In anticipation of summer, we want to share some information about the swimming policies here at camp so you and your children know what to expect.
New York State Law requires all children to have a swim check shortly after arrival to determine their swim skill level. Children often misconstrue this as a swim test, but it absolutely is not. It is simply an assessment to see whether a camper is a deep water swimmer (allowed to go into both the deep end and shallow end) or a shallow swimmer (allowed only to go in shallow area).
Being a shallow swimmer does NOT mean that a camper failed the check - it just means they need to stay in the shallow end of the pool. Campers can do a swim recheck after they have participated in swim instruction & their swim teacher has marked them as “ready.” Once this has happened, campers can communicate with their counselors or the lifeguards if they want to recheck.
The swim check consists of:
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Jumping into the deep end,
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Swimming 5 lengths of a front stroke (breast, front crawl, butterfly),
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Swimming 3 lengths of elementary backstroke (NOT back crawl),
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Treading water for 30 seconds,
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Floating on back for 30 seconds.
Campers in the tribes of Yesod and Tiferet have mandatory instructional swim about every other day; older campers in the Chesed tribe and up interested in swimming lessons are encouraged to sign up for the instructional swim elective (chug). Recreational swim is usually available daily during schmooze, our all-camp free activity period.