Spots available for last leg of swim classes

There is still time for people of all swimming abilities – or lack thereof – to enroll in swimming lessons in Putnam County.

With Sessions 1 and 2 behind them and Session 3 in progress, the Aquatics Center still has one additional session, which starts July 24-Aug. 4 at the Putnam Aquatic Center, 1209 Westover Drive in Palatka. 

And some spots are still available, said Paige Neely, the recreation manager for the athletics/aquatics division of the Putnam County Parks and Recreation Department. For details and to register for the class, call 386-312-2221.

“Learning how to be safe in and out of the water is essential,” she said.

As part of her job, Neely oversees swimming lessons, where all the staff are lifeguard-trained through the American Red Cross. 

“The primary purpose for the Learn to Swim lessons are to teach safety and swimming to children,” said Neely who has been with the county for two years.

The lessons include five levels, and a participant’s level is based on age and swimming ability, Neely said. The levels range in ability from needing constant assistance to needing help developing and improving strokes.

Regardless of level, all children in the program learn pool facility rules, how to put on a life jacket, how to throw a floatation device, how to help if someone is choking and how to call for help.

Swimming lessons are for ages 6 months to adults and are in two-week sessions. The first three sessions this year have seen 164 children taking swimming lessons.

“This program is not designed to teach children to become good swimmers or to survive in the water on their own,” she said about the parent-and-child level of the swimming course. “Rather, it gives parents the information and techniques to help orient their children to the aquatic environment.”

Amanda Hiatt of Palatka has two kids, ages 4 and 8, taking swimming lessons in Session 3.

“The lifeguards are friendly and work well giving the kids a lot of encouragement,” said Hiatt, whose kids took lessons last year, too. “It’s great that my kids can learn water safety because they love the water and they are around it at pools, the beach and lakes all the time.”

Hiatt said her children have a lot of fun at the swimming lessons and she is happy that they do.

For Angela Williams of Palatka, swimming lessons have been a part of her children’s and grandchildren’s summer activities for years.

On Tuesday, Williams brought her 9-year-old granddaughter to the Putnam Aquatic Center for her lessons.

“She’s been around water a lot,” said Williams, who admits she doesn’t know how to swim herself. “I wanted to make sure she had some courses in it.”

Williams remembers taking her son, now 42, to the Ravine Gardens State Park pool for lessons and her daughter, now 32, took private lessons. Her 16-year-old grandson also took private lessons and an advanced swimming course at the center.

“I am very pleased,” she said of how the lessons have helped her family. “It is much needed and greatly appreciated. My grandson is an excellent swimmer. We are hoping his sister gets there soon. She goes swimming but just needs some more training, and I’m going to make sure she gets it. I speak very highly of the lessons and recommend them.”

The pool is open to the public for a fee from May through September. The facility is also available on weekends this month for $50-$75 an hour, depending on the number of participants, and a deposit of $100. Availability is dependent on lifeguard availability.

The Putnam County Parks & Recreation and Putnam Aquatics Center Facebook pages list all activities planned and publish an annual Activity Guide.