The Beginning Class is comprised of 8 classes of 3 hours each, one hour on land followed by 2 hours in a warm pool.

The Beginning Swimming Class is a prerequisite for all our other swim classes.

If you wish to taste our method first, take the Intro Half-day class first. Or, read our book.

Locations: see list at left Get the details of a location by clicking on the city/state.

The Beginning Course Description:

• How to be at ease and calm in water always
• How to be in control in the water
• To put your face in water HAPPILY
• To float in water on front and back, to "unfloat" (stand up)
• To move from here to there in the water
• To turn around
• To jump in
• To let the deep water hold you up
• To get air
• To jump into the deep if you're ready
• Most importantly, we teach you how to keep your presence of mind, how to remain in control, and how to win your self-trust in the water
• To keep yourself safe
• Once you're comfortable and in control in water, you begin to swim automatically, the same way a child learns to walk
• Schedule

Everyone goes at his/her own pace. There's no competition.

On Vacation
for Residents of any state and country

5-day Vacation Classes are held in:

Glenwood Springs (Colorado)
Palm Springs (California)
Tampa (Florida)
Anaconda (Montana)
Honolulu (Hawaii)
Westfield, (Massachusetts)
The Homestead in Hot Springs, VA, and
Orlando (Florida).
Cities that are bolded have classes in 2008.

• We stay at a hotel that has a warm pool where the class is held (exception: Honolulu. We use a warm pool, but you'll find your own hotel.)

• Several times each year, the Beginning and Next Step classes are held back to back for people traveling great distances to get the most from one trip. (Glenwood Springs, CO, Palm Springs, CA and sometimes Westfield, MA)

Days/Times in Berkeley, CA

• 2 four-day weekends: Thursdays, 6-9 p.m., Fridays, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Saturdays: 3:30-6:30 p.m. and Sundays: 4:45-7:45 p.m. The weekends are often separated by a weekend off. Plus 8 consecutive Sunday afternoons following class, 4:30-5:45 for Open Swim play/practice time; OR,
  
  
• 4 weekends in one month: Saturdays: 3:30-6:30 and Sundays: 4:45-7:45 p.m. Plus 8 consecutive Sunday afternoons following class, 4:30-5:45 for Open Swim play/practice time

Pacific Masters Swimming membership (insurance): $40/year. This is liability insurance for MSI and secondary medical insurance for you. $40 is included in your course fee and covers the remaining months of the calendar year. It entitles you to free use of the PMS video library (www.pacificmasters.org), a weekly email update (optional) about swimming events in the San Francisco Bay Area, discounts with your membership card at some stores in the SF Bay Area, and a swimming magazine.

The Next Step Course

While the above-mentioned skills are typically taught, some people learn less than this, and some people learn more. We teach you individually and as a group, so that you learn at your own pace. No one hurries you and no one holds you back. The atmosphere is calm. It's all for fun. And safety.