Session 1 Lessons registration is open!
Session 2 registration will open Oct 4th at 9am.
Register for Swim Lessons
Changes are coming to swim lesson groups in January 2024! More information will be available this Fall.
Due to high demand for lessons and the limited pool space available during the school year we will be limiting swim lesson enrollment to CA members and Columbia Card-holders at this time.
Please note that class listings are done alphabetically and that users may need to scroll to find their class.
Important Information
Class Descriptions
Little & Me (6 months – 3 years):
Parent/caregiver participation in the water required. For children ages 6 months to 3 years with a parent or caregiver in the water. This class is about water discovery and adjustment, safety and the basics of swimming, including relaxing on the belly and back and getting the head and face wet. Lessons are 25 minutes
Bronze (Ages 3-5):
Children will be in the water without a parent or caregiver. Students will work on floating, kicking, blowing bubbles, retrieving objects from under the water, and jumping into deep water without assistance. Lessons are 25 minutes,
Silver (Ages 5-12):
For children who are comfortable in the water and floating on their front without assistance. Students will work on floating on their front and back independently, freestyle arms, streamline glides on their front and back, and kicking on their back. Lessons are 25 minutes
Gold (Ages 5-12):
For children who are comfortable under the water, are working on side breathing, and can swim a minimum of five yards independently. Students will work on swimming freestyle and backstroke up to 10 yards in a strong fashion with coordinated side breathing, treading water, streamline glides, and jumping into water where they cannot touch, without assistance. Lessons are 25 minutes
Diamond (Ages 6-12):
For children who can fulfill the objectives of the Gold/Level 3 lessons. Students will work on swimming freestyle and backstroke independently for 25 yards, breaststroke technique, and sitting/kneeling dives. Lessons are 25 minutes
Platinum (Ages 6-12):
For children ages 6-12 who can swim a minimum of 25 yards in freestyle and backstroke without stopping, as well as 10 yards breaststroke unassisted. Students will work on swimming freestyle in a strong fashion for 50 yards; swim backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly for 25 yards; somersaults in the water; and kneeling/standing dives. Lessons are 25 minutes
Safety Measures
Safety Measures
Based on state and county guidance, we are no longer restricting class sizes or requiring masks at our facilities. Masks are optional, however, and may be worn at any of our facilities should you prefer.*
*Subject to change as state and county recommendations are updated.
Make-up, Cancellation and Refund Policy
Weather, children, and pool equipment can be unpredictable. That’s why we build in a make-up week during our indoor lesson sessions. What does that mean? If we have to close the pool for any reason, we will offer a full regular class on the 7th week of the session. If we hold all 6 lessons as scheduled, we will ONLY offer make-up lessons for those who had to miss a lesson for personal circumstances during the 7th week.
*Please note that make-up lessons may be offered at a different time/location than regularly scheduled and with a different instructor. In the event that we have to cancel Two lessons, we will refund the missed lesson. We can discuss make-up options to include different times and locations but we cannot guarantee that spot which is why we will offer a refund in the event that we have to cancel more than one lesson.
A $10 fee will be assessed if a student cancels three days or less before the start of a group, individual, clinic or prep class. To reschedule a personal swim training session, students must notify the instructor at least 24 hours beforehand or the scheduled session will be billed as scheduled. *Summer Lesson note: Weather is especially unpredictable during the summer. To deal with this we build in one free lesson to each session. We will hold that lesson if able, but we guarantee 4 lessons and Friday is a bonus if we do not have to cancel.
Online Registration Troubleshooting
Creating a login requires a member number, zip code, date of birth
- Make sure you enter your membership number in the 99999.01 format.
- If you cannot create an account using your information, something is most likely incorrect in our system, i.e. wrong year on the date of birth. Please contact Membership Services at 410-730-1801 and make sure they have your correct date of birth and zip code.
…No Match Has Been Found
If you see the issue of “No match has been found” is an error caused by the wrong information being inputted. This means the membership number input is wrong, or the wrong date of birth or zip code exists in Columbia Association database.
… Relationship
If you see the issue of “Relationship” with a yellow triangle, this is an error due to the primary member number not being used. The primary member is normally the first member on the account, normally the .01 of the membership or the lowest member number.
In Program Registration
IMPORTANT:
- Membership Services is the defaulted site. The number one error from the member in program registration is that they member does not hit “Change” next to the site.
- For Aquatics, please do not use the middle section in your search; see the image below.
Swim Lessons Program
To register, go to the membership login page. Login and go into Program Registration.
Change the Site to “Dickinson Pool” or desired lesson center.
- Change the Session to “Week 2 July 1-July 5” or desired dates for lessons.
- Change the Category to “Aquatics”
- Choose the Course you wish to enroll in and hit search.
- Code Examples:
W2.3-1020: One on One Lesson, Week 2, Instructor 3, 10:20 a.m.
W5.PS1-1130: Preschool Level 1, Week 5, 11:30 a.m.
Sub Members**
Once you have added a child to a class, in the cart, double click on class details, and select the proper sub-member you wish to enroll in the course.
In The Cart:
The member and non-member fees look incorrect online. The pricing is automatically adjusted with the membership once you add it to the cart. This is a system error that we cannot adjust. See right hand side below:
If you still need assistance, please call 410-312-6332 or email Aquatics@ColumbiaAssociation.org.
FAQ
Why does the pool say it’s closed online when I have lessons scheduled?
The pool is not open to the public during lessons most of the time, so Google and other search engines may not show accurate information. You can find pool status updates on our website at ColumbiaAssociation.org/PoolStatus
When is my make-up lesson?
Weather is unpredictable, especially during the summer. To deal with this we build in one free lesson to each session. We will hold that lesson if able. If we have to cancel one lesson, that is not guaranteed. In the event that we have to cancel Two lessons, we will offer a refund or we can discuss make-up options that may fall outside the pool/dates you originally booked. For M-F lessons, this means we guarantee 4 lessons and Friday is a bonus if we Don’t have to cancel. For other models the day/number of lessons varies but the concept is the same.
Do you close for rain?
No. We do not usually close for rain. We Do close for Lightning/Thunder. We will close for rain if the rain is so hard that we cannot see the bottom of the pool. This is the same guidance for closing the pool itself so we will not cancel lessons if the pool is Open.
What if there is lightning/a bad storm!?
Summer thunderstorms can be passing and brief. The pool will remain closed for 30minutes after the last Known lightning in the area at which point the pool will reopen. We will offer as many lessons as possible in the time we have available. In the event of storms/cancellation, we will do our best to contact you with the phone number and email linked to the lesson registration.
Should my kid “graduate” to the next class after attending one session?
Sometimes. But more often than not the answer is no. Lesson types cover a variety of information and it is normal for it to take several sessions to really have all the concepts in place to build on the next level of learning.
Are non-members allowed to take swim lessons with CA?
During the school year we will no longer be allowing non-members to sign up for swim lessons to reserve the limited space for CA-members and Columbia card-holders. During the summer months, we will continue to allow non-members to sign up for swim lessons because we have additional staff and pool space to offer.