FAQs

To figure out which level would best suit your child's current skill level in the water start by reading the Class Level Descriptions. Please be honest in your assessment, as we want each swimmer to feel confident in the class in which they swim. On the first day of lessons for Intermediate, Advanced and Expert levels your child will be given a swim evaluation to confirm they are registered in the correct lesson for their abilities.

Excel Aquatics offers private swim lessons for infants 6 - 35 months at the Columbia Aquatics & Recreation Center ONLY. Please contact swim school director coachcat@excelaquatics.org for question.

Register your child using the menu option above labeled Lesson Schedules & Registration. Select the program, location, day of the week, session, and/ or times offered from the left column of filters. Click on the Register button or the Wait List button for the class you want to begin the registration.

You will be required to set up an account and enter your credit card information. If you are on the wait list for a class, you will have to enter credit card information, but the fees will not be charged until your child is entered in the class. 

We recommend that you use Chrome or Firefox as your browser to complete your registration. You will receive an email receipt when registration is successfully completed. If you do not, then the registration was not successful. Please make note of the dates of the class as no other confirmation will be sent.

The answer to this question is almost always, no. In very rare cases, we have had swimmers master the skills taught at a level in one session, however that is not typical. If your child is 3-5 years of age, it will almost certainly take them multiple sessions to master the skills taught at the Novice or Intermediate levels. You should plan to register for multiple sessions.

They must be able to pass the skills required for Intermediate. These skills are listed on the Class Descriptions page along with a video. At the first Intermediate lesson, your child will be given a skills assessment. If your child is not able to complete the skills to partake in that class, your child will have to go back to Novice level lessons.

We ask that families familiarize themselves with the Swim School Policies regarding attendance, refunds, make-ups, etc. In short, you will receive a full refund if you cancel the registration 7 days prior to the start of the session for group and private lessons.  Per class refunds will only be issued if the group lesson is canceled by Excel Aquatics due to pool closure/weather or other unforeseen issues that force cancelation.

For group lessons, after the swim lesson session starts, there are no refunds or make up classes if a child misses a class. For private lessons, 24 hour notice via email must be made to the swim school director of the location that your child takes lessons to either reschedule or receive a refund for a missed private lesson.  However, if a class (group or private) is cancelled by Excel Aquatics due to pool closure/weather or unforeseen issues that force the cancellation, Excel Aquatics will provide a refund or make up lesson.

We offer lessons at the Brentwood ISC, Franklin Rec Center, Longview Rec Center, and Sportscom on a year-round basis. We offer lessons at the Nolensville Rec Center, Fairview Rec Center, and Kennesaw Farms Club House Pool in Gallatin during the summer months.

Novice level - we require that they learn to swim WITHOUT goggles. The reasoning is that should they ever find themselves in the water unexpectedly, they will likely not be wearing goggles. We would like them to work through that fear in a controlled environment under our supervision.



Intermediate and Higher levels - we prefer that they wear goggles. Swimming without goggles can be very distracting when trying to master new skills such as side breathing and proper backstroke. We recommend the Speedo Vanquisher (Jr. or regular) or the TYR Swimple as a well fitting goggle for children's faces. Masks that cover the nose will not be allowed, as learning proper breath control is an integral part of learning to swim.

Swim caps are not required.  Children with long hair should have their hair pulled back out of their face to prevent distration. A swim cap is the easist way to contain hair.

No. Your child can wear any suit or swim trunks that they would normally wear to the pool. However, please make sure that it is well fitting and will not be a distraction while learning to swim.

Due to weather, we are sometimes forced to cancel classes at our outdoor locations, and there are times when cancelations happen at our indoor locations for other reasons. In most instances these cancelations must be done with very little notice. As soon as the decision is made to cancel a class we will notify everyone via email using the Team Unify (our web host) system you used to register your child for the class.