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Swimmer Skills

The Skillset

With this skillset, you will start from the very beginning to develop confidence and endurance while swimming. You will learn the basics of swimming safety, practice several types of swimming strokes, and work up to swimming longer distances. This skill requires access to a place to swim; if you live in an area where free outdoor swimming isn't feasible, you can often find access to a pool at a community center, YMCA/YWCA, or similar organization for lower fees.

Swimmer Skills Tracker (1) Learn and practice the essentials of swimming safety, including:
  • Learning how to protect yourself and others while swimming.
  • Treading water (up to 15 minutes).
  • Floating on your back.
  • Holding your breath and exhaling underwater.

Learning to swim is the best defense against accidental drowning. Start by learning in a safe and controlled environment, ideally with a more experienced swimmer present to guide you.

(2) Using a kickboard, learn and practice the following kicks:
  • The flutter kick
  • The frog kick
  • Either the scissor kick or the dolphin kick

The front crawl and backstroke make use of the flutter kick. The frog kick is used in the breaststroke as well as the elementary backstroke. The scissor kick is used for the sidestroke. The butterfly stroke uses the dolphin kick.

(3) Learn and practice the elementary backstroke and the front crawl until you can swim 10 laps in each style without stopping.

Practice in shallow water at first, so you can stand up if needed. Focus on going slowly at first to get the timing and form right before increasing your speed.

(4) Learn and practice two or more of the following until you can swim 10 laps in each style without stopping:
  • The backstroke
  • The sidestroke
  • The butterfly stroke
  • The breaststroke

Each stroke has different breathing patterns and techniques. As you learn, pay attention to the times when your movements and breaths feel “in sync” with one another.

(5) Practice the front crawl, backstroke, butterfly stroke, or breaststroke until you can swim ½ a mile, taking breaks as needed.

In an Olympic pool (50 meters), ½ a mile is roughly 30 laps. In a short-course pool (25 meters), ½ a mile is roughly 60 laps.

You can also download the skills tracker as a printable .PDF here.

Resources to Get You Started

Getting Your Badge

You can find the swimmer badge here.