Open during the summer months, city of Phoenix pools are a great place to learn how to swim, attend a special event, exercise or just cool off.

City of Phoenix pools offer a variety of swimming lessons, programs and activities for every age and ability level.

Thanks to the support of community partners SRP and the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation to provide discounted $3 swimming lessons at select pools in June and July, and an expanded schedule of lessons in August.

Search for Programs by Location

Swim Lessons:

Group swim lessons are available for every age and ability!

Starbabies:
Recommended for children ages 6 months to 3 years old and must have an adult in the water with them. Parents are taught how to help their child become comfortable in the water by: Getting face wet and blowing bubbles, Jumping in and submerging, Floating on back, Locomotion on front and back with kicking and pulling.

Youth Swimming Lessons:
Recommended for children ages 3 to 12 years old. The City of Phoenix has a new, streamlined, swim lesson registration process for "Youth Swimming Lessons". You will simply select the session dates and time you would like to attend, and our talented team will do the rest!

On the first day of lessons, certified Swim Lesson Instructors will perform swim testing on each participant; assessing swimming abilities based on the Starfish Swim School benchmarks (see below). Your child will then be placed in the appropriate class, with similarly skilled children. All classes will maintain a 1 instructor to 7 participant ratio and will be 35 minutes in length.

Starfish Swim School Benchmarks:

White Star 1: Submersion of face and body

White Star 2: Independent floating on back

White Star 3: Self rescue and roll to breath
To advance to Red Star 1 level lessons, students will be expected to demonstrate the skills shown in the video below:

Red Star 1: Forward movement with good body position

Red Star 2: 1,2,3 breathing pattern with proper stroke
To advance to Yellow Star 1 level lessons, students will be expected to demonstrate the skills shown in the video below:

Yellow Star 1: Freestyle

Yellow Star 2: Backstroke
To advance to Blue Star 1 students will be expected to demonstrate the skills shown in the video below:

Blue Star 1: Butterfly

Blue Star 2: Breaststoke
To complete the Blue Star 2 level lessons students will be expected to demonstrate the skills shown in the video below:

Semi-Private Swim Lessons:

Select pools offer special classes designed for those that prefer smaller class sizes. Classes are limited to no more than 3 students per instructor.

Semi-Private Swimming Lessons:

Adaptive Aquatics Programs:

Telephone Pioneers Pool offers specialized adaptive swimming programs and amenities for individuals with special needs.

Angelfish:
This class is exclusively designed to teach people with special needs how to swim. Classes are individualized to meet the unique needs of all students. Instructors work with each student one-on-one for 15 minutes. The remaining class time is designed for student practice with parental supervision.

Therapeutic Water Aerobics:
This class is designed for people who have limitations and want to increase muscle mass, balance, flexibility and core strength by exercising in the water. This class is taught in a therapeutic heated pool that is fully accessible.

Adult Lessons & Fitness Programs:

Silver Star:
This class is recommended for non-swimmers pre-teen to adults. Participants are taught based on individual abilities ranging from getting their face wet to the basic mechanics of freestyle.

Water Aerobics:
This class is designed to improve muscle tone, fitness level and flexibility through a series of water exercises. No swimming ability necessary. Classes will be held in water that is shoulder deep.

Adult Lap Swim:

Water Safety Programs:

Cub Club:
This Cigna Healthcare sponsored free program teaches water safety and basic first aid skills to children 7 to 10 years old. All program participants will receive a t-shirt and will compete in a city-wide Olympic event at the end of the season. Space is limited to the first 15 participants that enroll.

Discovery Guard:
This Cigna Healthcare sponsored free program teaches water safety and boating skills, use of flotation devices and basic first aid to children 11 to 13 years old. All program participants will receive a t-shirt and will compete in a city-wide Olympic event at the end of the season. Space is limited to the first 15 participants that enroll.

Junior Lifeguard:
Junior Lifeguard: This Cigna Healthcare sponsored free program teaches lifeguarding techniques, leadership, responsibility, first aid and CPR/AED training to children 14 to 15 years old. All program participants will receive a t-shirt and swim suit and will compete in a city-wide Olympic event at the end of the season.

Lifeguard Academy:
This Cigna Healthcare sponsored free program will train and certify participants in lifeguard training, first aid and CPR/AED.

Recreation & Sports Programs:

Swim Team:
This six week program is designed to enhance and improve swimming strokes for children ages 5 to 17 years old. Children are broken up into age groups to practice and then compete in recreational meets with 12 teams from other City of Phoenix pools. Practices include one hour of instruction four days per week, with swim meets on Thursday evenings beginning at 7:15 p.m. at various pools.
Prerequisites: Participants much be able to swim 25 meters continuously of any one of the four competitive strokes without assistance

Dive Team:
This six week program is designed to enhance and improve diving skills for children ages 5 to 17 years old. Children are broken up into age groups to practice and then compete in recreational meets with 6 teams from other City of Phoenix pools. Practices include one hour of instruction four days per week, with dive meets on Tuesday evenings beginning at 6:00 p.m. at various pools.
Prerequisites: Participants much be able to do a forward jump, backward jump and forward dive from a 1-meter diving board

Dive Lessons:
Diving Lessons: This class is for children and adults who want to learn the basics of diving or improve upon what they already know. No prior experience or training in diving is necessary. All dives will be executed from the side of the pool and a one meter diving board into deep water. Students must be able to recover from the dive and easily swim to the side of the pool without assistance.

Water Basketball Team:
This free program is for boys and girls ages 12 to 15 years old. Activities take place in approximately four feet of water. No swimming skills are necessary. Teams compete in recreational meets with 8 teams from other City of Phoenix pools. Practices include one hour of instruction Monday through Wednesday, with water basketball games on Thursday afternoons beginning at 2:00 p.m. at various pools. Transportation is provided for games.