Ribbon Levels

There are nine different Ribbon Levels in the Splash Swim School program, each of which consists of a specific set of skills. New students are enrolled into a class which is consistent with their previous swimming experience.

For example, if your child is comfortable with swimming a dog paddle-like stroke for ten feet, but your child is not able to lift his or her head to breathe and continue on, your child will be considered a Yellow, and will be enrolled into a Yellow class. In this class, your child will work on learning to take Turtle Breaths while swimming without fins. Your child will also learn to jump into the pool, and swim back to the wall without assistance. Once your child has mastered these skills, your child will earn his or her Green ribbon, and begin working towards the Purple ribbon.

Ribbons are achievement awards presented to our students. They signify the successful accomplishment of very specific skills, and are a measure of the student's progress through our program. Instructors may award ribbons at any time the student demonstrates mastery of all skills listed for that ribbon.

Please note that the first two ribbons in our program, Pink and Rainbow, reward attitude and adjustment both to the water, as well as to swim class generally. These ribbons are designed to give your beginner swimmer the positive reinforcement he or she may need to get his or her swim skills off to a good start. For example, students initially assigned to a Pink class will be awarded a Pink ribbon on their very first day, just for getting into the water and participating in class. Even if a child cries, we see this as a small, but important step towards the greater accomplishment of learning to swim, and we want the student to see that as well! All other ribbons (Yellow and above) are awarded upon mastery of physical skills in the water. We want our students to be excited and proud of their swim lessons!

Here is our Ribbon Level Skill Sheet: