For freelance swim coaches in Singapore
Teach private swimming lessons at condo pools, on your own terms
List yourself free. Set your own prices and weekly hours. Families near you book and pay online, bookings arrive in Telegram, and you are paid per lesson to your bank.
Free to list. One-time referral fee: 50% of a new family's first 4 lessons with you. After that, a 3.6% admin fee per lesson.
Who can join
You can list yourself if all of these are true. The coach app walks you through each one.
Three certificates, in date
A swim instructor or swim teacher certificate from a recognised body, a lifesaving certificate and a CPR certificate. Lifesaving and CPR must have a future expiry date. Upload a photo or PDF of each.
A payout account
A Stripe account in your own name, set up from the coach app, with a bank account to receive payouts. Stripe asks for your identity and bank details directly.
Telegram and a phone
The coach app runs inside Telegram. Bookings, reminders and check-ins all happen there. You must also be legally able to work as a self-employed person in Singapore.
What it costs you
Listing is free, with no monthly fee. The site earns a one-time referral fee when it brings you a new family, the same idea as a tuition agency, deducted from your share:
- 50% of each of the first 4 lessons a family books with you, whether that starts with a trial or a package
- After those lessons, a 3.6% admin fee applies to every lesson that family books through the site, renewals included. It covers payment processing and the booking system
- Lessons refunded to the family do not count towards the first 4, and no fee is kept on them
- Card and PayNow processing fees are paid by the site, not by you
Here is what that looks like for a coach who charges $80 per lesson for one learner, with a family who starts with a trial:
| Booking | Family pays | Lessons with the fee | Site keeps | You receive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trial lesson with a new family | $80 | 1 of 1 | $40 | $40 |
| Their first 4-lesson package | $320 | 3 of 4 | $122.88 | $197.12 |
| Their next 8-lesson package | $640 | 0 of 8 | $23.04 | $616.96 |
Example only. You set your own price.
You set
- Your prices. A price per 45-minute lesson for 1 learner, and optionally for 2, 3 and 4 learners sharing (leave a size at zero if you do not take it). Prices must sit within the site's allowed range, currently $30 to $400 per lesson. Families pay exactly your price; nothing is added.
- Your hours. Weekly availability windows, plus time off when you need it. Blocking time off stops new bookings in that time; it does not cancel lessons already booked.
- Your area. Your home postal code, which is never shown, and how far you will travel. Families see only a general area on your profile.
- Who you teach. Your bio, languages and years of experience, and whether you are experienced with babies under 3. Families booking for a child under 3 only see coaches who say yes.
How you get paid
Each lesson is paid out on its own. Once you mark a lesson done (or record that the family was not there), and the parent confirms it or 24 hours pass, the site transfers your share of that lesson to your Stripe account. Stripe then pays it into your bank on its usual payout schedule. If a family says something was wrong, that one lesson is held until a person reviews it.
How bookings reach you
Everything comes to you in Telegram: a message for each new booking (with the option to decline), a daily 7 am summary of your lessons, a reminder 2 hours before each one, reschedules and cancellations, each payout, certificate expiry reminders at 30 and 7 days, and a monthly nudge to confirm your hours.
The rules run by themselves
Nobody manages your calendar or chases you. The same rules apply to every coach, automatically:
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| A new booking you cannot take | Decline it within 12 hours of the family's payment. They are refunded in full automatically. Three declines in 30 days and your listing is paused. |
| Lesson day | Tap Start when you arrive, teach 45 minutes, then tap Done with a short note for the family. |
| You do not check in | At 20 minutes you get a reminder. With no check-in and no rain-off after 3 hours, the lesson is refunded to the family and you get a strike. |
| Two missed lessons in 60 days | You are suspended. Every future lesson booked with you is refunded to the families. |
| Rain, lightning or unhealthy haze | Mark the lesson rained off, from 30 minutes before the start to 60 minutes after. A make-up lesson is added to the end of the family's package; you are paid when it is taught. |
| Family not at the pool | 15 minutes after the start, record a no-show. You are paid for the lesson. |
| Family cancels late | Less than 24 hours before the lesson: you are paid. 24 hours or more: a make-up lesson is added instead. |
| Your hours | Confirm your availability at least every 35 days (you get a reminder at 28), or you drop out of search until you do. |
| Certificates | When one expires, you are hidden from search until you upload the renewal. |
| Reviews | Only families who booked you can review, one per booking. Below 4.0 stars after 5 or more reviews and you are no longer listed. |
| Contact details | No phone numbers, emails, links or social handles in your bio. Families book and pay through the site, which is what protects both of you. |
Getting listed
- Open the coach app in Telegram and fill in your profile: name, photo, bio, gender, years of experience, languages, home postal code and travel radius.
- Set your prices and your weekly hours.
- Upload your three certificates.
- Read and accept the coach terms.
- Set up payouts with Stripe.
When everything is in place, your profile goes live automatically at your own page under /coaches, and families near you can book you. Your certificates are kept on file, not inspected by a person, and families are told exactly that. An honest note: the site is new, and how many bookings you get depends on demand near you. Listing costs nothing but the time it takes to set up.
Frequently asked questions
Do I become an employee?
No. You are an independent contractor. You decide your prices, your hours, where you travel and how you teach. The site handles bookings, payments and the rules every booking follows.
Can I keep teaching my own clients?
Yes. These terms cover only bookings made through the site. You are free to teach elsewhere.
Who pays the card and PayNow fees?
The site does. Your share of each lesson is the lesson price minus the referral fee on a new family's first 4 lessons, and minus a 3.6% admin fee after that, with no further deductions from us.
Can a family and I carry on outside the site after the first 4 lessons?
Yes. The referral fee is one-time. After a family's first 4 lessons with you, you receive your price minus a 3.6% admin fee on every lesson they book through the site, and you are free to agree anything else directly. What the terms do not allow is moving a family off the site before those first 4 lessons to avoid the fee.
Which pools do lessons happen at?
Families' own condominium and home pools. You set a travel radius from your home postal code, and you only see bookings from pools inside it.
What happens if a family says something was wrong?
Your payment for that lesson is held while a person reviews what happened, and it is then either released to you or refunded to the family. Every other lesson is paid as normal.
What about tax?
You are self-employed, so you are responsible for your own income tax and any MediSave contributions. The coach app shows your earnings and transfers by month.
Is my certificate checked?
Not by a person. You upload it and it is kept on file; the site checks only that it is there and in date. Families are told exactly that. Uploading a certificate that is not genuine, or not yours, gets you removed.
Ready to list yourself?
Open the coach app in Telegram, fill in your profile, and go live as soon as your certificates, terms and payouts are in place.