Friendly staff and very knowledgeable

Very patient instructors and I love the little pool for the younger kids swimming lessons because then all the kids can stay in the water the whole class. This is the top reason I've chosen the Y. Where the other pools are deep so each kid has to sit on the side until it's their turn.

We were at the far side of the glass two sessions ago and had to watch our granddaughter come up struggling and go under 5 times before the instructor saw that she was struggling. The two lifeguards on duty were talking too each other and not paying attention to the lessons going on

My family loves coming to the y and activities are awesome

The communication and organization is very poor. Swimming report cards aren't even correct with the right level kids are at.

Now that we have the children in her class time properly assigned i think it will get much better. I know I advocated for a few other parents with my concerns on Saturday and corrective actions were immediately taken. Thank you. These instructors are doing a great job, Class sizes for them to continue great instruction is paramount. Strong supervision and movement of students to appropriate levels ongoing is my request. I am always free to volunteer my services and continue to help with program delivery. However I do not want to overstep and also want my daughter to learn to swim by someone other than me. (Previous y swim instructor/programs manager)

Having more swim instructors

That timing works - it's not too late at night! and that it's included in our kids' day care price!!

Everyone in Chatham is wonderful. The instructors are great. The are good with children.... awesome

Lessons are very repetitive and there is so much waiting. The kids get bored.

Having the same teacher weekly for kids would foster a relationship and more trust, and also ensure consistency in teaching styles. There are some coaches that are hands on and will show the kids what to do and others who will only tell them.

When trying to use the family pool, multiple times, staff would reprimand me for playing with my children. At other times, other guests would come in and one guest in particular was aggressive towards staff and other families, screaming, and yelling inappropriately and demanding that we leave so that he could use the communal pool without others present. Additionally, somebody stole my wedding ring directly out of my locker and another time I caught somebody trying to steal my cell phone. Also when I went to the staff to discuss the theft of my ring. They said "Oh well if we find it, we'll call you." When I brought up my concerns with treatment of my family to staff, I was informed I could cancel my membership but not even receive a partial refund despite just paying it a day previously. This treatment was disappointing and in a direct conflict with the stated values of the YMCA's mission. I'm deeply disappointed with how the management responded to my concerns and how one guest was allowed to mistreat multiple people and one lifeguard could demand I stop using the facilities.

Very inclusive, my little guy always has a blast!

Various times along with changes in activities Family open gym is our favourite

I had an everything family membership for the main purpose of taking my son swimming and swim lessons … I was unable to get him into swim lessons

Excellent, patient instructors

My family and I love the YMCA. The staff is great! Always friendly and helpful! Swim lessons are fantastic! I just wish they opened earlier!

Swim instructor took time to teach efficiently.

Pool hours are limited, it would be great to be able to have more and longer hours. The pool temperature is usually too warm. The pool is often dirty, I wear goggles and the amount of hair, debris and smells can leave you not wanting to go back for a while.

More options in terms of days/times for higher levels

If students are ready to progress should let parents know. Multiple requests made to the aquatics director to ask and no response to emails.

It's a great facility, wonderful staff and very family friendly

How well your staff is trained. How fast my kid is learning

Sufficient times to swim and friendly staff

I love the clean space, quality programming, and friendly staff. Keep up the good work, YMCA of Chatham!

The duration should be at least 45 minutes and the dryers aren't working in the washrooms area and this hasn't been fixed for the last few months

I feel that my daughter is receiving plenty of tailored one on one attention to address her skill development.

As a beginner the Y supports and encourages to be inclusive and had special care for each individual. Y team wasn't hurry in their classes and been given time and space to overcome the challenges while learning.

Be more mindful of group sizes and age ranges. Sometimes the bobber teachers seem overwhelmed because they have so many Littles and not enough support

Kids love going!

Many of the instructors are very helpful and work well with the children. I do wonder however, if YMCA would ever consider capped the swim lessons at no more than 5 children? In the last few years, I have observed the swim lessons that my daughter has been enrolled in. Depending on enrolment in any given year, she has had classes of 2-3 children and she has been in classes where there are 7 children in them. This may not sound like a big difference but when you factor in that there isn't always a second instructor with the large class, it is not uncommon for all of the children to have to spend a good chunk of their time waiting for instruction as they run through training with each kid in the class. With the classes only being 30 minutes long, you can quickly realize that there are weeks where new techniques are taught but very limited time for each child to actually practice in the pool. Combine that with the classes that happen to have a few rowdy or disruptive kids and that practice time goes down even more. I would never want to have YMCA turn away kids who want to learn how to swim but in my humble opinion, the larger classes are not ideal. Thank you for the opportunity to share :)

Timings are very short at least 45mins for kids under 12years

Kindness and patience of the instructors

Longer lessons…. Either longer for the day or extend the whole program for a few weeks.

thanks

I love the lane swim and Aquafit. I wish there were more hours available for swimming laps.

The ability to watch the development of skills by each week

They are well organized, with lots of instructors keeping a close eye on the little ones. The instructors interact well with the kids.

- There also needs to be an evaluation process at the lesson's start, also. - The only rule Y follows is what is the last level passed at YMCA. - Students use other places also ( Chatham Kent Municipality) or private lessons to enhance their skills. These efforts get ignored by YMCA. - This will help to accommodate more students at lower levels. Thanks

The instructors were great but it's not something we can afford long term

It's just too expensive - having to have the most expensive membership just for swimming lessons isn't sustainable.

great place to spend time with family and be active . Staff are great and very friendly

I find the instructions not detailed enough. And activities should be harder

Variety

Staff is very kind and knowledgeable

more specific direction on stroke improvement

I do not see any improvement in my toddler's performance in the last six months. Instructors at the Bobbers n' floaters level must be recruited carefully. They are requested to put more effort into their teaching.

Our Chatham Kent YMCA is the best! The programs are very relevant to my 9 year old son's interests & are run by caring, engaging staff!

The lessons are good but it is very expensive. The only service we have time to access is weekly 30 minute swimming lessons, and an open swim once or twice a month, at best. My son wasn't interested in the other courses offered. We had hoped for a STEM course but it wasn't available this season.

My primary interest is lane swim. This is more or less unavailable during prime hours due to Pool Sharks using most of the lanes on Monday and Tuesday, resulting in up to four lane swimmers sharing open lanes on those days. Fridays Pool Sharks take up all lanes during the after work time and even if there is a lane not being used, it is not available for lane swimming. Pool Sharks used to practice in the mornings I recall but now take up the prime pool time on three out of five week days. I appreciate the program and am happy their home is the ymca but this prime time is also valuable to members. Thanks.