Beginner 1 · Yellow Cap

Beginner 1 is for children aged 6-12 who are comfortable in the water but cannot yet swim independently. The first weeks are spent in the teaching pool and the second half of the term in the shallow lane of the 25-metre pool. The goal is for the child to swim 10 metres without support and enter deep water in a controlled way.

Term plan

• Weeks 1-3: breathing rhythm, front and back floats, streamline position
• Weeks 4-6: freestyle kick with a board, introduction to side breathing
• Weeks 7-9: arm pull, arm and leg coordination, short freestyle swims
• Weeks 10-12: treading water in the deep end and returning to the wall

Safety

Yellow-cap swimmers enter the deep end only with a coach and within one metre of the lane rope. The cap colour lets the lifeguard see from a distance who may enter deep water, so the cap is an essential part of the lesson.

A swimmer who can show 10 metres of unsupported freestyle, 10 metres of backstroke and 30 seconds of treading water moves up to the green cap.