About five minutes to book
How it works
Find a coach, book a slot, and the site handles reminders, reschedules, rain and refunds. No enquiry forms.
What happens next
Pick a coach near you
Enter your postal code. You see coaches whose travel range covers your pool, with their price, certificates on file, reviews and free weekly slots.
Trial or package
Book a single trial lesson, or 4 or 8 lessons in one weekly slot. Tell the coach the learners' ages and levels.
Pay online
PayNow or card, at the coach's listed price. The coach has 12 hours to flag a clash; if they decline, you are refunded in full automatically.
The coach comes to your pool
45 minutes in the water with your learner. After each lesson you confirm it went ahead, or tell us if something was wrong.
Read the full process, including reschedules, rain and refunds
What you will be asked at booking
- Your postal code. We look up the building and show the coaches whose travel range covers it.
- Trial or package, and group size. One trial lesson, or 4 or 8 lessons; 1 to 4 learners sharing the coach.
- Learner details. Name, month of birth, and a level: never been in a pool, can float, can swim a width, and so on. Add anything the coach should know about health or needs.
- Pool notes. Guardhouse procedure, which pool, pool hours, whether it is heated.
- Coach preference. Filter for a female or male coach if you want one.
- Your email and mobile. For the confirmation, reminders and your account login. No password: we email you a one-time link.
- For learners under 3. Only coaches who mark themselves as experienced with babies are shown, and you tick a box to confirm you have read our advice for babies.
After you pay: the coach's 12-hour window
The coach gets your booking straight away. For the next 12 hours they can decline it, for example if the slot clashes with something or the lesson is not one they can teach well. If they do, every lesson is refunded to you in full automatically and you are emailed a link to choose another coach. If they do nothing, the booking stands. Your confirmation email lists the coach's name and every lesson date.
On lesson day
You get an email reminder the day before and two hours before. The coach taps check-in on the coach app when they arrive at your pool, teaches for 45 minutes, and marks the lesson done with a short note on what was worked on. If nobody is at the pool 15 minutes after the start, the coach can record it as a no-show, and the lesson counts as taught.
Confirming lessons, and when something goes wrong
After each lesson is recorded, you are emailed a one-tap request to confirm it went ahead. If you do nothing for 24 hours, it is treated as confirmed. If something was wrong, say so: the coach's payment for that lesson is held, and a person reviews what happened and can refund the lesson. That review is the one step on the site handled by a human.
How the coach is paid
Your payment is held by the site and passed to the coach one lesson at a time, only after that lesson is recorded and confirmed. A coach is never paid in advance for lessons that have not happened.
Reschedules and cancellations
A package books one weekly slot: same coach, same weekday, same time, for 4 or 8 weeks. Need to move a lesson? Open your account and choose any free slot with your coach in the next 4 weeks, up to 24 hours before the lesson; each lesson can be moved once. Cancel a lesson 24 hours or more ahead and a make-up lesson is added at the end of your package. With less than 24 hours' notice, or if nobody is at the pool, the lesson counts as taught. To stop a package altogether, cancel the rest of it: every lesson 24 hours or more away is refunded, and lessons inside 24 hours still go ahead.
Rain, lightning and haze
If lightning is close, rain is heavy, or the NEA 24-hour PSI is in the unhealthy range, the coach marks the lesson as rained off. They can do this from 30 minutes before the start until 60 minutes after it. Nothing is deducted, a make-up lesson is added to your run, and you are emailed at once.
If the coach does not turn up
If the coach has not checked in 20 minutes after the start, they get a reminder. If there is still no check-in and no rain-off after 3 hours, the lesson is refunded to you automatically and you are emailed. The coach gets a strike; two missed lessons in 60 days and the coach is suspended. When a coach is suspended, every future lesson booked with them is refunded, and you are emailed a link to book someone else.
Renewals and reviews
After a trial, you can book 4 or 8 lessons in the same slot from your account. When 2 lessons are left, and again at the end, you get a reminder, and your slot is held for 72 hours so you can renew without losing it. After the trial or the second lesson of a package you are asked for a review, one per booking. Reviews are published on the coach's profile; contact details are removed.
Full wording in the terms; prices on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
How soon can lessons start?
Often within the next week or two. When you enter your postal code, the booking page shows real free slots for coaches whose travel range covers your pool, so the first date you see is a date you can book. Weekend mornings go first; weekday afternoons and evenings usually have more choice.
Do I need to be at the pool?
For a child's lesson, an adult (parent, grandparent or helper) must be at the pool. For an adult learner, you are the student, so yes. Most MCSTs require a resident with any guest anyway.
What do I need to prepare for lesson one?
Tell your guardhouse the coach's name and the day. Have swimwear, goggles and a towel ready, and sunscreen on 20 minutes before. Check your pool's hours and any rule about lessons.
Can I change coach?
Yes. Book a trial with another coach at any time. If you want to stop a package, cancel the rest of it in your account and every lesson 24 hours or more away is refunded.
Start booking
Postal code, coach, slot, payment. Your confirmation arrives by email before you close the tab.