Sink or Swim School: Making Swimming Fun For Everyone.
Sink or Swim is Charleston’s premier swim school. We are a dedicated team of professional swim instructors who are passionate about teaching the important skills that can keep you and your children safe around water. With our drowning prevention and self-rescue swimming lessons, we help all ages gain confidence in a fun, engaging environment. We also offer stroke, dive lessons, and swim team prep.
Our certified swim instructors teach students breath control, face down swimming, rolling back to float, and how to confidently repeat the swim-float-swim sequence to the edge of the pool. Each lesson builds confidence in an encouraging environment that lets each child progress at a pace they are comfortable with.
The perfect way to introduce your child to swimming
Enjoy the benefits of swimming for you and your child.
Your child will learn valuable skills that can save his or her life and parents benefit as well:
Learning valuable, life-saving skills.
Increase confidence around water.
A fun and relaxing social experience with other parents.
We work with all abilities and ages!
Through our dedicated drowning prevention lessons, your child will build the skills and confidence to be safe around water while having fun.
Why choose Sink or Swim?
Developed by experts in baby and child swimming education, we created a fun environment that encourages learning, parent/child bonding, and safety in everything we do. We are Charleston’s number one swim school, consistently valued by parents including 2017, 2019, and 2021 being voted as the Lowcountry Parent Mom’s Choice winner of Best Swim School in Charleston.
From solo lessons (ages 8 months to adult) to our small group lessons, we provide whatever you need for you or your child to learn valuable swimming skills.
PAYMENT
When you first register with Sink or Swim, you will be required to pay an annual registration fee as well as the cost of the first week of lessons up front as a deposit. We recommend signing up for as many classes as you are able to at this point since we fill up fast. After lessons start you will be emailed an invoice monthly. Invoices are emailed the last Thursday of each month for the upcoming month and must be paid before lessons start. If a package of lessons was purchased, full payment is required before the lessons begin.
SIBLING & MILITARY DISCOUNTS
Students will receive a 10% discount on swim lessons for each ADDITIONAL enrollment after the first child is registered. We offer military discounts of 10%; you must be an immediate family member for the military discount to apply and must submit proof to [email protected]. Only one discount applies to lessons. Military and sibling discounts do not apply to packages as they are already discounted.
ROOKIE SWIM LESSONS- REGISTRATION FEES ALSO APPLIES (SEE BELOW)
$33
Per Lesson
This program is for new students 8-months (strong crawling) to 4 years old with zero to some swimming/ floating skills. The student will learn proper breath control, how to roll to their back and float and for most students to swim-float-swim with confidence and able to perform all survival skills needed. Lessons are approximately 15 minutes long. Packages are available for a discounted rate. Lesson 3-4xs weekly are required and best for proper results. 3-4 weekly lessons at 30-40 lessons are typical for most students. The more you put into it, the more you will get out of the program! If the new student can handle a 30-minute lesson and is over 30 months old, please go to SINKorSwim Big Rookie. Registration fee of $40 will apply for all students annually. All registered students receive a logo T-shirt.
BIG ROOKIE- REGISTRATION FEE ALSO APPLIES (SEE BELOW)
$54
Per Lesson
This program is for new students or students 4 years and up with zero to some swimming skills. The student will learn proper breath control, how to roll to their back and float and for most students to swim-float-swim with confidence and able to perform all survival skills needed. If applicable the student will learn some stroke techniques. Lessons are approximately 30 minutes long and 2-3xs weekly are best for proper results. Lessons are $54 per lesson or packages for a better rate. Rates could spike up if off-season when using a heated pool. Registration fee of $40 will apply for students. All registered students receive a logo T-shirt.
SINKorSwim-Stroke/Returning Student
This is similar to BIG Rookie (30 minutes) and the same price. Stroke will be introduced and detailed skills. This program is for students 4 and up that have some skills, go under water and listen well. If you think the student will cry or maybe have some emotions, this is not the lesson type for you. Please start over and enroll into the Rookie, Big Rookie or level 1 GROUP.
GROUP SWIM LESSONS- REGISTRATION FEE ALSO APPLIES (SEE BELOW)
$25
Per Lesson
Children ages 4 & older. Swim Lessons are approximately 30 minutes with ONLY 4 students per instructor.
Level 1 is for new students with little to no swimming skills. They will learn basic swimming (going under water, floating, and swimming to side of pool are some of the skills they learn)
Level 2 is for students that enjoy going under water and have some skills.
Level 3 is for students with swimming skills looking to define their strokes. The will also learn to dive off a 12ft diving board into the deep end.
ROOKIE/ Refresher lessons - REGISTRATION FEE ALSO APPLIES (SEE BELOW)
$600
21 Rookie lessons for $600 ($92 savings) this may apply to rookie and rookie refresher 15-minute lessons. Expires 6 months after purchase or end of the season.
GROUP Level 1,2 or 3 - REGISTRATION FEE ALSO APPLIES (SEE BELOW)
$330
15 lessons for $330.00 ($45 savings), expires October 2023. This is good for all levels and may be applied to all levels, even if you start with a different level. This expires at the end of the 2024 season and no refunds.
A $5 late fee will be applied this year to invoices not paid within 5 days.
SINGLE REGISTRATION FEE $40
A $40.00 annual, non-refundable registration fee is due at sign-up. This one time fee paid every swimming year is in addition to lessons fees and covers all administrative changes required to a family’s account for 12 months. With enrollment you will receive one SinkorSwim t-shirt.
FAMILY REGISTRATION FEE $80
A $80.00 annual, non-refundable registration fee is due at sign-up. This one time fee paid every swimming year is in addition to lessons fees and covers all administrative changes required to a family’s account for 12 months. With enrollment you will receive a max of 3 SinkorSwim t-shirts per family.
MAKE-UP DAYS / CANCELLATION POLICIES
We have a strict NO REFUND policy. Once we reserve one of our lesson spots for the student, it becomes a spot we cannot sell to other customers. Please be sure to check your schedule for conflicts before committing to a session/ day/ time.
Swim lessons that result in a “no show” will be counted in your lesson package. If you didn’t purchase a package and you are a “no show,” there will be no refunds or credits. A 5-day notice of your lesson time is required to cancel and/or reschedule. Anything less than 5 days will result in a credit of 50% of your lesson fee. Instructors are paid per lesson they teach so the 50% covers the pay they lost due to a last-minute cancellation. Your schedule will have a cancel option for lessons that are at least 5 days away. This can be accessed by logging on to your account.
See why so many families love taking their kids to sink or swim school!
Highly recommend this program for every child. You cannot put a price on life-saving techniques. Amazing instructors who are very skilled at what they do. Not enrolling your children is a disservice to their safety.
Danielle Findley
We started lessons in 2012 and over the years, all 4 of our children have become proficient swimmers. There were tears in the beginning which is common when learning a new skill at a young age. The instructors were all fabulous and our kids love the water and I have the peace of mind knowing that (under supervision of course) they are safe. We still return yearly for a handful of stroke refreshers. Highly recommend Sink or Swim!
Sean Brooks
What lovely people and the children really trust the instructors! Nice and clean for open swim too!
Elizabeth Connell
These are SURVIVAL swim lessons which aren’t particularly natural for a 20 month old yet, but Clint is so very good with Caroline! They take hug breaks, give high fives and she always says yes when he asks if she wants to try again! She is in the process of perfecting her technique but we have a floater!!! I can tell you as a DD, there is no better feeling than that!
I trust the process but more importantly, I trust Clint. These aren’t swim lessons, they’re drowning prevention, life saving techniques and I’m so thankful we found Sink or Swim!!!
Dena Davis Bailey
We absolutely love it! Our Daughter Loves Mrs Trish and has learned so much in a short time. I truly trust Her in the water with our little one. She’s very calm and makes sure they know how proud she is of them! Our daughter is 3 and will be ready to rock the pool come summer! Trish and Clint are such amazing instructors , I cannot say enough about them!
Holly Culp
We LOVE Sink or Swim! It is truly worth every penny. Ms. Trish was amazing to work with- she has a wonderful balance of focusing on safety and learning, but also makes it super fun. My son, JR, loved going to each and every lesson!
