Ottawa's Elite Choice for Swimming Lessons
Our coached lessons are the perfect option for swimmers who require one-on-one instruction, need a quieter learning environment, or have a specific area of interest to work on.
Swimmers in our coached lessons will learn in a warm, salt-water pool and will receive customized and detailed instruction for the 30 minute lesson. Senior coached lessons take place in a completely private pool while our junior coached lessons take place in our main pool area.
Our coaches have a proven track record of being able to teach swimmers of all ages and abilities. Our senior coaches have experience teaching swimmers with special needs.
Senior Coached Lessons are 30 minutes in duration and cost $99 + HST per lesson. A 2% membership fee is automatically added to all registrations due to our pool classification with the City of Ottawa. By default all senior coached lessons are private (one swimmer) but clients can add a second swimmer to the lesson for an additional $32 + HST. Once you have added a coached lesson to your online cart, the system will automatically ask you if you’d like to add a second swimmer to that specific lesson.
Junior Coached Lessons are 30 minutes in duration and cost $75 + HST per lesson. A 2% membership fee is automatically added to all registrations due to our pool classification with the City of Ottawa. There is no option to add a second swimmer to a junior coached lesson.If you are hoping to have both your children in a class, consider registering for one of our 2-swimmer group classes.
You can view coach availability online through this link. If the lesson time that you are hoping for is already booked, you can add yourself to the waitlist online. All coached lessons are considered drop-in services and are booked individually.
Junior Coach Multipass: Save on our Junior Coached Lessons by purchasing this 10-lesson multipass! See our booking system for more details about this service option and to confirm that our availability works for you.
Trial Coached Lessons: Not sure if our coached lessons are the right option for you or your child(ren)? Book a trial coached lesson for only $70 + HST. Available for new clients who have not swam with us before. Use code at the checkout.
CF Appreciation Military Discount: Clients with a CF One membership can sign into their CF Appreciation account to confirm the coupon code and applicable services. The respective code can be entered into our booking system at checkout.
Our senior coached lessons take place in a completely separate area of our Aquatic Centre to help ensure the learning environment is as quiet and focussed as possible. The private pool area has two changerooms, a private washroom, seating options for parents as well as a toy area for children. Scroll through below gallery for pictures.
Our junior coached lessons take place in the main pool area of our Aquatic Centre.The main pool area has eight individual change rooms, a private washroom, and hair-drying station. There is also a play area for children who may have to wait while their sibling has their lesson or just arrived early for their class! Click here for pictures and more info about our main pool area.
Senior coached lessons take place in our 24-foot above-ground salt-water pool. The water is kept at a warm temperature (88F-91F) so that lessons can take place without any shivering! Our patented pool design has foam-lined walls which help ensure the pool is as learner friendly as possible and the wide set of stairs provide easy access into the pool. An on-deck shower is available for brief rinse-offs before and after lessons as needed.
There is only ever one lesson scheduled at a time so there is lots of space for our senior coaches to teach and help their students become stronger and safer swimmers!
Our senior coaches for private lessons are our most experienced instructors who have a proven record of being able to adapt their teaching style to perfectly match all swimmers; regardless of their age, ability, and learning style.
Our senior coaches have experience working with children with special needs such as those on the autism spectrum (ASD), Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and other disabilities that require an adaptive teaching style and learning environment. Detailed receipts are available for those who require them for funding purposes.
As our senior coached lessons take place in a private pool, it is the perfect match for swimmers who need such an environment and experienced instructor in order to improve their swimming skills and water safety awareness.
Prior to joining the Hippo team back in 2022, Abby was a competitive swimmer for many years and taught for the City of Ottawa. She loves helping her students improve each lesson and is fantastic at structuring lessons in a way that keeps her swimmers engaged.Abby’s teaching style is positive, approachable and outgoing.
Since joining the Hippo team almost five years ago, Vincent has a lot of fun teaching his students and helping them progress through the swim levels. His enthusiasm for teaching swimming paired with his easy-going nature, allows even the most shy of swimmers to warm up to him and enjoy their lessons!
Through years of competitive swimming with her school team, Maria has a vast amount of knowledge when it comes to swimming strokes. For newer swimmers, Maria keeps lessons positive and simple to help her student become comfortable and to gain trust before attempting skills unassisted.
Bronwen has many years of swim instructor experience working with children and adults at Davina’s Swim House in Toronto and for the City of Vaughan.
Her lessons are filled with positive encouragement and purposeful drills.
If you are looking for a coach whose teaching style is light-hearted, engaging, and adaptive, then you will love swimming with Lucas! Through his extensive experience in the swimming world, Lucas excels at adapting his classes to ensure his students have a blast while mastering new skills.
Zoia is a friendly and dedicated instructor who enjoys helping her students grow more confident in the water. Her patient and encouraging approach allows swimmers to feel comfortable trying new skills while progressing at a pace that works best for them. Zoia brings a positive energy to every lesson, making learning both fun and rewarding!
Since joining the Hippo team last year, Daphne quickly became one of our most popular group class instructors and junior coaches. Her endless enthusiasm for working with swimmers paired with her ability to quickly adapt throughout a lesson, makes her an amazing coach option to help both new swimmers, as well as more advanced swimmers, take their swimming skills to the next level (literally)!
The following policy will apply when cancelling coached lessons:
100% of credit until 14 day(s) before the beginning of the activity
70% of credit until 7 day(s) before the beginning of the activity
50% of credit until 48 hours(s) before the beginning of the activity
No credit if cancelling less than 48 hours before the beginning of the activity.
If you need to adjust a booked coached lesson more than two weeks before the scheduled date, you can cancel the lesson online through your Amilia account and the full credit will be added automatically onto your account. You can then use the credit towards a new lesson date/time.
If you need to cancel a booked coached lesson after two weeks for the scheduled date, you will need to send our office an email. When we receive your cancellation request by email, we will cancel the lesson and apply any applicable credit (see above) to your account. Please note that all cancellations are final and can’t be reversed.
You can view all service terms and conditions online here: /terms-conditions/
Our experienced coaches have the required swimming expertise to teach all ages and abilities during coached lessons. The youngest we are able to teach is 4 months old and there is no upper age cap! Whether you have a baby looking to be introduced to the water or you are an adult who has never had the chance to learn strokes, we are there to help.
By default, our coached lessons for children ages 4 months - 14 years old will follow our “Swim Like a Hippo” swim program. More details about our company’s swim program can be found online here. Report cards are given once the child has successfully demonstrated all skills for their respective levels. There are minimum learning times for each swim level. The only exception is for our lowest level, Koala. Koala is an age-based swim level so swimmers remain in this level until they turn 2 years old.
If an adult registers for our coached lessons or if a parent has specific goals for their child that don’t fit within our swim program, our coaches will be happy to create a customized lesson plan that only focuses on the swimmer’s specific goals.
52 Antares Drive - Unit 2
Nepean, ON K2E 7Z1
Near intersection of Prince of Wales & Hunt Club.
Lots of free parking on site.
