Welcome to Starfish Aquatic Club. We are a small private swim lesson company that provides lessons for children from 6 months to adults in the Morris, Essex, Union, Middlesex and Somerset Counties.
To help with your swimming needs, here are some commonly asked questions about our program:
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Q: What happens if lessons are cancelled due to poor weather or a facility issue? Do I get a makeup?
If we need to cancel for a weather or facility related issue, we will provide a makeup for your class. We do not provide credits or refunds for classes that we have to cancel. Please note that the weather and facility issues are not within our power to control, and sometimes we are forced to cancel lessons at a last minute notice. If this is the case, we HIGHLY encourage you to sign up for our text blast system in your account where we will contact you immediately if we are forced to cancel lessons.
We will also post on our Facebook page, as well as send a blast email out whenever we have to cancel. We will not call every family as we do not have the man power to make phone calls to all the families taking lessons with us.
If in the event we do have to cancel lessons at any of our facilities, we will ask you to submit a request for a makeup. To request a makeup request please follow this form: Makeup Request Form.
Q: When can I enroll for an upcoming session?
We run lessons every month and have an automatic re-enrollment system starting in January 2020. Enrollment can happen at any time, and your student will automatically be enrolled into the next month. If you would like to drop from lessons, you simply need to submit a drop notice prior to the 15th of the month prior to the start of the next month of lessons. To see our session dates, please visit our Session Dates page.
Q: What do I do if my child needs to miss a class?
Here at Starfish Aquatic Club there are LIMITED makeup spots available for all classes and must be completed within 2 weeks of the missed class. Makeups are scheduled within open classes that run each week. To request a makeup if you cannot make your lesson, you can do so here: Makeup Request Form.
Q: What should I bring with me to lessons?
Your student will need to have a swim suit, towel and swim diaper (if applicable). You do not need to bring goggles unless your student wants to use them. No flotation devices of any kind are permitted in lessons. If your students needs to use one in the pool, one will be provided by Starfish Aquatic Club during their lessons.
Q: What if my student cries or is scared?
As instructors, we understand how hard it can be to watch your student cry or be scared. One thing to consider is that we have raised our children to a)not talk to strangers b)stay away from water. Then we put them in the water with a stranger. This can be scary for some children. Learning trust is a big part of swimming. Trust is gained over time, not just a few lessons.
Our instructors are all trained in how to handle these situations. They will try to ease them in the water by playing games, and playing with toys. If you need assistance with your child, please let our staff know so they can assist you. We want all of our students to feel comfortable in the water and to enjoy their lessons. Again, this may take a few lessons, so if your child is still crying after 1-2 lessons, or even 3 or 4, this is all normal. It is important to CONTINUE lessons even if your child is crying or scared. It is much more difficult to transition a child back in lessons, after they have been removed from a session.
Q: How do I contact my child’s teacher?
We do not give out our instructors information for privacy reasons. If you need to contact a specific instructor, please email [email protected] and put the instructor’s name in the subject line. We will then forward your email to them.
Q: How long should we take lessons for, how many lessons will it take for my child to learn, and should I take the winter off?
There is no specific length of time that a student will learn how to swim. It is dependent on the student, and their comfort level. Each student learns at a different pace. It has been proven that children who take year round swim lessons learn to swim and be safe in the water at a faster pace than those children who take sessions off during the winter months. When children take time off they lose the skills they have gained through the session, and is much harder to return to lessons after a few months and transition back.
The winter months are not a dangerous time for your child to be swimming. If you are afraid of your student getting sick, you cannot “get sick” from swimming in the winter. Colds, flus, viruses, etc. are not caused by being cold, but by passing germs. In fact, children who remain physically active during the winter months typically maintain a healthy immune system. if you are afraid of your student getting too cold during the winter swimming months, we recommend a warm hat, scarf and coat and drying their hair before going in the cold. A wet suit will also help keep them warmer in the pool, however most indoor pools are kept between 82-86 degrees. Here is a link to purchase a wet suit: Wet Suits.
Q: How do I register for lessons?
All of our enrollment is done online for your ease and convenience. You can enroll at any time from the comfort of your home or work, and do not have to wait in any lines, mail in any forms, or go to any of our facilities. Each class has a class description located on our website: Class Descriptions which give you links to our schedules.
To request your lessons, simply click on the New Customer or Returning Customer link and click on request forms. You can request your lessons from there, or you can enroll in any class that is still available for the current month listed below.
Please do not hesitate to request your lessons through the request forms at any time. If a class is not listed, it may be a class that can be created.
Q: Can my student practice or play in the pool after or before their lesson?
Your student is only covered by the Starfish Aquatic Club, Inc. insurance policy while your student is with their instructor, and are not covered by insurance when they are not being instructed. Students are NOT PERMITTED in the water before or after their lessons without their instructor at ANY TIME at any of the facilities that Starfish Aquatic Club utilizes. Please ensure that your student is out of the water once their lesson is completed, and do not allow your student in the water until the instructor has greeted you. Students are also not permitted in the hot tubs at any of the locations.
Starfish Aquatic Club provides a supervised open swim for ages 3 and over once per week which is free to participate in, and limited to 12 students each weekend.
Membership at LA Fitness locations is NOT PERMITTED for students who are under the age of 16.
Q: How do I cancel and get a refund for my lessons?
We understand there are circumstances where it might be necessary to cancel your lessons. If this is required, please let us know and we will issue a credit for the full amount to be used towards another session of lessons, or a pro-rated cost for a remainder of a session if it is a medical emergency. A medical emergency includes: hospital stay, unexpected surgery, broken limb, or other emergency reasons where a student cannot continue their lessons for a long period of time. A medical emergency does not include: colds, viruses, allergies, flu’s, etc. All medical emergencies must be followed by a doctor’s note, and the credit will be at the discretion of Starfish Aquatic Club.
NO REFUNDS ARE ISSUED. All cancellations of lessons will be issued a credit to use towards future lessons.[bg_faq_end]
For more swimming lesson resources, please feel free to click here
If you have any other questions about our program that you cannot find here, please feel free to email us with your question.