do not allow participants in swim diapers.
- Swimming can be a very scary thing for many children. Please be sure your child is willing and able to enter the deck happily without the company of an adult. We have found that those children who are crying at the pool can have a domino effect on other little ones around them who would have otherwise been fine.
VIEWING:
No parents or guardians are allowed on the pool deck. It is an easier and safer teaching environment if parents are not on the deck. There is a balcony and a viewing area at the end of the pool.
LOCKER ROOMS AND BATHROOM POLICIES
Participants may use the locker rooms on the ground floor of the building, down the stairs from the pool. There are 3 locker rooms: a women's locker room, a men's locker room, and a gender inclusive/family locker room. Children over the age of 4 are not allowed in the opposite gender locker rooms and should use the family locker room changing stalls and showers if attending with a parent or guardian of the opposite gender.
Absolutely no changing children in the pool lobby, viewing areas, or the bathrooms near the Indoor Track/Gantcher Center.
PLACEMENT:
Swimmers will be placed in the levels they are registered for and then adjustments will be made as needed. Swimmers will be placed together who are at the same swimming/developmental level, not necessarily the same chronological age. If you are unsure of your child's skill level, it is best to start in a lower level and then move up, so be conservative in level selection. If you do not enter a level, swimmers will be placed in level 1.
Class sizes range from 1:1 or 2:1 for the beginners, while more advanced levels may be 3:1 or 4:1. (*Please note: during the summer sessions May/June/July all class sizes are slightly higher 3:1 or 4:1.)
- Level 1: "Water Acclimation" - The focus is getting comfortable in and around the pool. Swimmers will learn to hold the breath and put the face under the water, basic water safety practices, and getting ready to swimming movements.
- Level 2: "Water Exploration" - The focus is on buoyance, balance, and breathing. Swimmers will learn to float, roll from front to back and vice versa, kicking with a board, and doggy paddle type hand movements.
- Level 3: "Water Adventures" - The focus is on combining kicking and scooping motions to create movement. Swimmers will learn to tread water, and kick and swim unassisted on the front and back.
- Level 4: "Water Confidence" - The focus is on swimming movements. Swimmers will learn basic freestyle and backstroke technique, kneeling dives, linking 2-3 skills together.
- Level 5: "Water Mastery" - The focus is on "pre-swim team" skills. Swimmers will learn basic breaststroke and butterfly technique, standing dives, and turns.
MAKE-UPS, CANCELLATION, AND REFUND POLICY
Due to the nature of our lessons, we do not offer make-ups for missed classes. No refunds will be issued unless notification is given in a timely manner prior to the start of the session and the space can be filled. Once lessons have started, refunds are not available.
PARKING:
A QR code for the University’s Cousens parking lot (located across from the Athletic Complex) will be posted in the pool lobby and viewing areas. When you arrive to the pool, just use the camera app on your phone to scan the code, then a link will pop up. Click on the link and fill in your vehicle information. This needs to be done EVERY time you come to the pool.
MINORS (anyone under 18 years old) ON CAMPUS:
Minors are allowed on campus if they are: attending classes, Tufts-sponsored live performances, or athletic events; at the Elliot Pearson School; patients at the dental clinics; on campus for admissions tours and athletics recruiting; or on campus to participate in human subject research. Minors may be allowed to work in research labs on a case-by-case basis. All minors on campus must be vaccinated if they are eligible.
QUESTIONS:
Contact us at: tuftslessons@gmail.com
