Aquatics Program

Learn to swim in a friendly, caring environment at the Saratoga Regional YMCA, where we have been teaching our community how to swim for more than 150 years. At the Y, our swim programs teach safety, skill and how to enjoy water activities for a lifetime.

PARENTS AND YOUTH

The Y offers parent and child lessons to help toddlers and babies get used to the water and see the pool as fun! Focusing on water safety and giving parents and their children more confidence in and around the water. Children can then progress to Preschool Swim lessons (3-5yrs) and School age Swim lessons (6-12yrs) all at our Saratoga Springs branch. These classes focus on water safety and stroke development. To figure out what class is best for your child, please check our Swim Stage Selector.

For more information, please contact contact Emily Mattison, senior swim instructor at Emily.mattison@srymca.org

TEENS AND ADULTS

Teens and adults can learn to swim in our adult swim lessons or work on strokes, turns and fitness swimming in our lap swim times at our Saratoga Spring branch. 

For more information, please contact contact Matthew Halewski, Aquatics Director, at Matt.Halewski@srymca.org.

Swim stage selector

COMPETITIVE SWIM PROGRAMS

The YMCA has one competitive swim team program - the Stingrays, our locally recognized year-round swim team, offered at our Saratoga Springs branch.

For more information, please contact Carl Hatt, head swim coach at carl.hatt@srymca.org

For more information on the Stingrays check out their website. 

To view the Stingray Swim Team Participation Handbook click here.

AQUATIC PROGRAMS

Aquatic Personal Training (18+years)

Aquatic Personal Training is personal training, but in a pool!
It is the perfect complement to land-based exercises or can be your primary form of exercise addressing core, strengthening, balance, endurance and flexibility.

 What are the Benefits of Aquatic Personal Training?

• Individual one-on-one instruction
• The buoyancy of water allows for decreased weight- bearing on the joints and increased freedom of movement
• Water provides resistance in all planes of motion increasing overall strength
• You don’t need to know how to swim. Your program will be tailored to each client according to their goals and swimming skills

 Who Should Try Aquatic Personal Training?

• Pre- and post-rehabilitation of an injury or surgery, including total joint replacements
• Overweight/obese clients, who want to learn an individualized safe water program that they can do independently
• Athletes, or former competitive athletes, needing cross training or a more joint friendly environment
• Arthritic clients
• Clients wanting to work on core, strengthening, endurance and flexibility
• Anyone who loves the water and wants to learn an individualized water program developed specifically for them! 

Instructor: Sharon Cudahy
Once a client signs up for an Aquatic Personal Training session, Sharon will contact them to set up a convenient day and time for their appointment
For more information, please email Sharon.cudahy@srymca.org or to register click here

LIFEGUARD TRAINING

The YMCA also trains lifeguards with an American Red Cross Lifeguard class that includes CPR for the Professional Rescuer (CPRO) and First Aid. Courses are offered seasonally. 

view our program lineup

FAMILY/OPEN SWIM RULES

Children under the age of 6 must be accompanied in the water by a responsible adult (18yrs old):

• Maximum of 3 children per adult

Children under the age of 10 must have a responsible adult (18yrs old) in the pool area

• Maximum of 5 children per adult

Children 6-15 years of age may swim in the shallow end without an adult in the water if:

• They have passed the deep end test and are wearing the appropriate bracelet
• They are wearing a Coast Guard approved Lifejacket
• The center of their chest is at or above 3’7”
• If a child meets none of the above criteria they must be accompanied in the water by an adult with arms reach at a two to one ratio at all times
• Maximum of 5 children per adult

Children under the age of 16 are required to pass swim test in order to swim in deep end:

• Deep end test
• 25 yards on stomach using freestyle or breast stroke
• Float on back for 30 seconds
• 25 yards on back using backstroke or Elementary backstroke
• Jump into deep end and tread water for 1 minute
• Swimmers may be required to retake the swim test at any time at the lifeguard’s discretion

For more information, please contact contact Matthew Halewski, Aquatics Director, at Matt.Halewski@srymca.org.