Red Cross Swimming Levels

Level 1: Introduction to Water Skills

Level 1 participants learn to:

• Enter and exit water safely.
• Submerge mouth, nose and eyes.
• Exhale underwater through mouth and nose.
• Open eyes underwater, pick up submerged object.
• Change direction while walking or paddling.
• Roll over from front to back and back to front with support.
• Explore floating on front and back with support.
• Explore swimming on front and back using arm and leg actions with support.
• Use a life jacket.

Level 2: Fundamental Aquatic Skills

Purpose: Gives students success with fundamental skills. Level 2 participants learn to:

• Enter water by stepping or jumping from the side.
• Exit water safely using ladder or side.
• Submerge entire head.
• Blow bubbles submerging head in a rhythmic pattern (bobbing).
• Open eyes underwater, pick up a submerged object in shallow water.
• Float on front and back.
• Perform front and back glide.
• Change direction of travel paddling on front or back.
• Roll over from front to back, back to front.
• Tread water using arm and leg motions (chest-deep water).
• Swim on front, back, and side using combined arm and leg actions.
• Move in the water while wearing a life jacket.

Level 3: Stroke Development

This class builds on the skills in Level 2 through additional guided practice. Level 3 participants learn to:

• Jump into deep water from the side.
• Dive from kneeling or standing position.
• Submerge and retrieve an object in chest deep water.
• Bob with the head fully submerged.
• Rotary breathing in horizontal position.
• Perform front and back glide using two different kicks.
• Float on front and back in deep water.
• Change from horizontal to vertical position on front and back.
• Tread water using hand and leg movements.
• Perform front and back crawl.
• Butterfly kick and body motion.
• Perform the HELP and Huddle position.

Level 4: Stroke Improvement

Purpose: Develops confidence in the skills learned and improves other aquatic skills. Level 4 participants learn to:

• Perform a dive from a standing or stride position.
• Swim underwater.
• Perform feet-first surface dive.
• Perform open turns on front and back.
• Tread water using sculling arm motions and with different kicks.
• Perform the following:
  • Front and back crawl
  • Breaststroke
  • Butterfly
  • Elementary backstroke
• Swim on side using scissors-like kick.
• Perform compact jump into water from a height while wearing a life jacket.

Level 5: Stroke Refinement

Purpose: Provides further coordination and refinement of strokes. Level 5 participants learn to perform the following:

• Standing dive
• Shallow dive, glide two body lengths and begin any front stroke
• Tuck surface dive
• Pike surface dive
• Front flip turn
• Backstroke flip turn
• Front and back crawl
• Butterfly
• Breaststroke
• Elementary backstroke
• Sidestroke
• Tread water with two different kicks
• Learn survival swimming

Level 6: Swimming and Skill Proficiency

Purpose: Refines the strokes so students swim with ease, efficiency, power and smoothness over greater distances. Level 6 is designed with menu options that each focus on preparing students to participate in more advanced courses, including the Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard Training courses. These options include:

• Personal Water Safety
• Fundamentals of Diving
• Lifeguard Readiness
• Fitness Swimmer