How Our Swim Program Works
Years of research, months of planning by your local swim camp host and hours of volunteer ‘spotting’ by wonderful and caring people from your community lead to your child attaining confidence to last a lifetime – achieved in just 5 days attending for about an hour each day.
We adapt our approach to each individual swimmer based on the accommodations they need to benefit the most from our program. Our staff are well-trained and experienced in working with many different types of abilities and behaviors. A volunteer is assigned to each swimmer providing physical support, motivation and encouragement throughout the week.
Generally speaking, we establish early on at our iCan Swim programs that learning to swim is fun but serious business. We use a structured environment for teaching with fun activities to reinforce and practice skills. We take a team approach whereby we collaborate with parents for their advice and tips on how to most successfully work with their child in reaching their goals.
Benefits of Learning to Swim
Our program works! All swimmers progress and gain skills during the week with benefits including:
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- Increase in self-esteem and confidence that spills over into many other aspects of their lives
- Positive changes in family dynamics
- Creates valuable inclusion opportunities
- Lifetime recreational activity that improves physical fitness, mental health and overall quality of life
- Increased safety in and around aquatic environments
Requirements for Participation
To ensure the safety of our swimmers and the best use of our limited resources we have established certain criteria that all swimmers must meet to be eligible to attend an iCan Swim program. All swimmers must:
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- be at least 3 years old (no upper age limit)
- have a disability
To find an iCan Swim program, please visit our Camp Locations page.
Parent Documents
Parents may need some tips on how to best support their swimmer before, during and after swim camp:
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Social Story, with pictures
Social story with pictures, designed to comfort and help set swimmers' expectations for participating in our iCan Swim program.
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How Swim Parents & Guardians Can Help
Overview of suggestions for parents and guardians to consider to make the iCan Swim program a positive and successful experience for their swimmer