My 4 year old has completed a month of lessons at one of the Brooklyn locations and we are so happy…read morewith our experience! He was very nervous to get in the water, but his instructor Mr. Keith is a miracle worker! He is so patient and friendly and skilled at what seems like an impossible job of teaching two tiny kids to swim! My child has gained so much confidence in such a short time, and even though he is still nervous he is always excited to go to the lessons. I highly recommend this business!

i have registered two of my children there in quinten rd Brooklyn NY. I wished I never registered…read moremy children there waist of my money and my time. they don't teach anything but none stop talking to each other teachers. All I would say to new friends who is going to look for swimming class DO NOT registe!!!!

This is the best decision ive made in regards to swim schools (and ive been through a few with my…read morekids) . The staff is patient, and they really have your kids practicing the entire duration! You get beyond get your monies worth ! Other places ive been your kid is in the water barely 30 min and the instructor's alternate so your kid is swimming barely 15 min! My sons went from being scared of the water to full on swimming independently ! It's also affordable (I have 3 kiddos). I love the staff tracy the director is amazing! My youngest was 3 when he started and petrified and she made him soo comfortable hes more with her then me in the water.

The swimming instructors are excellent--skilled, patient, and great with kids. The staff is…read morefriendly and always ready.

We have been swimming with Freedom for 5 years now. Previously we swam with the YMCA on Broadway in…read moreStaten Island. But we found the classes to be overcrowded (12 students) and the kids were not learning to swim because they just didn't have enough water time or quality instructors. So we searched out a few programs and settled on Freedom. We have for the most part been pleased with the program especially their progress. They have worked on technique throughout the years including attending summer swim clinics. Although there may be one or two questionable instructors at Freedom, they have done a great job bringing in skilled coaches for their learn to swim program. These coaches are fabulous and really seem to know each student. Classes are held up n various locations depending on your level. These classes are held in Brooklyn Poly Prep, Brooklyn Sports club, Staten Island South Shore YMCA, RBYMCA (Raritan Bay NJ) and CLL aquatics Center in NJ. We really like the program and our only issue is their communication. It is consistently poor and we can't figure out why they don't get that part of their business together. For example: 1. They should have someone you can contact by phone at all times 2. Text messages are always incomplete and sends you to your mail for the remainder of the message which is often times a date. 3. The website is poorly constructed 4. The includes antiquated information as far back as 2020 5. The website is difficult to navigate and overloaded for no good reason 6. Clarity of material ordering and timeline for ordering is unclear 7. Overall their communication is really, really poor and needs a great deal of support. Having said all of this, it is a good program but could be a great program with some restructuring of their communication, website and parent outreach. The program is expensive , so you would think that the directors or the coaches would take time to meet with families at various levels at least at the beginning of each season to let them know what kids will be learning, competition information, and what parents can do to support their child. There's just important things missing that the directors need to figure out. Communication is definitely on top of the list!!!!!! I would still recommend the program as a means to getting kids on the road to becoming good swimmers.

Great place to go if you want your kid to learn to swim. Freedom Aquatics are the best. Staff are…read morevery nice and they know what they are doing.

My toddler has been taking lessons from Take me to the Water for about 2 years. He absolutely…read moreadores his instructor, Ms T and the life guard is great! Soooo grateful for both of them.

My two kids learned how to swim through this program and I highly recommend them. One of my sons…read morehas autism and he can be quite tricky to teach. But we found an instructor who really understood how to meet him where he is and our son's swimming skills have grown exponentially due specifically to this one teacher. We have been very pleased with all the skills. They have acquired here, and I would highly recommend them to any family with young children who are looking for a great school to induct their children into swimming skills.

My grandson has had a wonderful experience at this swim school. The instructors are professional,…read morepatient, and truly care about helping each child improve. A special thank you to his coach,Sammi Chan who is an outstanding teacher. She is kind, encouraging, and knows exactly how to work with kids . My grandson has learned so much and has gained a lot of confidence in the water She is doing an excellent job preparing my grandson to join the swim team. We highly recommend this swim school to anyone looking for excellent swimming instruction. Ines Scibetta

My daughter loves going to swimming lessons there. I can see amazing progress and love people who…read morework there- very kind and professional .

Our daughter has been going to this location consistently for 3 years and prior to that she went to…read moreanother location. The swim instruction has been 4-5 stars. She's learned so much and she's a really good swimmer. In the beginning we frequently had different instructors, but she's been with the same man (Michael!) for a long time now. She loves him and she has learned so much with him. He truly cares about teaching the kids and he works with them at the level where they are. We anticipate our child will go on to be on a swim team at some point - and we attribute this to her teacher, who has helped her learn and thrive. The facility of this location is in an apartment building. The pool area is not well maintained by the building. It's important to note that the swim school/company rents this space from them and has no control over the maintenance other than making sure the pool chemical levels are in check. They are not responsible for the building, the cleaning, or even the supplies. I know this because I have asked many times and they have no control. Yes, of course they choose to rent here, but in NYC are there really that many options? The pool itself is great and we try to think of it that way - swimming pools and classes are hard to find here, especially for a good price. So we have stayed here all these years, with the facilities being underwhelming for sure, because the instructors and pool is good. I have interacted with the swim school administration as well. They are good, and have actually been willing to accommodate our requests, help us to find lost items, and listened to feedback. They offer makeup classes if you miss one, which many places do not. I've also seen the lifeguard in action and know that safety here is a priority. Overall, I'd recommend to people, as long as they know the place isn't super pretty or fancy and are okay with that. Again, the swim company doesn't actually control this at all, and while that sucks, it's true.

The adult swim classes here are a good way to learn how to swim or get over your fear!. The…read moreinstructors really get you to a point where you feel comfortable swimming by the end of the sessions.

I was in the water so I know exactly what I'm saying. At no time did I ever see dmitry in the water…read moreso no one can tell me when that water was and wasn't cold. I didn't know not one thing about the deep end and still yet I was out there. Even the instructors sometime said. They don't know what's going on here... I've watched people complain and leave( unregistered one by one) we all can't be wrong

CIBBOWS is such a great find and such a supportive group. They worked with the city parks…read moredepartment to make it okay to swim in the ocean at Brighton Beach. (Coming from California, it seems unthinkable to me that the ocean wouldn't be open tot he public. There everything below the tide line is public and must have access without restrictions.) But the lifeguards were worried about people actually swimming the ocean. And they made the park comfortable that people can indeed swim. (That's the story that I've been told.) When you come to the beach, there is usually always a group of swimmers near "Grimaldo's Chair." Grimaldo was the lifeguard that helped work with the park department to make swimming okay. The first time I stumbled onto the beach, someone made sure that I put on a swim cap and googles. Someone offered me a snack coming out. Someone else gave me a tip for getting Glide to deal with the chaffing of the wetsuit. There is usually a variety of friendly people warming up with tea and chatting. Joining the club provides access to open water swim clinics and drill clinics. I've done the open water swim clinic twice. They expect you to already know how to swim and only need to learn about open water skills. I wish I had known that as a new member, you get a swim buoy, cap, and towel because I had already bought all of my gear. CIBBOS has a really cool logo actually. I cherish the stuff that I get from them. I felt a little uncertain about the need for an open water clinic. There is the ocean! Go! (Obviously, know not to fight rip tides.) However, I got a lot of value out of it, which is why I went a second time. The lecture includes all the expected topics like current and tides. There are some drills, e.g. alligator eyes for sighting. The most value that I got out of it was going in a group. Not only, do you get to make friends, but you also get used to swimming in a group. The instructor was really friendly, caring, and supportive. She also addressed all the individual needs of students. People come with a variety of backgrounds, e.g. fear challenges or being really strong in the pool but unfamiliar with the ocean. The races are highly recommendable. Apparently, it's a huge effort to put on a safe swim race. Someone told me that swim races are the most dangerous of races. They had boats and kayaks patrolling. There were swim angels to deal with less emergent issues. I felt super supported during the race. After hearing, the stories from swim angels in how they helped was very inspiring because they got so much joy out of helping people. Each sport has a certain culture around it. Some are more competitive and some are more about sharing the joy of pushing boundaries together. This one is a lot more of the latter.

As part of my triathlon training, I needed to add open water swimming into my regime in order to…read morebecome more confident in my swimming abilities outside of a pool. I searched online and found lots of sites catering to helping people swim, but some places had a cost to them. Thats when I found the Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers or CIBBOWS for short. The swimmers meet on the beach every weekend at Grimaldi's chair. Its basically a lifeguard chair that looks exactly like all the others on the beach. To find the right one, find Volna Cafe on the boardwalk and basically walk straight towards the water and head towards the closest lifeguard chair. There you will see a bunch of people hanging around, putting on wetsuits or just chatting it up. A very friendly group where you can tag along for a swim. They have different distances, so swim at your own risk. If you are a beginner, they have people there to help out. To get better perks, you can join the group as a "member" and enjoy discounted swim races and group parties with fellow swim members. I'm this close to joining as I'm now a lover of swimming. If you have questions, email them as they're super friendly to answer any questions you may have.