Award Scheme
Welcome to Sports Nut’s Swim School Award Scheme!
What do kids enjoy nearly as much as splashing in the water? Animal badges! Introducing Sports Nut’s unique Swim School Award Scheme. In addition to our coach-led children’s swimming lessons, we offer an exclusive badge-based Swim School Award Scheme. Our award scheme consists of eight levels, each symbolized by an adorable sea creature – from Level One ‘Sami the Seahorse’ to Level Eight ‘Barry the Whale’ (who can consume up to 400 million krill a day, nom nom!).
Unlike other swim school award schemes, our awards process is simplified and streamlined for easy understanding. Each level has specific challenges that our super swimmers must achieve before advancing, making it easy to track your child’s progress and the skills they’ve mastered. Advanced levels also include essential water survival and rescue skills, giving you complete peace of mind.
When your swimmer completes a level, they’re rewarded with some serious cool points from our teachers, as well as an online certificate. Parents can also purchase a cute sea creature embroidered badge (£4.00), which many of our swimmers love to add to their collection and sew onto their towels! To further boost motivation, we also offer badges for swimming distances, ranging from eight meters to one mile (now that’s a challenge!).
The video below will give you an idea of the range of fun challenges that our super swimmers will need to master as they make their journey through our unique and fantastic Award Scheme! You will notice the challenges get progressively more difficult as swimmers move up through the levels on their learn to swim journey. On average, it takes swimmers 12-14 months to pass each of our levels.
Level 1 – Sami the Seahorse
This level is for complete beginners who are still getting used to the feeling of being submerged in the water. Putting their face in the water and floating may not come easy to them and they struggle to swim more than 3 or 4 meters on their front and back.
During Level 1 lessons, swimmers will learn and master 12 different challenges, including how to float on their front and back, collect sinkies in the shallow end and be introduced to dolphin leg kick (aka wiggly worm!) and breaststroke leg kick (aka frogs legs!).
Level 2 – Ronnie the Rainbowfish
This level is for swimmers who have been in lessons for a while and can now kick all the way across a width on their back and swim front paddle nearly all the way across a width of the pool (10m). They can sit on the bottom of the pool and blow bubbles in a relaxed manner and they don’t mind jumping in the water at the deep end and swimming back to the wall.
During Level 2 lessons, swimmers will learn and master 10 different challenges, including swimming front and back paddle for 8-10 metres (without stopping), push and glides and jumping into the deep end, then calmly and safely getting out of the water.
Level 3 – Terri the Turtle
This level is for swimmers who can comfortably swim out of their depth on their front and back. They can also tread water out of their depth for at least 10 seconds. Swimmers will be able to make a good attempt at recovering arms over the water for front crawl and back crawl and understand the body movements needed for frogs legs and dolphin leg kick.
During Level 3 lessons, swimmers will complete 13 different challenges, including front and back crawl for 8-10 metres, coordinating breaststroke arms and legs, a variety of jump in entries and treading water for at least 15 seconds, using a sculling technique.
Level 4 – Winston the Walrus
This level is for swimmers who are very comfortable and have a good amount of stamina for a whole lesson in the deep end. Swimmers will now be able to swim front crawl, properly attempting to breath to the side and back crawl properly demonstrating a flat, streamlined body position in the water. Swimmers will be able to swim 15m without stopping and treading water for at least 30 seconds.
During Level 4 lessons, swimmers will need to master 12 different challenges, including 15 metres of technically proficient front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke and butterfly (on back). Other Level 4 challenges include straddle entry, deep end sink downs and the all important ‘boom and back’ challenge! Once all Level 4 challenges have been mastered, then swimmers are ready to move up into Level 5 and the start of length lessons.
Level 5 – Danni the Dolphin
This level is for swimmers who can now swim 20m without stopping on their front and back. Front crawl, back crawl and breaststroke should all be performed with a good technique with little splash on hand entry and a consistent flat, streamlined body position. Sideways breathing should now happen naturally and swimmers should feel confident swimming 5m underwater.
There are 13 challenges that swimmers will attempt to pass in our Level 5 award, with speed now becoming an important factor in front crawl ,back crawl and breastsroke. Level 5 classes will be length based and some of the other challenges swimmers will undertake include head & feet first surface dives, underwater stroke sequences and reaching rescues, as part of our open water safety challenges.
Level 6 – Orla the Orca
This level is for swimmers who can swim 2-4 lengths without stopping. Swimmers can perform all 4 strokes with a good level of technique and are now concentrating on their starts and finishes. Along with collecting sinkies at the bottom of the deep end, they are able to perform handstands and multi forward rolls (without breathing) in the shallow end.
In our Level 6 lessons, swimmers will complete 13 challenges, including 75 metres of front crawl (without stopping), dolphin leg corkscrew, an introduction to technical elements of flip turns. Swimmers will wear everyday items of clothing while undertaking open water survival challenges.
Level 7 – Mani the Mantaray
This is the first step into our Advanced Swimmer Pathway and is for swimmers who can easily handle a 10-15 length multi stroke warm up. Due to the skills and fitness required to complete this level, lessons are 60-minutes in length. This level is all about building stamina, technique refinement and polishing off those starts and finishes, as well as being introduced to turns.
By the end of Level 7, swimmers will have completed 12 different challenges, including a 400 metre front crawl swim within 9 mins 30 secs, understanding the correct starts, turns and finishes for all four strokes, racing dives for front crawl and butterfly, as well as more advanced open water safety elements, such as the HELP position.
Level 8 – Barry the Blue Whale
This is our top level with swimmers completing a 15 – 20 length warm up with ease involving turns at each end. Due to the skills and fitness required to complete this level, lessons are 60-minutes in length. We concentrate on stamina for the swimmer and will use arm, leg, combo and time sets. With all 4 strokes refined, swimmers will be introduced to The Individual Medley and turns for each stroke transition.
Once a swimmer has completed Level 8 they will have mastered another 14 challenges, including quick sprints for all four strokes, a 100 metre swim in under 99 secs, legal flip turns for front crawl, breaststroke racing dive and demonstrate how to rescue an unresponsive swimmer from open water.
Swimmers should be extremely proud of completing our Swim School Award Scheme, and chances are they will now be invited to join our Elite Swim Squad sessions!
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My daughter just picked up her first badge and certificate and all the memories came flooding back. I think I still have my old swimming tracksuit up in the loft with all my swimming badges on it. It’s these sorts of memories that are so precious. Many thanks for all you do at Sports Nut.
Debbie / Davenies Swim School Parent
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My children have loved being able to participate in Triathlon Club and Swim lessons… Both had a fantastic experience with Sports Nut. We’re grateful they had the opportunity to work with Sports Nut over the last few years.
Danielle / Davenies Swim School Parent
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THANK YOU all so much for the amazing support you’ve given our son! When I think about how far he’s come from when we started, it’s truly amazing! There were times that I honestly thought he’d never crack it, but with all your support and belief he finally nailed it and I couldn’t be more proud!! So thank you!! And I know it’s a strange time, but please keep doing what you’re doing because you really are making a difference!
Jen / Godstowe Swim School Parent
