Swim School & Activities for Children and Adults

Learn how to swim!

The Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Department offers small group swim lessons for children.  All lessons are taught by certified lifeguards and are scheduled on a first come, first served basis. Swimmers are required to wear a swimsuit and should bring their own towel.  Participants must register in advance and should plan to attend all lessons to ensure adequate time to learn to swim safely.

Kinderswim:

The Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Kinderswim program is a free initiative started with the goal of helping ACC children learn how to swim. The program is offered to all Athens-Clarke County 5-year-old children at no cost.  

The lessons are broken into three, 45-minute classes a week for three weeks, for a total of nine lessons, and are available at all of the ACCLS pools. Participants who complete at least seven of the nine lessons will receive a free pool pass for the remainder of the pool season. 

Swim School:

Athens-Clarke Leisure Services offers small group swim lessons for children ages 3 and older and must be potty trained to participate in Swim School.

The lessons are broken into three, 45-minute classes a week for three weeks, for a total of nine lessons, and are available at the Rocksprings Park, Lay Park and Heard Park pools. 

Parent and Tot Swim School for Children:

Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services offers parent and tot swim lessons for children aged six months to three-years-old. These swim lessons are meant to introduce your child to the water and are taught by our certified lifeguards. Each lesson is 45-minutes and take place at the Memorial Park and Rocksprings Park pools. 

  • The cost of Parent/Tot Swim School is $33 for ACC residents and $50 for non-residents. 

Aqua Aerobics:

Aqua Aerobics is a low impact exercise that includes a variety of stretching, limbering and weight routines set to music. This class is taught by Certified Fitness Professional Kim Saxton and is offered at Memorial Park pool from May 29, 2023 - July 30, 2023.

  • Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays: 6 to 7 pm
  • Saturday: 10 to 11 am

Classes are $5 each or participants may purchase a 5 class punch card for $20. Pre-registration is not required. Pay the fee at the time of the class. There is a maximum enrollment of 25 participants per class. Classes may be cancelled due to inclement weather.


View all the Athens-Clarke County Pool Locations.


Due to renovations at Bishop Park, ACC Leisure Services will not be hosting a swim team for the summer of 2023. That means that Dolphins will not be available for this year. There are other teams available (listed below) at other pools if you would like to pursue those options.

Green Acres Sea Turtles

The link above contains a registration form for the Green Acres Sea Turtles.

Shamrock Seals

Contact Info: shrseals@gmail.com

The email above is the contact for Shamrock Seals regarding swim team information

Summer Hill Barracudas

The link above is a google form to sign up for the Summer Hill Barracudas wait list. All new swimmers registering for the Summer Hill Barracudas get initially put onto the wait list and accepted based on the order of sign up and the number of swimmers in each age group.

Jefferson Sea Dragons

The link above is a link to the contact page for the Jefferson Sea Dragons.

Jennings Mill Marlins

The link above is a link to the google form to register for the Jennings Mill Marlins.