Swimming 43 One of the first activities that campers participate in once camp begins is a session on Waterfront rules and procedures. All campers receive the same message, and hear the same expectations for safe and enjoyable participation, regardless of how long they have been attending Echo Lake. Each camper is evaluated by the Waterfront Staff to assess their swimming ability. During this evaluation, we are looking mainly for confidence and endurance in the water. The results of the evaluation allow us to place each child in one of three categories for general swim: Shallow, Middle or Deep. The initial assessment is often just a starting point, as many children who don’t swim much at home, quickly improve in strength and confidence and move up to another level quite rapidly. For those for whom this presents a bigger challenge, we immediately begin one-on-one lessons so that each child can move on to the highest level possible. Camper Swim Tests Swim Instruction Each of the Red Cross levels contain specific stroke competencies for the campers to demonstrate before moving on to the next tier of skills. In addition, each level contains an important set of safety skills that align with the technical skills that the campers learn. A record of each camper’s swimming progress is kept at the end of every summer. Returning campers are placed the following summer based on the highest level that they attained the previous summer. Classes are very small – with a 1:6 ratio on average – and are designed to make sure that each camper gets as much individual attention as possible. Our waterfront staff submits written lesson plans that our Waterfront Director, Terry Begly, reviews and keeps on file for future reference. The Junior campers have an instructional swim period four to five days per week and a general swim period daily. The Inter campers have an instructional swim period two days per week and a general swim period daily. Our Senior Village campers have general swim, and may also choose other water-related activities as an elective.