Frequently Asked Questions (Updated March 2025)
- Parent and Tot 1-3: 30 minutes
- Preschool 1-5: 30 minutes
- Swimmer 1-2: 30 minutes
- Swimmer 3-6: 45 minutes
- Rookie Patrol, Ranger Patrol and Star Patrol (Swimmer 7-9): 60 minutes
- Branksome Hall Lifesaving Club (BHLC) Youth: 60 minutes
- Bronze Star: 60 minutes
- Bronze Medallion: 2 hours to 2 hours and 30 min (depending on the session)
- Bronze Cross (Assistant Lifeguard): 2 hours 30 min to 3 hours (depending on the session)
- Adult 1-3: 45 minutes
- Emergency First Aid: 8 hours total
- Standard First Aid: 16 hours total
- Parent and Tot 1-3: 1:8
- Preschool 1-5: 1:4
- Swimmer 1-2: 1:4
- Swimmer 3-4: 1:6
- Swimmer 5-6: 1:8
- Rookie Patrol, Ranger Patrol and Star Patrol (Swimmer 7-9): 1:8
- Branksome Hall Lifesaving Club (BHLC) Youth: 1:8
- Bronze Star: 1:8
- Bronze Medallion: 1:10
- Bronze Cross (Assistant Lifeguard): 1:10
- Adult 1-3: 1:4
- Emergency First Aid: 1:12
- Standard First Aid: 1:12
All participants are required to meet the age requirements by the third week of classes.
- Parent and Tot 1: 4–12 months
- Parent and Tot 2: 12-24 months
- Parent and Tot 3: 24–36 months
- Preschool 1-5: 3-5 years
- Swimmer 1-6: 5-12 years
- Swimmer 7-9 (Rookie Patrol, Ranger Patrol and Star Patrol): 9+ years
- Branksome Hall Lifesaving Club (BHLC) Junior: 7-10 years
- Branksome Hall Lifesaving Club (BHLC) Youth: 11-14 years
- Bronze Star: 10+ years
- Bronze Medallion: 13+ years (or 12+ with Bronze Star)
- Bronze Cross (Assistant Lifeguard): 13+ years with Bronze Medallion AND Emergency First Aid or Standard First Aid
- Adult 1-3: 16+ years
- Emergency First Aid: 11+ years
- Standard First Aid: 13+ years
- Parent and Tot 1-3: $215 + HST
- Preschool 1-5: $295 + HST
- Swimmer 1-2: $295 + HST
- Swimmer 3-6: $375 + HST
- Swimmer 7-9 (Rookie Patrol, Ranger Patrol and Star Patrol): $430 + HST
- Branksome Hall Lifesaving Club (BHLC) Youth: $450 + HST
- Bronze Star: $430 + HST
- Bronze Medallion: $450 + HST
- Bronze Cross (Assistant Lifeguard): $500 + HST
- Bronze Combo: $725 + HST
- Adult 1-3: $400 + HST
- Emergency First Aid (EFA): $140 + HST
- Standard First Aid (SFA): $240 + HST
- TeleGames Entry: $20 + HST
All prices are subject to tax. Costs are based on an 8-class session except Bronze Combo (5 days), EFA (1 day) and SFA (2 days)
Swim assessments are completed during any of our Leisure swims, please email swim@branksome.on.ca to schedule an assessment slot. They can be completed with 5-10 minutes where an aquatic staff will assess the swimmer’s ability and suggest a Lifesaving Society’s swim level.
Feedback Week occurs on the 5th class of every session, please check your registration or email swim@branksome.on.ca if you have any questions regarding the date.
On Week 5, classes will end 3-7 minutes early to allow feedback to be given to the families. Please arrive on deck a few minutes early to discuss with the aquatic team.
On this day only, families are allowed to sit on the benches under the level signs a few minutes before the class ends to talk to the instructors.
If you are unable to make your lesson, please send an email to swim@branksome.on.ca , ideally at least 24 hours before your class starts. We are happy to accommodate (1) make-up lesson per session, given there’s space available to do so.
Unattended classes without prior notice will not be granted a makeup opportunity.
Make-up lessons will not be scheduled on the first or last week of classes and subject to availability of instructors. These lessons are not guaranteed to be with the same instructor. It is not an expectation for these make-up instructors to evaluate the swimmers as this is only an opportunity to a chance to swim.
Once a makeup is booked, it will be considered used. If you cannot make it to the assigned makeup class, there will be no replacement.
Cancellations
All cancellation requests must be made in writing to swim@branksome.on.ca.
If you email your cancellation request within 2 days of registering, you will not be charged a cancellation fee. If you email a cancellation request after 2 days of registering, an administrative fee of $50.00 will be applied to the cancellation. Refunds will not be available within one week of the lessons beginning, this includes any registrations taking place within the one week before lessons begin or after they have started.
Refunds
Requests to transfer between days and levels are subject to availability and must be completed before the 3rd week of lessons.
Transfers
Requests to transfer between days and levels are subject to availability and must be completed before the 3rd week of lessons.
Registering in the correct level
Families must register their swimmer into the correct levels before the start of the session. For an updated assessment, please email swim@branksome.on.ca to sign-up for an assessment slot.
Participants will be assessed on their first day of classes to ensure that they have been registered into the correct level. If a participant has been registered incorrectly, every effort will be made to arrange a space for them in the correct level.
A refund will not be available to families who register their swimmer in the incorrect level due to limited space or full classes.
Branksome Swim reserves the right to cancel a swimming class due to low enrollment (low enrollment is less than 50% full). We will notify families prior to the beginning on the session, another alternative might be offered given the availability of the staff.
We are not scheduling private lessons at this time but if additional lesson blocks become available it will be given consideration. Please send an email to swim@branksome.on.ca to inquire for further details.
Yes! We are currently offering adult lessons at this time at the end of Saturday and Sunday. Adult lessons are meant for 16+ years who wants to learn how to swim (Adult 1), improve their swimming and feel confident in the water (Adult 2) and fine-tune, tone and master the 3 strokes while working on endurance, perhaps for a triathlon(Adult 3).