The YMCA is the most accessible community resource to prevent drowning and encourage a lifelong enjoyment of swimming. The YMCA introduced the country to the concept of group swim lessons more than 100 years ago (1909), and each year, the YMCA teaches more than one million children invaluable water safety and swimming skills. Our YMCA’s instructors cover swimming skills, stroke technique, and water safety in a friendly and encouraging environment. With small instructor-to-student ratio, our swim lessons provide personal instruction in a fun atmosphere! No matter your age or ability, you can learn to swim and improve your swimming skills at the Blair Regional YMCA.
Follow the descriptions below to find the right level for your child, then register by clicking on the link. Remember, placing a child in the incorrect level will be a disservice to both the child and other class members. If you are not sure which level to place your child in, please contact our Aquatics Director at jlockard@blairregionalymca.org. If needed, a swimming instructor will be available to evaluate your child’s skills for placement into the appropriate swim lesson level. More information can also be found on the registration form for each lesson.
Scholarships are available for those who need assistance.
Parent and me swim lessons are for children ages 6 months to 3 years old and up to two of their parents and/or guardians. This class is intended to introduce infants an toddlers to the aquatic environment through fun and confidence-building experiences such as exploring body positions, blowing bubbles, and learning basic safety skills.
Adult guardians learn about water safety, drowning prevention, and the importance of supervision.
$20.25/Member | $32.25/Non-Member
Stage 1 Swim Lessons are for beginner swimmers ages 3-5 who need to learn the basics of swimming. This class is intended to introduce non-swimmers to basic swimming and water skills such as: blowing bubbles with mouth and nose, back and front floating, safe entries and exits, the basics of the front and back crawl, rolling from front to back, and going under water.
$48/Member | $72/Non-Member
Stage 2 lessons are for children who have passed Stage 1 or who meet the eligibility requirements. This class is intended to build upon the swimming and water skills taught in Stage 1 and to introduce students to more challenging skills such as: Retrieval of objects from bottom of pool, unassisted entries and exits, unassisted back and front floating, 5-10ft of front and back crawl (assisted to unassisted), introduction to rotary breathing, and combining of skills.
MUST HAVE PASSED STAGE 1, PASSED SHALLOW WATER SWIM TEST, OR GIVEN PERMISSION BY CURRENT INSTRUCTOR IN ORDER TO TAKE THIS CLASS.
$48/Member | $72/Public
Stage 3 swim lessons are for beginner swimmers ages 6-up who need to learn the basics of swimming. This class is intended to introduce non/novice swimmers to basic swimming and water skills such as: blowing bubbles with mouth and nose, back and front floating, safe entries and exits, the basics of the front and back crawl, rolling from front to back, and going under water.
$48/Member | $72/Non-Member
Stage 4 lessons are for children who have passed Stage 3 or who meet the eligibility requirements. This class is intented to build upon the swimming and water skills taught in Stage 3 and to introduce students to more challenging skills such as: Retrieval of objects from bottom of pool, unassisted entries and exits, unassisted back and front floating, 5-25ft of front and back crawl (assisted to unassisted), introduction to rotary breathing, and combining of skills.
MUST HAVE PASSED STAGE 3, PASSED SHALLOW OR DEEP WATER SWIM TEST, OR GIVEN PERMISSION BY CURRENT INSTRUCTOR IN ORDER TO TAKE THIS CLASS.
$48/Member | $72/Public
Stage 5 lessons are for children who have passed Stages 2 or 4 or who meet the eligibility requirements. This class is intended to go beyond the fundamentals taught in the previous stages and to introduced students to more advanced strokes and techniques and water safety skill and such as: unassisted freestyle (Front Crawl) with rotary breathing and unassisted back stroke (Back Crawl) of 25ft or more, introduction to breaststroke and sidestroke, transition from sit dives to standing dives, treading water, retrieval of objects from bottom of pool while swimming, and combining of skills.
MUST HAVE PASSED STAGE 2 OR 4, PASSED DEEP WATER SWIM TEST, AND/OR GIVEN PERMISSION BY A CURRENT INSTRUCTOR.
$48/Member | $72/Non-Member
Stage 6 lessons are for children who have passed Stage 5 or who meet the eligibility requirements. This class is intended to go beyond the advanced strokes, techniques and skills taught in the previous stage and to introduce students to even more advanced stroke and competitive swim techniques such as: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly, endurance training, diving, flip turns, and other competition skills.
MUST HAVE PASSED STAGE 5, PASSED DEEP WATER SWIM TEST, AND/OR GIVEN PERMISSION BY CURRENT INSTRUCTOR IN ORDER TO TAKE THIS CLASS.
$48/Member | $72/Public
If your swimmer, or yourself, would learn better in an individual session, private swim lessons are also available. The YMCA offers private and semi-private swim lessons for any age.
All Private and Semi-Private Swim Lessons are available in either four, half-hour lessons package or a single, half-hour lesson. Lesson instruction is based on needs of the individual.
The BRY does not currently offer packaged rates for swim lessons. If you need assistance with the cost of swim lessons, please check out the scholarships that are available.
Please refer back to the top of the page under “Choosing the Correct Swim Lessons.” Also, read through the descriptions of each lesson to see if it applies to your child. If you are unsure, you may always contact the Aquatics Director to gain better insight or bring your child in to do a swim test with one of the instructors to help place them. If your child starts a lesson that is not suited to their needs, the instructor will let you know on the first class so that you can either make a switch to an appropriate class in the same sessions or receive a credit for the lessons to be used on an appropriate class at a later time.
An active membership is not required, but our pricing structure is different for non-members. We encourage your child to have an active membership as there are so many great benefits by becoming a member, along with price savings for each monthly session.
Missed lessons on the part of the student will not be made up or credited/refunded. A student’s absence may be granted a credit in the case of extenuating circumstances provided they are submitted with proper documentation (e.g.: medical note). However, missed lessons due to weather, instructor absences, or BRY closure will be made up or credited/refunded. The Welcome Desk will handle all credits/refunds.
Each program is designed to strengthen and build upon the skills your child may already know and are being taught. Your child will progress and build new skills, while improving on old skills, each week based on their individual performance. Our instructors will continually challenge and support their progress by continuing the repetition of certain skills until they master them. Keep in mind, every child is different, so on cannot compare the skills of one child to another child in the class or level. Levels are designed so that children are grouped both age and skill level appropriate to induce a better learning environment. At the end of lessons, the instructor will be able to let you know whether your child would benefit from moving up a level or repeating the level they were in. Repeating a level does not mean failure! Remember, practice makes perfect and repeating a level, especially for those who are at the younger end of the spectrum, means perfecting their skills. As always, feel free to talk to your child’s instructor about their progress anytime during lessons.
Easy! You can edit your payment details any time by stopping by the Welcome Desk or calling in at (814) 695-4467.
We will make every effort to place your child in a class, but we do pride ourselves on safety and therefore simply adding another participant to a lesson time may not be within our instructor to child class ratio window. Please be patient and we will contact you as soon as a spot becomes available.
Please reach out to the Aquatics Department with any additional questions: (814) 695-4467 (Extension 223).
Emma Rubritz
Aquatics Education Coordinator
Phone: (814) 695-4467
Extension: #223
Fax: (814) 695-1555
Jenelle Lockard
Aquatics Director
Phone: (814) 695-4467
Extension: #223
Fax: (814) 695-1555
AQUATICS DEPARTMENT
BLAIR REGIONAL YMCA
1111 Hewit St
Hollidaysburg, PA, 16648
Phone: (814) 695-4467
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