Year 7&8 swim lessons start the first Monday of term 3

WRAC have sent us some information around their extension testing process for our year 7 & 8 students. For students to be eligible for the extension program they need to pass the following tests:

Extension Testing Process

When testing for extensions, we are looking for a number of essential things. The test is broken into 2 parts. The first is run in the programmes pool, and the second in the main pool.

1. The first test is the student showing us good freestyle swimming for 25metres without stopping.

By good freestyle we mean:

• Head down, face in the water
• Breathing every 3rd or 4th stroke
• Proper breathing position
• No stopping

(Those that don’t pass this test, are then tested further in the programmes pool to see which Learn to swim group they should be placed in).

1. The second part is where we take those students who have passed the first test into the main pool for deep water testing in the 2m and 5m:

Here they need to be able to do the following.

• 50 Freestyle
• 50 Backstroke
• Duck diving
• Treading water
• Swimming without googles

(What we are looking for, is not only confidence in deep water, but confidence that is backed up with ability, and is consistent for the duration of our extension class).

Around deep water there are so many things that could go wrong and go wrong very quickly. One of the most important things we can give a student in our lesson programme is for them to have the confidence to be self-aware of their abilities and their limitations. Having that confidence to happily acknowledge one's limitations when swimming outside a patrolled (controlled) environment, like the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre, cannot be underestimated. 

If your child is a competent swimmer please ensure they are practising their swimming in readiness for this testing in term 3.