SWIM LESSON INFORMATION
Session One schedule will be posted mid-April
FEES 2026:
- Portsmouth Residents: $5.00 per session
- Nonresidents: $70.00 per session
Session 1 Online Sign-ups:
- Residents: Monday, May 4, 2026 at 9:00am
- Non-residents: Monday, May 18, 2026 at 9:00am
Session 2 Online Sign-ups:
- Residents: Monday, June 29, 2026 at 9:00am
- Non-residents: Wednesday, July 1, 2026 at 9:00am
Current and former members of the military may show their military ID and receive the resident rate. Please call 603-427-1547 with questions or to set up discount.
Please sign your child up for only ONE set of lessons per session. We would like to make sure that there is room for everyone who wants to take lessons.
Overview
Peirce Island Outdoor Pool is an excellent pool for teaching lessons. The water is eighteen inches deep in the shallow end and six and one-half feet deep in the deep end of the pool. The pool is divided into sections by depth, which allows for all swimmers to be able to access water in depths that are appropriate to their ability. There is no need for platforms or swimmers to be called one at a time because the water is too deep. Lessons are offered two days per week for four weeks during the week (Monday/Wednesday, Tuesday/Thursday, or Wednesday/Friday). They are taught for one-half hour each (five time slots each morning) starting at 9:30am and ending at 12:00pm. Lessons are $5.00 for Portsmouth residents (primary residence only) and active duty military (active duty ID or dependent ID card); lessons are $70.00 per session for nonresidents.
Lessons are taught by certified American Red Cross (ARC) Water Safety Instructors (WSI). As a result, swimmers must be at least five (5) years old (prior to the class beginning) to enter the Learn-to-Swim program numbered levels, which are described below. Children younger than five years old will be placed in the Parent/Child program (approximately one-year old to age three) or Preschool program (four or five years old), which are described below. There are no exceptions to these age requirements.
WAIT LIST
We encourage families to register for wait lists if classes are full. If the class has any cancellations, we will call down the wait list, in order, attempting to fill the spot.
PROPER PLACEMENT
Please check the website for details on placement. Each swimmer’s ability will be tested the first class and the pool will notify parents if the child is not in the appropriate level. You may call the pool to schedule a pretest if you are unsure of your child’s level.
ABSENCES
The pool is unable to make up any missed or cancelled classes.
BAD WEATHER
Swim lessons will be cancelled due only in the event of thunder and lightning. Call the pool after 9:00 am at (603) 433-0039 to see if lessons will be cancelled that morning or check the Recreation Department Facebook page.
RESIDENCY POLICY
Portsmouth Residents must prove residency with a current drivers license. Please visit the Recreation Department website for the full residency policy.
CLASS CONSOLIDATION
Classes with fewer than three students may be combined or cancelled.
Red Cross Swimming Level Descriptions
Parent and Child Aquatics
6 MONTHS TO APPROXIMATELY 3 YEARS
Parents and children learn together to increase a child's comfort level in the water and build a foundation of basic skills, such as arm and leg movements and breath control. Parent and Child helps introduce water safety concepts, encouraging a healthy recreational habit that your entire family can enjoy.
Parent and Child provides experiences and activities for children to:
- Learn how to enter and exit the water in a safe manner.
- Feel comfortable in the water.
- Explore submerging to the mouth, nose and eyes and fully submerging.
- Explore buoyancy on the front and back position.
- Change body position in the water.
- Learn how to play safely.
- Experience wearing a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
- Plus age-appropriate water safety topics.
Preschool Levels Basic and Advanced 3 or 4 YEARS OLD
BASIC PRESCHOOL
The purpose of Basic Preschool is to help children ages 3 to 5 feel comfortable in the water for the first time without a parent. It orients children to the aquatic environment, helps them gain greater independence in their skills and develop more comfort in and around the water. Children will learn to enter the water on their own, follow the directions of the instructor, and gain basic swimming propulsive skills by learning to fully submerge and hold breath, bob, blow bubbles and float with assistance. Children in this level will also learn how to stay safe around aquatic environments.
ADVANCED PRESCHOOL
For swimmers three or four years old who are comfortable in the water and are ready to learn to swim. Swimmers will begin to learn breath control and floating on their front and back. Also, kicking on the front and back will be a major emphasis on Advanced Preschool. Swimmer will be introduced to the arm action of the front crawl and back crawl to begin coordination of these strokes, treading water, and safety skills. The goal of Advanced Preschool is to prepare swimmers to start in Level Two of the Learn to Swim Program. In some instances, swimmers can move to Level Three of the LTS program upon turning five years old.
Learn to Swim Program (LTS) Levels 1 – 6: Ages 5 & Over
SWIMMERS MUST BE FIVE YEARS OLD PRIOR TO THE STARTS OF THE CLASS TO ENROLL IN THE ARC LTS PROGRAM
LEVEL ONE: WATER EXPLORATION
The objective of Level One is to help students feel comfortable in the water and to enjoy the water safely. Students will learn elementary water skills, which they can build on as they progress through the various levels.
Skills Acquired:
- Become oriented to aquatic environment
- Submerging
- Fully submerge face (3 seconds)
- Bobbing
- Experience buoyancy
- Breath control (bubble blowing)
- Entering/exiting shallow/deep water safely and independently
- Supported floating on front/back
- Supported kicking on front/back
- Alternating arm action
- Move through water comfortably
- Introduction to alternating arm action
LEVEL TWO: PRIMARY SKILLS
Level Two builds on swimmers’ previous skills gives to allow swimmers to become proficient with these previously learned skills. They will learn basic self-help and assisting rescue skills (floating, turning over, reaching assists, rescue breathing).
Skills Acquired:
- Retrieve objects from bottom while submerging
- Retrieve object, eyes open, no support
- Flutter kicking front/back
- Floating on front/back unassisted
- Turning front-to-back, back-to-front
- Beginning crawl stroke: learning to swim on their own
- Beginning breathing techniques
- Back crawl arm action with kick
- Deep water safety
- Bob and submerge head completely
- Bob in water slightly over head to travel to safe area
- Jump into deep water from side of pool
- Front/Back glide w/ push off (2 body lengths)
LEVEL THREE: STROKE READINESS
Students learn to coordinate front and back crawl. Introduce elementary backstroke and the fundamentals of treading water.
Skills Acquired:
- Retrieve objects from bottom while submerging
- Flutter kicking front/back
- Floating on front/back unassisted
- Turning front-to-back, back-to-front
- Reverse direction while swimming on front/back
- Crawl stroke should begin to look and feel comfortable
- Coordinate arm stroke for crawl
- Rotary breathing
- Deep water safety
- Coordinated back crawl
- Elementary Backstroke, 15 yards
- Dolphin Kicking, 15 yards
- Breaststroke Kicking, 15 yards
- Scissors Kicking, 15 yards
- Tread water
LEVEL FOUR: STROKE DEVELOPMENT
Level Four develops confidence in stokes previously learned (elementary backstroke, front/back crawl, rotary breathing, floating, treading water) and improves other aquatic skills. This level introduces breaststroke, sidestroke and wall turns. Familiarize with CPR/rescue breathing).
Skills Acquired:
- Retrieve objects from bottom while submerging
- Flutter kicking front/back
- Floating on front/back unassisted
- Turning front-to-back, back-to-front
- Fine tuning crawl stroke, 50 yards
- Alternate breathing
- Continuous swimming
- Deep water safety
- Perfecting back crawl, 25 yards
- Good body position
- Breaststroke, 15 yards
- Butterfly, 15 yards
- Sidestroke, 15 yards
- Underwater swimming (3 body lengths)
- Elementary backstroke, 25 yards
- Open turn on front/back
- Tread water (2 min., 2 different techniques)
LEVEL FIVE: STROKE REFINEMENT
Level Five helps participants refine their performance of all six swimming strokes.
Skills Acquired:
- Front crawl, 50 yards
- Breaststroke, 25 yards
- Butterfly, 25 yards
- Swim underwater, 3 to 5 body lengths, without hyperventilating
- Elementary backstroke, 50 yards
- Back crawl, 25 yards
- Sidestroke, 25 yards
- Standard (back) scull, 30 seconds
- Front flip turn while swimming
- Backstroke flip turn while swimming
- Tread water, 5 minutes
- Tread water, using legs only, 2 minutes
LEVEL SIX: SKILL PROFICIENCY (Swim to Stay Fit)
Lesson length: 45 minutes
The objective of Level Six is to polish strokes so students swim with more ease, efficiency, power, and smoothness over greater distances. Excellent for an introduction to swim team or swim team maintenance). An emphasis on proper body position (alignment and control) will be emphasized alo9ng with an introduction to swim fins, pull buoys, and hand paddles. Basic stretching exercises and warmup drills will be covered. Skill drills to perfect strokes will be taught. Front and back flip turns will be covered. At a minimum, swimmers should be able to do:
- Front Crawl, 100 yards
- Back Crawl, 50 yards
- Breaststroke, 50 yards
- Butterfly, 25 yards
- Front crawl open turn
- Back crawl open turn