Adult swimming lessons
Benefits of adult lessons
- Learn water safety.
- Reduce the risk of drowning.
- Low-impact exercise that is easy on joints.
- Improve cardiovascular health.
- Build endurance.
- Builds confidence.
2024 spring & summer registration dates
Registration for spring & summer swimming lessons, lifesaving and first-aid certification courses:
- March 14 - Swimming lesson schedule preview
- Certification registration is open
- Swimming lesson registration dates by facility:
- April 2 - Shouldice and Thornhill Aquatic Centres
- April 3 - Village Square Leisure Centre
- April 4 - Renfrew and Inglewood Aquatic Centres
- April 9 - Killarney and Glenmore Aquatic Centres
- April 10 - Southland Leisure Centre and Canyon Meadows and Acadia Aquatic Centres
- April 11 - Churchill and Foothills Aquatic Centres
Ensure your Live and Play account is ready on registration day by logging in and verifying your information is up to date. Get ready to register.
Registration will open:
- 6 a.m. — Online (virtual waiting room opens at 5:30 a.m.).
- 8:30 a.m. — By calling the Customer Service Centre at 403-268-3800 (option 1).
- During business hours — At any City-operated Aquatic & Recreation or Arts facility.
Upcoming facility closures
Programs, classes and swimming lessons will not be offered at the following facilities while they undergo repairs:
- Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre: closed this spring and summer.
- Canyon Meadows Aquatic & Fitness Centre: closed this summer.
- Sir Winston Churchill Aquatic & Recreation Centre: closed this summer.
Types of adult lessons
You can register online, in person at our Recreation facilities, or by calling 403-268-3800 (option 1).
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Get your feet wet and have fun! This introductory program is designed specifically for adults and adolescents who are non-swimmers. You'll feel comfortable with an instructor who meets your individual challenges, needs and interests. Learn basic breathing techniques, movement skills, front and back floats and glides.
Age: 13+ years
Prerequisite: None
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This program is designed for adults and adolescents with some previous swimming experience. With students of different ages, the instructor focuses on meeting individual needs and interests. You'll learn to swim for fun and fitness through a flexible program that caters to each students' swim level.
Ages: 13+ years
Prerequisite: None
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This dynamic program is designed for adults and adolescents. As a student you'll learn to swim for fun and fitness through a flexible program. The instructor works with individual needs and interests, from those just learning to those who want to refine and develop their stroke.
Ages: 13+ years
Prerequisite: None
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Flexibility is a part of this program! Designed specifically for adults and adolescents, the instructor works with your individual needs and interests, including those just learning to those who want to improve their stroke. Water Safety can be integrated into any of the levels dependent on student interest.
Ages: 13+ years
Prerequisite: None
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The Fitness Swimmer Program is for swimmers who want to improve their overall fitness in the water. Fitness Swimmer provides a structured approach to improve physical fitness based on accepted training principles and practices. This is not a swim lesson.
Ages: 13+ years
Prerequisite: Participants must be able to swim 4 lengths continuously.
About our swim instructors
Our instructors have Bronze Cross or higher certification. They are qualified to teach and evaluate Swim for Life® programs, Canadian Swim Patrol, Bronze Star, Bronze Medallion and Bronze Cross.
What are lessons like?
The Adult Swimmer Program is for beginners or swimmers who want to improve their skills. Participants may set their own goals to develop water confidence and refine strokes.
Adult lessons have up to 10 swimmers per class. Our swimming lessons typically contain five to eight classes, depending on scheduling. The length of each class varies depending on scheduling requirements and the typical age of the swimmers participating in each lesson level.
Come prepared
Participants must wear swim wear and bring a towel. Swim goggles are optional. All other required equipment and lifejackets are provided. Lifeguard on duty on pool deck.
Non-Traditional Bathing Wear Policy
The City of Calgary Recreation is committed to providing an aquatic environment where individuals from all ethnic and religious backgrounds are comfortable participating in activities in and around the water. We want all customers to feel safe and welcome at our facilities, and have therefore adopted a non-traditional bathing wear policy as outlined below.
In addition to conventional swim wear, participants may wear:
- Long-sleeved pants and shirts, tee-shirts and shorts with undergarments or a swim suit worn underneath.
- Traditional ethnic clothing (e.g. saris and hijabs) with a swim suit or undergarments worn underneath. For safety reasons, patrons wearing traditional garments such as saris are asked to remain in the shallow end of the pool and to refrain from using the dive tank.
In order to ensure that our aquatic environments are safe and free from any external contaminants, all participants are required to:
- Wear clothing that is different from the clothing worn to the facility
- Take a complete and cleansing shower (while clothed in the swim attire that will be worn in the water) before entering the pool
Through this policy, Recreation affirms its commitment to recognizing and valuing the diversity of our customers.
More swimming lessons
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Parent & Tot programs that focus on structured in-water interactions stressing the importance of play in developing water-positive attitudes and skills.
Ages: over 6 months + adult
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Preschoolers learn to enter and exit shallow water safely and gain comfort with floats and back glides while wearing lifejackets.
Ages: 3 - 5 years
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Swim programs designed to challenge endurance and help develop swimming strokes and skills for those that can already swim independently.
Ages: 6 - 17 years
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A customized, one-on-one swim program designed to focus on specific goals and for individuals who require additional support.
Ages: 3+ years.
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Become a lifeguard or swim instructor by taking Bronze Medallion, Bronze Cross, National Lifeguard, Lifesaving/Swim for Life® Instructor and Standard First Aid courses.
Ages: 8+ years