Swim Lessons
(Updated, February 5, 2025) The Mount Rainier Pool strives to provide a fun and safe atmosphere for swim lessons for all ages and members of our community. We believe swimming is an essential life skill and a healthy recreational activity. We are committed to training our staff and community about the importance of water safety. To enhance the quality of our lessons, we follow the American Red Cross standards and work toward the swim lesson certification of instructors. Finally, we work to keep our classes affordable and have scholarship options of up to 90 percent off for Des Moines and Normandy Park residents.
The Mount Rainier Pool offers progressive swim lessons, where current students are given priority to register. This ensures higher-quality lessons and helps better allocate staff to serve the most people per session. See below for more information in Registration.
SWIM LESSON HANDBOOK(Updated February 5): Click here for more detailed information, including swim level selector, scholarships, adult lessons, etc.
EXACT SWIM LESSON CLASS TIMES: The exact class lesson times will be posted the Friday before each set of lesson registration.
TRANSLATION SECTION (See Section Below): PDF documents for the Swim Lesson Handbook, Selection Guide, ARC Class Levels and Exact Class Times will be posted at the bottom of the page. PDFs do not automatically translate with Google Translate. If a document is not available in your language, you can use this link to translate most PDF documents on our site
EARLY SPRING (2025) REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Below are the steps for registering as either a current or new student. Current students must have participated in the last session offered and have no more than two unexcused absences.
Current Student Information
Current Students receive prioritization for swim lesson registration. This helps create quality and consistency in our swim programs. See exact swim registration information below for Current Student Registration Priority.
Current Students participated in the last session of swim lessons. This does not include people who were placed on waitlists. For Early Spring 2025, Current Students must have participated in Winter 2025 lessons. To be considered a Current Student, one must have two or fewer unexcused absences. See Swim Lesson Handbook for more information.
CHECK ON CURRENT STUDENT STATUS
To check if you are your child is a Current Student, please call us at (206) 824-4722. Please call us a minimum of 2-3 business days before registration.
SWIM LESSON HANDBOOK(Updated February 5)
Click here for more detailed information, including swim level selector, scholarships, adult lessons, etc.
New Student Information
Swim lessons at the Mount Rainier Pool follow a progressive format. Students move up to the next level after they have mastered skills from the previous level. We have setup recommendations before registering for First-Time Swimmers, Transfer Students and Non-Current Students. New Students can register after Current Student. See registration below for more detailed information.
| NEW STUDENTS | ||
| First-Time Swimmer | Transfer Student | Non-Current Students |
| Swimmer that has not taken group swim lessons. | Swimmer that has transferred from another pool’s swim lesson program. | Swimmer that has taken swim lessons at Mt Rainier Pool, six months. New swim evaluation required past six month. |
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1. Create an Account 2. No Swim Evaluation needed (only allowed to register for P&C 1, PSA 1, LTS 1 & Adult Beginner without swim evaluation) 3. Sign Up for Lessons
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1. Create an Account 2. Take a Swim Evaluation 3. Sign Up for Lessons
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1. New Swim Evaluation 2. Sign Up for Lessons
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SWIM LESSON HANDBOOK(Updated February 5)
Click here for more detailed information, including swim level selector, scholarships, adult lessons, etc.
SWIM LESSON LEVELS OVERVIEW
Want more information on the different swim levels we offer? Click here to view more information on swim lesson levels.
SWIM LESSON LEVEL SELECTION GUIDE
Click here to use this guide to help you or your child(ren) find the right swim lesson level.
REGISTRATION PROCESS/DAYS
Registration priority will follow the 1,2,3 system to ensure residents are prioritized for registration. Please register promptly on the dates listed below as there is a strong demand for swim lessons in the area.
| Resident* | Non-Resident | |
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Current Student Registration
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(1) CURRENT STUDENTS’ REGISTRATION Tuesday, March 11, starts at 4:30pm |
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New or Non-Current Student Registration
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(2) RESIDENT* Thursday, March 13, 5-6:30pm |
(3) NON-RESIDENT* Thursday, March 13, 6:30-8pm |
*Residents of Des Moines and Normandy Park.
SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE
The Mount Rainier Pool set a deadline of Tuesday, March 4. This deadline is to ensure part all scholarships are in on time. For more information on scholarships, please download the Swim Lesson Handbook.
REGISTRATION METHODS
The Mount Rainier Pool now offers three ways to register for all swim lessons. Phone, In-Person and Online. See below for more detailed information.
- Phone: Please stay online if you are on hold during registration. This is due to high call volumes. Our call tree will queue users, and we will answer calls in the order received. Any messages left will be answered after we have responded to the rush of all current calls.
- In-person Registration: People can wait as early as 45 minutes before registration opens. Numbers will be issued, and staff will call out numbers as registrars are available. Anyone who comes in early to get a number and then leaves will lose their turn and must get a new number.
- *Online Registration: Online registration is now available for ALL students. Please read our Swim Lesson Handbook for more detailed information. Click here to create an account or register online.
EARLY SPRING CLASS INFORMATION
Winter Swim Lessons will have two options: weekdays: (1) Monday and Wednesday (2) Saturdays. Current students will receive priority in signing up for all options.
CLASS SCHEDULE DETAILS
Classes are 25-30 minutes long, depending on the level. Exact class times will be posted Friday, March 7, 2025.
| Day | Time of Day | Times | Class Dates |
| Monday and Wednesday | Evening | 4-6 p.m. | 4/14-5/7 (8 classes) |
| Saturday | Morning | 8:30-11:30 a.m. | 3/22-5/10 (8 classes) |
*Adult lessons are offered before and after youth group lessons. For Early Spring 2025, they will be offered on Mondays and Wednesdays, 7:15-8 p.m. and Saturdays, 7:45-8:30 a.m. (see exact dates below).
CLASS PRICING DETAILS
There are no grants for free swim lessons available, but there are scholarships available for residents of Des Moines and Normandy Park for 90% of the class price. The prices below are for an 8-session course. The rates below are the new 2025 rates that will take effect January 1, 2025.
| Parent & Child (Ages 6 months to 3 years) |
Pre-Levels (Ages 4-6 Years) |
Learn-to-Swim Levels (Ages 7-14 Years) |
Adult (Ages 15+Years) |
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| Resident* | $68.00 | $68.00 | $68.00 | $68.00 |
| Non-Resident | $82.00 | $82.00 | $82.00 | $82.00 |
There is no pro-rationing of class fees, even after the start of classes. Also, there is a $10 processing fee for cancellations. See section below for more information.
SWIM LESSON LEVELS OVERVIEW
Want more information on the different swim levels we offer? Click here to view more information on swim lesson levels.
SWIM LESSON LEVEL SELECTION GUIDE
Click here to use this guide to help you or your child(ren) find the right swim lesson level.
SWIM LESSON HANDBOOK(Updated February 5)
Click here for more detailed information, including swim level selector, scholarships, adult lessons, etc.
WINTER SWIM LESSON PRACTICE TIMES (Updated February 3)
February 3 – March 9: Tuesdays, 5-6pm and Saturdays, 11:30am-1pm
TRANSLATED DOWNLOADABLE DOCUMENTS
The Mount Rainier Pool utilizes Google Translate to translate our website and registration portal. We utilize PDF attachments to be more concise for most users, while offering more detailed information through downloadable PDF attachments. Currently, we translate documents to Arabic, Punjabi, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Swim Lesson Handbook (Translated)
Swim Lesson Selection Guide (Translated)
Swim Lesson Levels Overview (Translated)
If you need this document translated to another language, we suggest you utilize Google Translate.
MORE INFORMATION
SWIM LESSON HANDBOOK(Updated February 5)
Click here for more detailed information, including swim level selector, scholarships, adult lessons, etc.
CONTACT US
Have a question or do you need to speak to someone? Call us at (206) 824-4722 or email our Front Desk at Front.Desk@DesMoinesPool.org.