Group Swim Lessons - Starfish Swimming

The City of Sedona is a certified Starfish Swimming Provider, proudly offering the Starfish Swim School program. This program is not just about learning to swim; it's a journey filled with fun, safety, and lifelong skills for all ages.

The Starfish Swimming curriculum features age-appropriate courses that focus on developing essential aquatic skills. These core competencies lay a strong foundation for proficiency in the water, empowering students to learn vital self-survival skills first, and then to perfect their swimming stroke technique as they build on their knowledge.

Each child will undergo a skill level assessment to ensure they are placed in the class that best suits their needs, setting them on a path toward confidence and mastery in the water.

Learning Stages

Learning stages - The five core competencies remain the same regardless of the age of the student and represent the stage of skill development.  For example, a student of any age must first develop the competency of trust before being able to learn other skills.

The stage of skill development is identified by a color, listed lowest to highest below:

 White - Red - Yellow - Blue - Green

How We Faciliate Placement

Below are the swim benchmarks for each level and this is how we place your child(ren) into the appropriate class. Please know that on the first day of class, your child may move to another level depending on how progressive their skills are. Think of day one as an assessment day.

For Swim School:

If the student cannot completely submerge while relaxed for at least 5 seconds...we place them in the WHITE level

If the student will submerge while relaxed for at least 5 seconds but cannot… float relaxed (front and back) on the surface without support of a life jacket...we place them in the RED level.

If the student can float relaxed (front and back) on the surface without support but cannot… tread water for 10 seconds...we place them in the YELLOW level.

If the student can tread water for 10 seconds but cannot...Side-roll-side with kick drill 10 M/30 FT...we place them in the BLUE level.

If the student can side-roll-side with kick drill 10 M/30 FT but cannot...do a relaxed 3x3 swim drill...we place student in the GREEN level.

 For Stroke School:

If the student can do the following criteria without stopping they are ready for stroke and will placed accordingly.  They MUST pass in order to enter stroke school

1. Ask permission before entering the water

2. Jump or roll into the water completely submerging themselves

3. Resurface and tread for 1 minute

4. Swim 50 m/yd any arm/leg actions, front or back

2026 Swim Lesson Sessions

Registration will start May 1st

Each session is two weeks long consisting of 8 lessons. Lessons are held Tuesday through Friday with four different time slots available. Classes are kept small with no more than 10 kids per sessions per skill color in both Swim and Stroke School.

Lessons are conveniently scheduled before or after open recreation swim.

Session I

June 9-12 and June 16-19

Times: 12:45pm, 1:30pm, 5:30pm, and 6:15pm

Session II

June 23-26 and June 30-July 3

Times: 12:45pm, 1:30pm, 5:30pm, and 6:15pm

Session III

July 7-10 and July 14-17

Times: 12:45pm, 1:30pm, 5:30pm, and 6:15pm

Session IV

July 21-24 and July 28-July31

Times: 12:45pm, 1:30pm, 5:30pm, and 6:15pm

Questions?

Starfish Swim School and Stroke School for Youth

Students work toward development of the five core swimming competencies using age-appropriate learning activities.  Learning is self-paced but challenging. 

A Parent's Guide to the Starfish Swimming Curriculum

Participant/Parent Letter

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