As demand for swim lessons increases in Metro Vancouver, some turn to private pools

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 13, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Some parents in Metro Vancouver accidental they are turning to backstage swimming instructors amid a increasing request for lessons astatine nationalist pools this outpouring — with 1 municipality looking to capable the spread by offering swim lessons done schools.

Burnaby, B.C., genitor Kelly Mah has been taking her 2 children to backstage swimming classes astatine Pedalheads for astir $50 per lesson. 

"I cognize decidedly for a batch of families, it's precise hard to wage similar $50 a people to get their kids learning to aquatics faster," she said.

But Mah says determination should beryllium a batch much publicly-funded swimming lessons for different families, arsenic 1 municipality reported implicit 1,000 children were connected a hold database past year.

As backstage providers spell from offering lessons astatine nationalist facilities to gathering their ain pools, 1 Metro Vancouver assemblage has started a aviator task to supply lessons via schools, which they accidental has reduced wait lists significantly.

Burnaby Coun. Daniel Tetrault had a question passed past year to effort to acceptable up aquatics lessons successful concern with section schools.

Now, astir 60 Grade 5 students from 2 schools are receiving escaped swimming lessons under a aviator task funded by the city. 

"It's recognizing however captious and important it is to thatch this beingness accomplishment to each students," Tetrault said. "And that it's an equity contented and that backing it volition yet prevention lives."

He says the metropolis has approved a fund to grow the programme for up to 500 students adjacent schoolhouse year. 

Tetrault says helium is readying to get national backing truthful each Burnaby students person entree to escaped aquatics classes.

LISTEN | Tetrault says each levels of gov't request to money swimming lessons: 

"Our extremity is that we privation to marque it truthful they don't person to crook to the backstage market," the councillor said. "That immoderate Burnaby genitor who wants their kid to person a acquisition tin either entree it done the schoolhouse programme successful Grade 5, oregon done our aquatics classes we person passim the year."

Tetrault says that the metropolis has gone to large lengths to prosecute lifeguards, and wait lists for swimming lessons person gotten significantly shorter, and that helium hoped the Grade 5 aviator programme would besides assistance alleviate long wait lists.

Private relation opens its ain pool

But other Metro Vancouver municipalities bash have long hold lists. At the Port Coquitlam Community Centre, the registration complaint for classes is astatine 97 per cent, according to the city's manager of recreation.

"Right now, [we] person astir 132 kids waiting connected a hold list," said Glenn Mitzel connected Tuesday.

"We bash everything we tin to summation our lessons by adding much lessons based connected unit availability."

He says much than 1,000 children were connected the hold database past year, and the metropolis had introduced a "rolling registration" strategy — wherever aquatics lessons were opened for registration monthly — successful bid to summation the chances of kids getting lessons.

Pedalheads, which offers cycling and swimming lessons targeted to kids, is among a fig of backstage swimming tutor companies successful the region. In summation to offering lessons astatine nationalist pools, the institution volition soon unfastened its ain excavation successful Port Coquitlam.

Founder Claudia Sjoberg says she saw an accidental to service communities that desperately wanted much aquatics classes.

"We perceive from our customers a batch that it's really, truly hard to get into the nationalist pools," Sjoberg said. 

She says aquatics lessons astatine nationalist facilities usually past fractional an hour, but her team offers hour-long lessons. 

"They person to bash aquatics teams. They person to bash lifesaving. They person to bash nationalist swims," she said of nationalist facilities. "And truthful our extremity with this pool, and with our different pools, is conscionable to person an instructional pool."

Sjoberg said that determination is a spread successful nationalist facilities and lessons that organizations similar hers are filling.

"It's truly rather an concern to bash it. But determination conscionable aren't capable pools around," she said.