FAQ
Q: Your session started two weeks ago, but I see that there is room in a class. Can I sign my child up?
A: No, unfortunately you cannot. We do not allow enrollments after the first week of class unless it is a Parent/Child class or private/semiprivate lesson. It is too disruptive to the class, and the student would struggle to catch up. We do have private lessons available if you would like to begin sooner than next session!
Q: I am a current client, and I submitted an absence via the Parent Portal. Why am I ineligible for a makeup?
A: All absences submitted in accordance with the makeup policy (the day prior to class and not exceeding 2 personal makeup classes per session) will be approved within 24 hours of submission. Markeup requests are processed once a day.
Please check back tomorrow to schedule your makeup class in the Parent Portal. You are responsible for logging into your parent portal and signing up for the makeup class that works for you.
Please note that clients are not able to start booking makeup classes until the rosters lock (week 2 of the session). Any makeup classes submitted before week 2 will be approved on the first day of the second week of the session for makeup.
Q: How do your waitlists work?
A: You may register for as many waitlists as you work for you, even if you enroll in a class. Anyone that gets off a waitlist will be contact both by phone and email. You will have 48 hours to respond and decide if you want the class (or, if enrolled in another class, which class you want). After 48-hours, the spot will be released to the next person on the waitlist.
Q: What are your COVID policies?
A: We follow the guidance of the Massachusetts state health department and CDC. Children and instructors do not wear masks in the water. Please see our guidelines above. If your child has a COVID-19 exposure or tests positive, they must adhere to the current CDC recommendations.
Q: My child wants to take lessons with his/her cousin, friend, neighbor, etc. Can I register them both?
A: Absolutely not. Only a child’s legal guardian may register a child for a swim class due to liability. If we find out that an adult registered a child of whom they are not a legal guardian, the entire family and all students will be discharged from the program immediately with no refund. This is non-negotiable. Please only register students in your immediate family. Grandparents, this means the child’s parents need to register the child for the class and then add you to the account as an additional adult.
Q: I don’t see any classes listed except for Adult, Parent Child, and Private. How can I sign up for a different level?
A: This occurs when registration has ended. We allow rolling admission to Adult, Team, and Parent Child, which is why they are still listed. Please contact us to be added to our email list if you would like to receive information on our upcoming sessions.
Q: Where are you located?
A: We are currently operating out of Choice Fitness Elite, Choice Fitness Elite Salisbury, and Choice Fitness Elite Methuen. For addresses and directions check out our locations page on our website.
Q: What level should my child be?
A: Please check out the descriptions of each level on this page. Then click on “Learn More” to figure out which age group your child should be in, and see more information about each level. Our classes are divided by skill level as well as age.
We also may have upcoming open swim assessments. Please click on any upcoming sessions under the classes tab on the navigation bar to view any potential upcoming open assessments.
In general:
Swimmers under 15 months must begin in Parent Child. This is the only class that allows parents to accompany children in the water, aside from private lessons.
A brand new swimmer, one with water fear, or separation anxiety, should begin in Water Introduction. New-to-us students under 36 months must also start here.
A swimmer who is comfortable in the water but requires a floatation device and is comfortable kicking around with said floatation device without being held should start in Beginner.
A child who is swimming horizontally and is in a 1-2 bubble, almost ready to make the jump to swimming independently, should be in Advanced Beginner.
A swimmer who swim the legnth of the pool with safety breathing without a flotation device and can kick the legnth of the pool on the back without a flotation device should begin in Intermediate.
If you believe your student should start in Advanced or Pre-Swim Team, please contact us for more information. We will likely need to do a swim test first.
Q: We are going to be traveling and will miss four classes. Can we just pay for the classes we are going to use? Or, can we just come a different day during those weeks?
A: No, you are taking up a spot that another student could have enrolled in, so regardless of whether or not you plan to attend all classes, they must be paid in full. We give you two personal makeup classes per session. All makeup classes are pending availability. Please read our makeup policy before you complete registration!
Q: Can we try a class before we sign up?
A: For the same reason we cannot allow enrollments after the first week, we do not allow trial classes. It is disruptive to the class, and the student trying out the class will not get a good feel for the program. If you would like to observe a class, please let us know and we can arrange that!
Q: What background do your instructors have?
A: Our instructors come to us with a variety of experiences. We have everyone from nationally ranked swim coaches to moms who have been teaching lessons for decades. Please check out our instructor bio pages! We pride ourselves on the quality and low turnover rate of our instructors.
If you think you might be a good fit for our team, please contact our HR department. We are always looking for folks with amazing personalities who want to turn a love of swimming into a career.
Q: Do we need a membership at the pool where my lesson will be?
A: No, you do not! We rent space from the facilities in which we operate, and all our classes are open to any and all. There is a $10/student registration fee per session for using the facility that is billed by Swimm with Timm upon registration and paid directly to Choice Fitness.
Q: I didn’t get the class I wanted! What should I do? Will emailing you help?
A: Please don’t email us if you don’t get into a class. We go 100% by the waitlist in determining which additional classes to add to the schedule and where. There is no guarantee that you will get off of the waitlist, so we do also suggest enrolling in another class if it fits your schedule, but the waitlist is free and Timm is a miracle-worker at finding spots for everyone. If you get off a waitlist, you will be given the choice of classes to participate (you will have 48 hours to decide). So join as many waitlists as work for you!
Q: I am on the website watching the classes filling up and registration hasn’t even opened yet. What is happening? What am I missing out on?
A: Registration opens to our current swimmers first, then our prior swimmers, and then new clients. This is our way of saying thank you to the families that return to us over and over again. Once you are enrolled in one of our classes, you will be considered a member, and get early access registration through our Parent Portal.
Q: My child is not potty trained, what sort of diaper do we need?
A: Thank you for asking this question! We require the Happy Nappy Duo swim diaper for all children that are not fully potty trained. You can purchase this directly from our online swim store. The pool has to close for 24 hours any time there is an accident, so we take this rule very seriously. We will not allow a young child to swim who is not appropriately diapered. If your child is not 100% potty trained, please err on the side of caution. If you do not have the approved swim diaper, you may not be able to participate in class.
Q: Do we need to bring anything for class?
A: Please bring your own towels. None of our facilities provide towel service to our members. Other than that, a bathing suit, diapers (as needed, see above), and flip flops. If your child is in an Intermediate class or above, they may wish to have goggles. We provide the floatation devices and any toys that we use.
Q: Can my two kids (of different ages and skill levels) be in the same class? It is more convenient for us.
A: Our classes are divided by age as well as skill level. We try to have a variety of levels running simultaneously and back to back, but sometimes it just won’t work out. If your children are different ages, we suggest you check out our private / semiprivate swim lessons.
Q: I have a pool at my house. Do you do home pool lessons?
A: We do home lessons over the summer. The Summer 2024 at-home program is currently at capacity and we are not taking additional clients at this time. At this time, we are unable to confirm if we will offer at-home lessons in Summer 2025. Please check back in April 2025.
If you did not see your question answered here, please contact us and let us know how we can help.