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Not sure where to start? Two minutes of honest questions finds your level. Find your level

Sunfish Swim School · Port Moody

The level ladder

Every rung, in plain sight

Fourteen levels, every one published: what your swimmer learns, what must already be true before they start, and what 'done' looks like. No mystery curriculum, no paying to repeat owned skills.

4 months – 3 years

Parent & Tot

You in the water together. Comfort, cues, and safe habits — long before technique.

Smiling mother holding her baby at the surface of a pool with lane markers behind them
Tadpoles · you hold, we coach

Tadpoles — Parent & Tot

4 mo – 3 yr · 30 min · ratio 8 pairs : 1 · $118/mo

You hold, we coach. Water comfort, songs with a purpose, and the safety habits that stick for life.

Skills you learn

  • Comfortable entries and exits — always feet-first, always with a grown-up
  • Face wet, ears wet, gentle supported submersion on a clear cue
  • Supported front and back floats, and kicking on the way to the wall
  • Reaching for and holding the wall — the single most useful baby skill
  • Parent holds and cues you'll reuse in the bathtub all week

Ready when

  • At least 4 months old
  • A parent or guardian in the water every class
  • Reusable swim diaper under the suit (under 3 — no exceptions)

Where it leads: Around age 3, when your tot separates comfortably and follows simple directions, they step into Preschool 1 — many Tadpoles skip straight to Preschool 2.

5 open classes this week →

3 – 5 years

Preschool

Four short rungs from face-in-the-water to first real strokes, at most four kids per instructor.

Two young children in swim caps and goggles kicking across the pool on blue foam kickboards
Preschool 2 · board kicking on the shelf

Preschool 1 — Water Comfort

3 – 5 yr · 30 min · ratio 4:1 · $142/mo

First class without you. Faces in, bubbles out, and happy, safe entries — taught as games.

Skills you learn

  • Enter and exit the pool safely, without a grown-up's hands
  • Face and ears in the water, blowing bubbles on cue
  • Front and back floats with instructor support
  • Kicking on the shelf with a board, moving toward a target
  • Wait-for-permission pool manners — the habit that prevents scares

Ready when

  • 3 years or older
  • Comfortable away from you for 30 minutes (tears in week one are normal — we handle them kindly)
  • Can follow simple one-step directions

Where it leads: Floating with light support and a wet, happy face — then Preschool 2.

2 open classes this week →

Preschool 2 — Float & Glide

3 – 5 yr · 30 min · ratio 4:1 · $142/mo

The independence level: unsupported floats, first glides, and submerging without drama.

Skills you learn

  • Front and back float, no hands, five seconds each
  • Front and back glides from the wall, face in
  • Full submersion — pick a ring off the shelf floor
  • Board kicking a full width of the shelf
  • Jump in from the side, turn, and get back to the wall

Ready when

  • Comfortable with face and ears fully in the water
  • Floats on front and back with light support
  • Enters and exits safely on their own

Where it leads: Five-second solo floats and confident glides — then Preschool 3.

3 open classes this week →

Preschool 3 — Paddle & Breathe

3 – 5 yr · 30 min · ratio 4:1 · $142/mo

Real distance for the first time: paddling five metres, rolling to the back to rest and breathe.

Skills you learn

  • Front paddle 5 metres with a relaxed face in the water
  • Roll from front to back mid-swim to rest and breathe — the skill that saves lives
  • Back kick 5 metres, ears wet, tummy up
  • Jump in over their head (with instructor) and swim back to the wall
  • Tread-adjacent 'motorboat' drills to build vertical comfort

Ready when

  • Unsupported front and back floats, five seconds
  • Glides from the wall with face in
  • Submerges completely and happily

Where it leads: Five honest metres and a reliable roll-to-rest — then Preschool 4.

2 open classes this week →

Preschool 4 — First Strokes

4 – 5 yr · 30 min · ratio 4:1 · $142/mo

Big-arm freestyle with side breathing, backstroke you can recognise, and 10-metre swims.

Skills you learn

  • Freestyle arms with side breathing, 10 metres
  • Recognisable backstroke, 10 metres
  • Tread water 15 seconds in the deep lane (instructor beside them)
  • Safe entries into deep water and a calm return to the wall
  • Retrieve an object from 0.9 m — eyes open underwater

Ready when

  • Paddles 5 metres with face in, breathing by rolling or lifting
  • Rolls front-to-back to rest without help
  • Comfortable being briefly over their head

Where it leads: Graduates join School Age 3 or 4 at age 6 — the placement check decides which, and we tell you why.

3 open classes this week →

6 – 12 years

School Age

Six levels from first bubbles to 100 continuous metres and all four strokes.

Boy in a swim cap with goggles pushed up grinning at the pool edge after a practice swim
School Age 4 · after the first 25-metre swim

School Age 1 — Water Comfort

6 – 12 yr · 30 min · ratio 4:1 · $142/mo

For brand-new swimmers aged six and up — same first rungs as preschool, taught at big-kid pace.

Skills you learn

  • Safe entries, exits, and pool rules that respect their age (no babying)
  • Face in, rhythmic bubbles, full submersion
  • Front and back floats and glides, support fading fast
  • Board kicking with a straight, splashy-then-quiet flutter
  • Jump in, turn, return — the reflex we drill from day one

Ready when

  • 6 years or older
  • No swimming experience needed — this level exists precisely for the kid who 'missed' lessons

Where it leads: Floats, glides, and a comfortable wet face — most kids clear S1 in one or two sessions and move to S2.

3 open classes this week →

School Age 2 — Glide & Kick

6 – 12 yr · 30 min · ratio 4:1 · $142/mo

Unsupported floats and glides stretch into 5-metre flutter-kick swims and deep-water jumps.

Skills you learn

  • Front and back glides 5 metres with flutter kick
  • Roll front-to-back mid-glide to rest and breathe
  • Retrieve a ring from 0.9 m, eyes open
  • Jump into deep water and paddle back (instructor in reach)
  • Tread water 20 seconds

Ready when

  • Solo front and back floats, five seconds
  • Glides from the wall, face in
  • Comfortable submerging completely

Where it leads: Five confident metres and a calm roll-to-rest — then S3, where freestyle begins.

2 open classes this week →

School Age 3 — Freestyle Foundations

6 – 12 yr · 30 min · ratio 4:1 · $142/mo

The level parents mean when they say 'I want them to swim': real freestyle with side breathing.

Skills you learn

  • Freestyle with side breathing, 10 metres without stopping
  • Backstroke with steady kick, 10 metres
  • Tread water 30 seconds
  • Standing dive-free deep entries and underwater swim-throughs
  • Whistle-stop safety drill: swim, roll, rest, continue

Ready when

  • Swims 5 metres front and back with a relaxed face in
  • Rolls to rest without touching the wall
  • Comfortable in the deep lane with an instructor near

Where it leads: Ten clean metres of freestyle and backstroke — then S4 for distance and breaststroke.

2 open classes this week →

School Age 4 — Endurance & Breaststroke

7 – 12 yr · 30 min · ratio 6:1 · $142/mo

Distance doubles and doubles again: 25-metre swims, breaststroke kick, one-minute treads.

Skills you learn

  • Freestyle 25 metres with bilateral breathing introduced
  • Backstroke 25 metres with straight-arm recovery
  • Breaststroke kick on a board, then 10 metres of whole-stroke
  • Tread water 1 minute; surface support with clothes on (yes, really)
  • Open-water awareness talk: cold, currents, lifejackets

Ready when

  • Freestyle and backstroke 10 metres each, unassisted
  • Treads 30 seconds
  • Comfortable in 2.0 m water

Where it leads: 25s on front and back plus a legal-ish breaststroke kick — then S5.

3 open classes this week →

School Age 5 — Butterfly & Turns

8 – 12 yr · 30 min · ratio 6:1 · $142/mo

The fun-hard level: butterfly body dolphin, open turns, and 50-metre continuous swims.

Skills you learn

  • Breaststroke 25 metres with timing ('pull, breathe, kick, glide')
  • Butterfly body dolphin and 15 metres of whole-stroke
  • Open turns on front and back — push off in streamline
  • 50 metres continuous freestyle/backstroke mix
  • Tread 2 minutes; reach-and-throw rescue basics from deck

Ready when

  • 25 metres freestyle and backstroke
  • Breaststroke kick that moves them forward
  • One-minute tread

Where it leads: All four strokes recognisable and 50 continuous metres — then S6.

3 open classes this week →

School Age 6 — Stroke Strong

8 – 12 yr · 30 min · ratio 6:1 · $142/mo

The graduation level: 100 continuous metres, four strokes, flip turns, and real self-rescue.

Skills you learn

  • 100 metres continuous — freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke in one swim
  • Butterfly 25 metres; flip turns introduced
  • Head-up freestyle and obstacle swims (self-rescue under stress)
  • Clothed swim challenge: fall in, get calm, get out
  • Full deep-water skills: feet-first surface dives, retrieve from 2.0 m

Ready when

  • 50 metres continuous
  • All four strokes in recognisable form
  • Two-minute tread

Where it leads: Our definition of 'can swim'. Graduates head to Swim Strong, a community swim club, or simply a childhood of safe pool days.

2 open classes this week →

8 – 14 years

Stroke Development

The bridge from lessons to lap swimming or swim club — endurance, starts, and turns.

Swim Strong

8 – 14 yr · 45 min · ratio 8:1 · $164/mo

After graduation: endurance sets, starts and turns, and the bridge to swim club — without the 5 a.m. practices.

Skills you learn

  • Interval training: 4 × 50 m sets with a pace clock
  • All four strokes refined toward legal racing form
  • Dive starts, flip turns, and streamlines that hold
  • 400 m continuous swims by season's end
  • Sportsmanship, lane etiquette, and how a swim meet actually works

Ready when

  • Graduated S6 or equivalent (placement check verifies)
  • Swims 100 metres continuous, all strokes recognisable

Where it leads: Swimmers leave for competitive club rosters, school teams — or stay for fitness. All three are wins.

3 open classes this week →

13 and up

Teens & adults have their own ladder — and their own page

Learn-to-swim without judgment (most of the class arrived afraid), and a stroke clinic for swimmers whose freestyle was built from internet videos. Evenings and Saturday midday, never mixed with children's classes.

Teens & adults

Find your level

Skip the guessing.

The find-your-level tool asks a swimmer's age and a few honest comfort questions, recommends a rung with the reasoning shown, and lists that level's real open classes.

Find your level See the schedule
Sample site by SearchPod