Parents in Seattle, take a note: if your kids are between the ages of 6-16 and haven't learned to paddle their way around water yet, the city has got you covered. It's basically Christmas in June for swimming newbies, because the Seattle Parks and Recreation is offering free beach swimming lessons at all lifeguarded beaches this summer. For those interested, you better move fast – registration by email is open until June 21st, and after that, it's in-person sign-ups during beach hours only.
According to the logistics posted on Seattle Parks and Recreation, there are both midday and evening sessions. We're talking a cool dip and swim instruction from 12:15-12:45 pm, Monday through Friday, with several sessions stretching from July 1st to August 23rd, and for the night owls (or those who simply can’t stand the daytime heat), evening lessons on Tuesdays or Thursdays from 5:30-6:00 pm. But remember, the golden rule: one session per kiddo, let's not get greedy now.
However, let's not forget this is Seattle we’re talking about. The free lessons are as weather dependent as your weekend hiking plans. They can get called off for poor weather or, if it's scorching hot, when lifeguards are needed for extra surveillance duty – because safety, folks, it's always first. So, keep an eye on the skies and maybe have a backup plan for those days when Mother Nature decides to play spoilsport.
To snag a spot for your child, just shoot an email over to [email protected] with your child’s full name, their age, your name and number, and preferred sessions and locations. Easy peasy. Remember, life jackets float, opportunities like this don’t – so if you're reading this, and it's past June 21st, get yourself to a beach pronto for sign-up, and maybe catch some rays while you're at it.
