Swim facilities make adjustments during pandemic

MILFORD — No contact swimming lessons are one of the new options some Milford swimming facilities have introduced as a consequence of the pandemic.

In no contact swim lessons, the swimming instructor has no physical contact with the student throughout the entire lesson.

Aqua Jets Swim Club, at 18 Point Lookout in Milford, is a private club that offers only one-on-one, no contact lessons.

Lauren McCann, head coach of the club, said children must be able to hold themselves in order to take the no contact swim lessons.

“The students must be able to hold onto the side of the wall and implement instruction without someone holding them,” she said. If they can’t, they can’t take swim lessons at this time,

according to McCann.

Prior to taking a lesson, McCann asks parents if their children can go into the water on their own, without the parent.

“It’s better for the parent to not be involved,” she said.

Due to the pandemic, the Milford Recreation Department, at 70 W. River St., is currently not offering swim lessons at all.

In the past, lessons were given at Joseph A Foran High School. “We are hoping in the spring of 2021, we can open back up,” said Rich Minnix, recreation supervisor. For updates, visit milfordrecreation.com.

At the Woodruff Family YMCA, 631 Orange Ave. in Milford, in contrast to the Aqua Jets club, parents or caregivers are required to be

in the pool with all beginning swimmers.

Also, the instructor stands on the pool deck throughout the entire lesson.

Prior to the pandemic, the instructor was “inches away” from the swim student in the water, Marketing and Communications Director Donna Gill Lisitano said.

Woodruff offers both private and group swimming lessons.

Iris Walther, whose 6-yearold son Finn has been taking swim classes at the Woodruff Family YMCA since he was a baby, noticed some additional recent changes due to the pandemic.

When Finn took classes this summer, Walther said all students now have their own bin to store their items while the class is taking place.

Not being able to watch Finn’s lessons is another change that Walther noticed. Finn is at a stage 4 swim level, and can swim the length of the pool without help. So, for his level, while parents can drop students off and help them get settled in, “we have to leave the pool area,” she said.“Myself and the other two moms used to just watch through the windows from outside the pool.”

Additionally, she observed the showers and changing rooms were closed over the summer.

“It wasn’t really a problem for us, since we have a swim cover-up for our son and have only a five minute drive home,” she said. “We have to see how it works out now that it’s getting colder.”

Despite at the changes, the swim lessons themselves at Woodruff remain exactly the same, according to Lisitano, as well as the goal of the lessons, which is to “have fun and gain confidence.”