Why is it so hard to get my child into swimming lessons in Cork?

Most activities are in demand, from gymnastics to soccer, but swimming classes are the most elusive of all the after-school activities. After the initial pleasantries at the school gates, the anecdotes about swimming classes come thick and fast.

“I was trying to sign so-and-so up for swimming and it was like trying to get tickets for Coldplay. We had to register for a link, but the link was only available at 7am on Facebook and only the first 50 people could access it. And that was just the first step!

“It feels like the Hunger Games. Fighting for this limited number of spaces. I genuinely think people would step over their own mother to get a place.”

“We’d had our two boys on a waiting list for swimming lessons for almost three years. In the end, we were literally in the right place at the right time, and finally got two places. It was like winning the lotto!” Why are swimming classes like gold dust?

Many after-school activities are incredibly popular and over-subscribed. But swimming has limitations that other activities don’t have. 

Namely, the number of children that can be taken in class at any given time — it’s typically no more than 10; the number of pools in a particular area; and the number of teachers. These constraints combine to create seemingly endless waiting lists, where kids can languish for years.

In general, though, the time a child spends on a waiting list is hard to pin down. It’s not quite as straightforward as “first on the list is first to get called”, according to an experienced swimming teacher in East Cork.

“Spaces can open up throughout the programme as children move up a level or finish the programme. This means that some kids who may have only been on the list for a relatively short time can get called up to fill these spaces, while other kids, mainly in the younger age groups, can sit on the list for longer.”

In the world of swimming classes, for many, private classes are like the Holy Grail. Your child gets one-on-one direction and attention, which can speed up the learning in certain situations. 

But private lessons also have their limitations; in most pools, teachers are required to balance the number of group classes and private classes they offer, making private lessons difficult to pin down. Naturally, they are also more expensive.

Group swimming lessons cost around €60-85 for six weeks, while private lessons come in at around €180 for six weeks. Unsurprisingly, the waiting lists for private classes can be lengthy; in some cases, up to three years long.

The number of kids on each pool’s waiting list can and does number in the hundreds. Most pools will close their list when it reaches a certain point. 

The news that a pool’s waiting list has been closed quickly filters down to the school gates and is generally met with frustration by parents eager to get their kids into classes. While parents’ frustration is generally directed at the particular pool, it is more complicated than that.

“The pools make their way through the lists and try their best to get as many children as possible into classes. But the demand on the existing facilities is too high,” explained the East Cork swimming teacher.

Let’s look at the East Cork area with its population of approximately 45,500. Over 16,000 families live in the area. Even if all those families have just one child, that’s almost 20,000 kids. 

With just four pools offering swimming lessons in East Cork, you can quickly see that the numbers don’t add up.

People do move further afield looking for classes, but it’s a similar story in other towns and regions around Cork.

The facilities are limited.

How can parents help?

Every little helps as they say, and parents can play a role in moving things along. 

“Take your kids swimming. Get them comfortable in the water before any swimming lessons. Let them have fun. Play games that include them getting water in their faces and even dunking their heads in the water. The idea is to build up that familiarity with water. This will stand them in good stead when they do start swimming classes.”

“What we see happening is children of around five turning up for swimming classes who may be afraid of the water and not want water in their face. We can and do help these kids progress, that’s our job, but it can take as long as six months for a child to get their face in the water in a class environment. So you can see how much that can add to the time it takes for them to complete the programme.” 

In a typical scenario where a child is getting swimming classes once a week, and practises separately once or twice a week, they will make it through the swimming programme in around a year. 

Of course, not every child is the same, and some don’t take to the water as quickly as others, that’s normal. This does mean that the timeframes are arbitrary and difficult to predict.

Why is swimming such a popular after-school activity?

With so many activities available, why is swimming so incredibly popular? First and foremost, swimming is a life skill. Being able to swim could save your life. The act of swimming, the strokes, are just one element kids learn in swimming classes. They also learn crucial water competency skills that help them to stay safe in the water, including: being able to get in and out of a pool safely, hold their breath, tread water, and float.

As a physical activity, swimming builds up your child’s strength and endurance. It’s beneficial to cardiovascular health because it gets the heart and lungs working together like a well-oiled machine. It also helps to improve your child’s lung capacity, teaching them to control their breathing, a vital skill that can help in other areas of life. Like any other physical activity, swimming can help reduce stress and anxiety and improve coordination and focus.

The benefits are clear, and that’s why so many parents persevere with the waiting lists, and the complicated registration processes. Unfortunately, unless more facilities become available, the current situation is likely to continue. Because it does boil down to facilities, and right now, there simply isn’t enough to cope.