STAGE 1
Water adjustment. First float.
The starting stage of SwimSafer. Students become comfortable in shallow water, submerge briefly to blow bubbles, and hold a 5-second front or back float before recovering to standing.
Introduction to Water Skills
What students demonstrate
Stage 1 builds water confidence. To progress, students must complete each criterion below to the assessor's satisfaction.
- 5sec
Front or back float, recover to standing
- 10m
Movement on front, any combination
- 5m
Movement on back, any combination
Clothing for assessment. Assessed in swimwear, shorts and t-shirt. The added drag simulates realistic conditions if the student enters water unexpectedly while clothed.
On assessment day. A yellow swimming cap is issued to all Stage 1 participants when they arrive at the Centralised Assessment Centre.
Entries & Exits
- Slide-in entry.
- Exit using ladder and from pool edge.
Sculling & Body Orientation
- Front float (mushroom or jellyfish), 5 sec, recover to standing position.
- Back float, 5 sec, recover to a standing position.
Underwater Skills
- Submerge in waist-deep (student's) water, open eyes, blow bubbles and identify an object on the pool floor.
Movement / Swimming / Strokes
- Movement on front 10m (alternating arms & legs and/or simultaneous arms and legs).
- Movement on back 5m (alternating arms & legs and/or simultaneous arms and legs).
Survival & Activity Skills
What you wear & carry
Swimwear T-shirt Shorts PFD Goggles
- Signal distress and call for help.
- Grasp a flotation aid and float for 10 sec.
- Move to the pool's edge (with the float).
- Exit safely from water.
- Clothed in swimwear, shorts and t-shirt: correctly fit a PFD, jump into the water, float for 30 seconds, then climb out of deep water.
Knowledge
- Principles of Personal Safety and Survival.
- Environmental Awareness.
- Health Awareness.
- Emergency Situations and Survival Techniques.
- Rescues.
Watch: the skill in action
A short, muted loop showing Stage 1 criteria performed correctly.
VIDEO PLACEHOLDER
Stage 1 demonstration. Coming soon.
Self-hosted MP4 loop. 10–30 seconds, muted, autoplay, no third-party branding. Drop the file into /public/videos/stage-1.mp4 and add videoSrc to the stage data file.