The sessions are free to Altoona kids in a partnership between the Blair Regional YMCA and the Rotary Club of Altoona. Students learn water safety skills like pool etiquette and swimming basics like floating and kicking.

“My goal is to teach them basic pool safety and how to survive in the water,” instructor Gwyn Fox said. “It’s something everyone needs to know.”

The sessions run Monday through Thursday at Prospect Pool and the skills build throughout the week, with students eventually jumping into the pool and diving for sinking toys.

Lessons are from 10 to 11 a.m. for children in kindergarten through third grade and 11 a.m. to noon for fourth through sixth grade. Three more sessions are planned each week through Aug. 10, and interested Altoona residents can email Emma Rubritz at erubritz@blairregionalYMCA.org. Spaces are limited.

Ryker Gardner, 8, jumps in to the pool near swim instructor Alexis Fraundorfer during “Learn to Swim” lessons hosted by the Blair Regional YMCA at Prospect Pool on Wednesday morning. Mirror photo by Linden Markley

The YMCA received a grant from the Rotary Club of Altoona, which allowed the aquatics department to offer the lessons at no charge to Altoona residents and pay the instructors for their time.

Fox, who is also a lifeguard at Prospect Pool, has been teaching the lessons all summer and said it has been both fun and exhausting educating the kids.

Using a lifeguard float tube, she held out her arms as the students jumped into the pool at the end of the lesson. She said she has seen a wide range of swimming abilities in the class, but the kids are generally quick to pick up beginner skills like blowing bubbles and swimming to the ledge.

“The younger you start, the better off you are,” Fox said. “Because when you get older, you start to be more scared.”

Several parents and grandparents sat nearby to watch the lessons. Danielle Turner brought her daughter Haylee, 7, to the lessons to help build her swimming ability and because she enjoys being in the water.

Haylee Turner, 7, comes up for air after diving for a sinking toy during "Learn to Swim" lessons at Prospect Pool on Wednesday morning. Mirror photo by Linden Markley

“She loves swimming,” Turner said. “She’d be here all the time if she could.”

They have signed up for every session this summer, which Turner said is helpful. She has always wanted Haylee to get swim lessons, but they are generally too expensive, she said. Haylee loves the wave pool at DelGrosso’s Laguna Splash water park, so it is important to Turner that she becomes a strong swimmer.

“That girl never runs out of energy,” Turner said as Haylee dove for another sinking toy. “She’s the Energizer Bunny.”

Rubritz, the aquatics education coordinator at the Blair Regional YMCA, said everyone should know how to swim, whether that be for recreation, exercise or competitive reasons. The lessons teach children how to swim in real-life situations where a lifeguard may not be present, such as a backyard pool, Rubritz said, which has been a drawing factor for parents.

“Water safety is just so important,” Rubritz said. “I’m glad that other people are prioritizing that as well.”

The YMCA provides staff to Prospect Pool, which is managed by the city. Rubritz said the location has helped offer lessons to people who may not be able to afford those offered at the Y.

Many Altoona residents grew up going to Prospect Pool and are now able to bring their children there for the free lessons, which has been exciting, Rubritz said.

“We’re extending our reach and influence to places that have been so important in the community,” Rubritz said.

Lessons are held before the pool opens for the day, so instructors are able to work with the swimmers in small groups. Fox and instructor Alexis Fraundorfer said they have gotten to know some of the students who attended multiple sessions and have seen them become stronger swimmers.

“This has been one of the best groups so far,” Fraundorfer said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

For Chelsea Gardner and her son, Ryker, 8, the lessons were a way to fill time in the summer while building confidence in the pool. They have season passes at DelGrosso’s, and Gardner said Ryker is always around water in the summertime.

“The lessons make him better at swimming,” Gardner said. “And the safety of it is very important.”

Sometimes the children will listen better to an instructor that is not a parent or family member, Gardner said.

Near the end of Ryker’s first week of swim lessons, Gardner said he has been having fun but is also a stronger swimmer.

“This is the first year he stopped using a floatie or anything,” Gardner said. “He loves it.”

Mirror Staff Writer Linden Markley is at 814-946-7520.