Huntingdon Swimming

Hi and welcome to Huntingdon Swimming!

My name is Rachael and I currently teach at 4 swim schools in and around Huntingdon. My students range from pre-school children, over 3 years of age, to adults and from non-swimmer to the “pre-swimming club” stages. I also teach both adults and children on a one-to-one basis.

I have been involved with teaching swimming for 3 years and have been teaching in my own classes for nearly a year, as a qualified Level 2 teacher and I love every minute!

• I can highly recommend Rachael Luckham to teach your children swimming – can’t believe how far Tilly has come in the first 3 days of her crash course – Hayley Pepper 3rd August 2011

QUALIFICATIONS:

ASA Level 2 Teaching Aquatics

National Rescue Award For Swimming Teachers And Coaches (NRASTC)

BA (Hons) Sport Studies

I am also CRB checked and cleared

Getting in touch:

If you would like more information about swimming lessons in the Huntingdon area, or would like to book yourself or your children into swimming lessons please get in touch through the contact link on this site or directly through: rachael@huntingdonswimming.info

I currently work at 4 sites around Huntingdonshire so we can book you into the one that best meets your requirements.
I will provide you with all the details, and we can then go about getting you or your children booked in and starting swimming lessons as soon as possible!!

If you would like to book a one-to-one lesson please get in touch, and again we will talk about which location is going to be the best for you to get to, and work out what time suits us best

Saturday 29th October 2011 1pm – 3pm @ La Fitness Huntingdon

Your child will be assessed against the swimming criteria set out in the National Plan for Teaching Swimming. They will be assessed by a qualified Level 2 swimming teacher and you will be informed which stage of lessons are best suited to them.

Most importantly, it’s all FREE!

Spaces for these assessments are limited (only eight) so please get your names down asap!

This is the ideal time to see whether swimming with Community Swimming at La Fitness is for you!

Get in touch now if you want to book your child’s place for a FREE swimming assessment!

Happy Swimming!

Triathlon Training – The Swim Stage

Since the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, the Triathlon has proved to be a very popular sport for people to be taking part in. It is now one of the fastest growing sports in the UK.

Triathlons are timed from the minute the swim stage starts and until the run is completed and it is important to ensure that you make the most of each stage of the competition including the transition phases.

Typically the weakest leg of a triathlon is the initial Swim stage. There could be many factors why this is the case.

Swimming in open water, unlike in a pool where the water is more calm, there are many things that swimmers have to consider and deal with including the elements, waves and currents and, possibly most important of all, conserving enough energy in the legs in order to not impact to heavily on their ability to do well in the stages that following the swim: the bike ride, and the run.

If you already take part in triathlons, or are looking to start, it is never too late to seek assistance in improving your strokes to help make your swim as good as possible.

As a qualified ASA level 2 swimming teacher I have experience teaching all abilities of swimming, and am able to assess your stroke and offer corrections to help improve your swimming as much as possible.

So if your’e training for a triathlon and want to improve your stroke to make the most of the swim stage, get in touch through the contact button.

If you are looking for a local source of equipment, clothing and nutitional supplements you should try Trisportsplus at 77 High St, Huntingdon, PE29 3EN. They will get you sorted. Click here for the website.

Whether you can’t make the times that group swimming lessons are being run, or simply would prefer to be taught away from the group environment with just the teacher, a one-to-one lesson may be the best thing for you.

While a one-to-one lesson is a little more expensive than taking part in a group lesson, it does have its advantages.

You are being taught a lesson which specifically meets your personal needs; you will be given both encouragement and stroke corrections specifically designed for you.

This could mean that you progress at a faster pace through the swimming stages, whether you looking to learn to swim from scratch or are looking to improve the basic swim skills you have, or are looking for specific stroke correction guidance.

It can also mean that you are moving through the swim stages at a pace that suits you personally. You won’t be made to do something you don’t want to do, or aren’t comfortable doing.

You will be taught by a qualified ASA Level 2 teacher who will teach you in the pool at beginner stage, or until required, and from pool side from the intermediate stage onwards.

What’s Happening Now?

With the summer holidays fast approaching, and swim schools finishing their lessons until September, is that it for swimming lessons this summer? NO!

CRASH COURSES:

Through Community Swimming (one of the 4 swim schools I work for) we are running some summer crash courses.

If you want to get your children into swimming lessons before the new term starts in September, get them signed up! Spaces are going to be limited and only a few sessions a day are going to be available. Different weeks will mean different swim abilities can benefit from the extra lessons being ran this summer.

So if your children have never been swimming at all and you’re thinking you would like to get them into lessons but don’t want to wait until September then a crash course is most definately for you!

Please contact me for more information!

One-to-Ones

One-to-One lessons for both adults and children are still available throughout the summer. So if you are unable to make a crash course, or simply want a private lesson, please get in touch,

Watch this space for dates, times and ability levels!

6 Good Reasons to get your child into swimming

1. Safety!
   By getting your children into swimming lessons will give you peace of mind that your child will feel safe near water whether at home or on holiday.
   
2. A great sense of achievement!
   Children can start swimming lessons from the age of around 3 (dependent upon the swim school) and there are so many things for your child to achieve while in the non-swimmer stage, from simply getting in the pool, to their first jump, and swimming without armbands or disks. 

3. Don’t Wait for School:
   
   • Most children will take part in swimming lessons in school, so getting your children into swimming early can make your child so much more confident when swimming during PE lessons.
   • Although school swimming lessons are beneficial the class numbers are larger than those in lessons run by swim schools.
   • Swim school lessons will therefore mean your child can receive more attention from the teacher and improve their swimming so much quicker.
   • School swimming lessons usually last only a term, while swim schools lessons continue throughout the year. They do break during normal school holidays but most swim schools run crash courses where children can take part in lesson through the holidays. This means your children are able to continue to improve as well as work on areas that they may be struggling with so they don’t fall to far behind the rest of the class.

   
   

4. Swimming pools and beyond:
   
   • Being able to swim opens up so many more opportunities for both children and their parents.
   • Even having basic swimming skills can help with activities like rock pooling, or play on the beach.
   • Being able to swim opens up the world of water sports to both your children and yourself!

   
   

5. Exercise!
   Swimming lessons are usually 30 minutes in length, and will help with achieving the government’s recommendations for the amount of physical activity children should do per day. 

6. Stop your fears affecting your children.
   
   • If you can’t swim and/or have a fear of the water, don’t let this stop you from taking your children to swimming lessons.
   • From the age of around 3 children are able to take lessons (dependant on swim school) with other children, and are taught by a qualified ASA level 2 swimming teacher. They are also usually assisted by a qualified ASA level 1 (dependant on numbers).
   • This means you won’t have to get in the water, in fact the closest  you may go will be to escort your child (more so when they are just starting) to the pool side.
   • A lot of parents tend to delay getting their children into swimming because of their own fears and aren’t aware of how much their fear of water effects their children.  Swimming is a life skill and will only benefit them when they are older.

Adult Swimming Lessons

Whether you are 20 years old or 120 years old, it’s never too late to learn to swim!

5 Good Reasons to Learn to Swim

1. Get Over Your Fears:
   

• Don’t let your fear of water stop you from enjoying swimming, whether at the local pool or on holiday with family and friends. It’s never too late to start lessons.
• Adult lessons are taught by a qualified ASA Level 2 teacher, and where numbers are small, or during a one-to-one lesson the teacher will be in the pool with you to reassure you from start to finish.
• You won’t feel that you are being pushed harder than you want to be, lessons are catered to what you want to achieve and you’re never made to do something that you are not comfortable doing.
• It’s all about building your confidence, and working at a pace that you’re happy with.

• Opening doors:
  

• Learning to swim and building water confidence can open up so many opportunities from taking part in aqua classes at the local leisure centre to heading out on boat trips or even a pedalo while on holiday. 
• You really will be amazed at what water confidence will allow you to do!

• Exercise:
  

• Taking part in swimming will help you achieve the recommended physical activity guideline set by the government of 30 minutes 5 times per week.
• Swimming is also a non-weight bearing exercise, so it’s great for both young and elderly people.

• Enjoyment:
  • Swimming lessons or other aqua activities are a great social activity, get together with old friends and make new friends by taking part.
  • Swimming will also make you feel better as exercising releases endorphins which make you happy!

  
  

• Learn something new!

• Being able to learn something new at whatever age is always a huge achievement. Learning a life skill like swimming makes that achievement a little bit more special, just think of all the benefits and fun times you will be able to have in the future, from taking part in Aqua fit classes to playing with your children or grandchildren in the swimming pool on holiday.