51 Forest Hills Parkway Dartmouth, NS B2W 6C6

Preschool

Preschool Swim Program

CHP Skippers program is designed for preschoolers ages 3 years to 5 years old. Skippers 1 to 6 are designed to be completed in chronological order. If you are unsure of where your preschooler may fit please see below our Skipper level comparison chart which states all the skills to be performed in the class. All skills listed below must be completed 3 times for a participant to progress to the next level.

If your preschooler is now over the age of 5 years please see below our level conversion chart, which states what Swimmers level (ages 5-12 years old) your child should next be registered for.

Level
Completed
3-5 Years 5-12 Years
Skippers 1 Skippers 2 Swimmer 1
Skippers 2 Skippers 3 Swimmer 1
Skippers 3 Skippers 4 Swimmer 1
Skippers 4 Skippers 5 Swimmer 2
Skippers 5 Skippers 6 Swimmer 2
Skippers 6 N/A Swimmer 2

Skippers 1

Occurs in Leisure Pool

This level is recommended for children ages 3 to 5 years old, who have no swimming experience. In this level children will be introduced to the water, learn to complete front and back floats, flutter kick, front and back glides with assistance.

🏊 View Skills (click here)

  • Enter/Exit shallow water
  • Submerge head
  • Blow bubbles (face in)
  • Comfortable being splashed
  • Kicking on steps
  • Front float [3 sec] (assisted)
  • Back float [3 sec] (assisted)
  • Front glide [3m] (assisted)
  • Back glide [3m] (assisted)
  • Jump, turn & glide (assisted)
  • Jump into waist deep water

Skippers 2

Occurs in Leisure Pool

This level is recommended for children ages 3 to 5, who have previously completed Mates Bronze and/or Mates Silver or Skippers 1. In this level children will progress to complete their front and back floats independently and their front and back glides in lifejackets.

🏊🏽 View Skills (click here)

  • Assisted exit from pool
  • Submerge head and exhale 3 times
  • Flutter kick on front [5m] (PFD)
  • Flutter kick on back [5m] (PFD)
  • Front float [3 sec] (unassisted)
  • Back float [3 sec] (unassisted)
  • Front glide [3m] (PFD)
  • Back glide [3m] (PFD)
  • Jump into chest deep water

Skippers 3

Occurs in Leisure Pool

This level is recommended for children ages 3 to 5, who have previously completed Mates Gold or Skippers 2. In this level children will progress to complete their front and back glides independently, be introduced to side glides and complete 5 head submersions with exhales.

🏊🏿 View Skills (click here)

  • Submerge head and exhale 5 times
  • Recover object from bottom in waist deep water
  • Kicking on front with flutterboard [5m]
  • Flutter kick on back [3m] (unassisted)
  • Roll over floats (PFD)
  • Front glide [3m] (unassisted)
  • Back glide [3m] (unassisted)
  • Side glide [3m] (assisted)
  • Jump in deep water (PFD)

Skippers 4

Occurs in Comp & Leisure Pool

This level is recommended for children ages 3 to 5, who have previously completed Skippers 3. Children will be introduced to the competition pool, where they will learn to roll-over-float, glide with kicks and jump independently.

🏊🏽 View Skills (click here)

  • Intro to main pool
  • Open eyes underwater
  • Back float & recovery (unassisted)
  • Roll over floats (unassisted)
  • Front glide & kick with underwater pull [7m] (PFD)
  • Front glide & kick [5m] (unassisted)
  • Back glide & kick [5m] (unassisted)
  • Side glide [2m] (unassisted)
  • Jump in & recover to the side shallow water
  • Jump in deep water

Skippers 5

Occurs in Comp Pool

This level is recommended for children ages 3 to 5, who have previously completed Skippers 4. In this level children will be introduced to treading water, seated dives, front and back crawl wearing lifejackets and 5 second breath holds. This level is completed in the competition pool.

🏊🏻 View Skills (click here)

  • Submerge and hold breath [5 sec]
  • Tread water [10 sec] (PFD)
  • Front glide & kick [7m]
  • Back glide & kick [7m]
  • Side glide & kick [3m] (unassisted)
  • Front crawl [5m] (PFD)
  • Back crawl [5m] (PFD)
  • Jump in, swim [5m] front/back in (PFD)
  • Seated front dive
  • Sideways entry

Skippers 6

Occurs in Comp Pool

This level is recommended for children ages 3 to 5, who have previously completed Skippers 5. In this level children will complete 5m of front and back crawl independently, learn a kneeling front dive and progress to treading water for 20 seconds. This level is completed in the competition pool.

🏊🏽 View Skills (click here)

  • 10 rhythmic bobs
  • Tread water [10 sec]
  • Side glide and kick [5m]
  • Front crawl [5m]
  • Back crawl [5m]
  • Jump in, swim [5m] front/back
  • Kneeling front dive
  • Forward roll (PFD)

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