Frequently Asked Questions

Not Much!  We provide all the tools necessary for your student to learn to swim.  You will only need a couple of comfort and safety items: Towels Keep it in the changing room cubby while your student swims. Swim suit Any kind you like is fine with us.  We highly recommend that any swimsuit, particularly those with long sleeves fit very snuggly.  A loose sun shirt will make it harder for your student to swim and is not necessary. If you prefer long sleeves or pants for modesty we recommend a wetsuit.  Swim cap  Required for everyone regardless of hair length. Silicone is best, it keeps your student warm and our pool clean. You can purchase a standard size one in our shop on the first day.  If your student has very long or thick hair you may want to purchase a larger cap designed for long hair online. Swim Diaper Required for all students 6 months - 3 years. Please use a fabric reusable style that fits snuggly around the waist and thighs.  The disposable paper kind do not contain solids well so we cannot allow that kind in the pool for safety and sanitation reasons. Our favorite brand is available for purchase in our shop on your first day. Goggles Optional but recommended for students over 3 years. Please purchase a pair that does not cover the nose - blowing bubbles out of the nose will be an important skill taught in the first lessons. We have several varieties in our shop and our staff will help you choose a pair that fits well.  Please leave all of the following at home Water Shoes - Our pool deck is slip resistant and students need full use of their feet and toes during lessons. All Jewelry Soaps and Shampoo - These make our shower slippery for the next person. We ask you to rinse only in the shower at our facility before and after your lesson. Snacks or Dinner - Eating to soon before a lesson can make a student uncomfortable and increase the chances of vomiting during or after lessons.

An adult caregiver is required to be onsite during all lessons for emergency safety reasons.  Parents may not drop off and leave for any reason. We prefer for you to wait in the parent observation room during your students' lesson.  It's up to you if you want to watch at the windows or not but this helps us find you quickly if your child needs your assistance for any reason. Please be aware that we cannot allow you to wait on the pool deck and especially not on the scuba benches by the ladies room. Waiting on the pool deck is a distraction for your student and others and makes it harder for them to focus on their instructor. The scuba bench is reserved for scuba divers during scuba class only, the tanks are heavy and pressurized. You will be asked to move to the parent waiting room immediately if you sit there. Please do not sit on the scuba bench even temporarily to help your child dress.  The changing rooms and parent observation room have benches and chairs for this purpose. If you choose to wait in your car during lessons feel free to do so only if your child is 100% potty trained and capable of going to the bathroom independently. Our deck manager will walk your child to the bathroom but cannot help them inside the bathroom.  If you choose to wait in your car, please also watch the time carefully - you need to be on deck to collect your child at the end of lessons promptly. We have a one strike only policy for this rule. If you leave the facility during your student's lesson you will get one warning and the next time your student's will be removed from our program.

Because our program is perpetual style, your student is being evaluated every single week.  Your instructor has a mental checklist of skills that your student will need to do confidently and consistently before they can move up to the next level. If you have any questions about the time a student has been in a certain level or what specific skills they still need to work on, ask your student's instructor at the beginning or end of lessons. They will be happy to help you know where your student is skill wise. Please don't be discouraged if your student spends longer than others in a certain level.  Some skills are tricky for certain students to master and we want them to be confident before moving up. It's okay and not uncommon for students to remain in the same level for 6-8 months. You will get an email from us with options for next level classes when your child has completed all the skill benchmarks for their current level.

Every student not fully potty trained must wear a reusable swim diaper during their lesson. If you do not have a reusable swim diaper, we have them for sale in our pro shop. Please make sure to check your child's diaper or have them visit the bathroom before their lesson begins.

That's a great question and a tricky one to answer.  Several factors will help your student be successful and learn to swim quickly: Start early - Younger students build the foundational swim skills to be independent faster than older ones Attendance Matters - Be consistent in coming week to week to make those skills stick Hype them up! - Students who are afraid will take longer to swim, so help them be excited by being excited yourself. Practice at home - Face in the water in bathtub and shower for little ones is a great first step. Limit Flotation Devices - When visiting swimming pools elsewhere for recreational swimming limit the use of Puddle jumpers, water wings etc. These devices put young students in a position that is difficult for swimming independently and those habits are hard to break.  Remember that all students will learn at their own pace. Most students will stay with us for at least a year to learn the  most basic survival swimming skills. Time spent in lessons also depends on your end goal for your student.  Many of our families choose to keep their students in for much longer to increase confidence in deep water and learn all of the strokes. We realize keeping your child or yourself enrolled in a year round activity is a big commitment but consider the alternative, anyone who does not know how to swim puts themselves and others at great risk of drowning. Learning to swim is a critical skill that will keep them safe and increase their confidence for life!

Yes! We send out progress reports on your student's progress around every 8 weeks or so. These reports are filled out by your student's instructor and are specific to their level. Progress reports are made available in the Parent Waiting Room for you to pick up and take home when you're here for your child's lesson.

OWA Swim School Makeup Policy To provide a fair and consistent makeup program for all families, the following policy applies to all students and classes. How to Receive a Makeup Credit The ONLY way to receive a makeup credit is by reporting your absence through the Parent Portal in our app before the class is missed. Absences must be submitted through the app. Phone calls, emails, text messages, voicemails, social media messages, or notifying your instructor will not generate a makeup credit. Office staff and instructors cannot manually create makeup credits for absences that were not properly submitted through the app. There are no exceptions to this requirement. This process only works when everyone participates. Reporting absences in advance allows other families the opportunity to use those openings for makeup classes. Advance Notice Requirement Absences must be submitted at least 24 hours before the scheduled class time to qualify for a makeup credit. Absences reported with less than 24 hours' notice are not eligible for a makeup credit. Makeup Credit Eligibility Properly reported absences become eligible for a makeup credit after the missed class date has passed. Each family is allowed a maximum of 8 makeup credits per calendar year. Makeup credits expire 90 days from the date of the missed class. Unused makeup credits expire automatically and cannot be reinstated. Scheduling Makeup Classes Makeup classes must be scheduled through the app. Makeup classes cannot be scheduled more than 7 days in advance. Available makeup classes are displayed in the app on a 7-day rolling basis. New opportunities are added daily, so if you do not see an option that works for your schedule, please check again the next day. The only makeup options available are the options displayed in the app. Calling the office will not provide access to additional makeup times beyond those shown in the app. To attend a makeup class on the same day, it must be scheduled by 3:00 PM. Makeup Availability Makeup classes are not guaranteed. Available openings depend entirely on other families reporting absences and the availability of suitable classes. There may be weeks when no makeup classes are available that fit your schedule or your swimmer's level. Makeup Classes Cannot Be Rescheduled Makeup classes may never be rescheduled. Once a makeup class is selected and submitted: The makeup credit is considered used immediately. The credit will not be returned, changed, transferred, or reinstated. The credit is considered used whether the student attends the makeup class or not. No makeup credits will be issued for missed makeup classes. Families who repeatedly schedule makeup classes and fail to attend may lose their makeup privileges. Withdrawal and Makeup Credits Makeup credits do not extend a student's enrollment end date. When a family withdraws from lessons, all remaining makeup credits expire immediately. Expired makeup credits cannot be transferred, extended, refunded, or converted into account credit. No Refunds or Tuition Credits Makeup credits have no cash value. Makeup credits cannot be converted into refunds. Makeup credits cannot be converted into tuition credits. The only way to use a makeup credit is by scheduling and attending an available makeup class through the app. OWA Swim School Initiated Cancellations This policy supersedes all previous makeup, cancellation, and tuition credit policies. Effective immediately: Tuition credits will no longer be issued for class cancellations. Any cancellation initiated by the swim school will automatically result in a makeup credit being issued to the family's account. Makeup credits issued for OWA Swim School initiated cancellations are subject to this policy. Makeup credits issued for OWA Swim School initiated cancellations do not count towards a family's makeup credit limit (8). Participation in this makeup policy is automatic and applies to all enrolled families. Families may not opt out of the makeup credit system. By remaining enrolled, families acknowledge and agree to abide by this Makeup Policy. We reserve the right to change or end the makeup credit program at any time without notice.

First, you'll need to report your student's absence in our app at least 24 hours in advance. (Without this notice, you will not be eligible for a make-up lesson.) Then, you will be able to schedule your make-up lesson after your missed class date! Each family has a maximum of 8 credits per calendar year and the lesson must be scheduled within 90 days of the reported absence. **Please note that make-up lessons are never guaranteed and cannot be rescheduled once booked. Need to download our app? Click here to download on Apple iOS devices. Click here to download on Samsung devices.

Our Address: 12210 North Tryon Street Charlotte NC 28262 Our building is conveniently located on HWY 29/North Tryon between the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Truliant Amphitheater (formerly the PNC Music Pavilion!) . We are closest to exit 32 off I - 485 or near by exit 49 off I - 5 (the Concord Mills exit).   Our students frequently travel from Charlotte, Concord, Harrisburg, Huntersville, Mount Pleasant, Kannapolis, Matthews, Belmont and more. Look for our blue roof!

Our lessons are perpetual style. This means you can enroll and start anytime and continue for as long as you want. You'll keep your same time slot month to month unless you notify us that you want to change or cancel. Our indoor pool is heated to 87 degrees all year long so there is no bad time to start your lessons!

You can find our withdrawal form below or on our app. Filling in this form is the only method to withdraw from classes, we cannot accept withdrawals by phone, text, or in person.   Please submit this form no later than the 10th of the month to be considered for withdrawal at the end of the month. For classes that do not have a waitlist or requests made after the 10th we require a full 30 days notice to withdraw from the class. The tuition for the final month will be prorated.  Withdrawal Form

We would be glad to answer your questions about class levels over the phone or in person during a tour of our facility. Most students aged 5 and up will start in our Beginner 1 level. Our pool is unique and requires comfort in deep water for all levels beyond Beginner 1. If your student can comfortably swim 15 yards with their face in the water, float on their back, and jump into water over their head and return to the side unassisted we would be glad to schedule an in water skills evaluation to determine the proper class level.  We do not offer trial or drop in classes.  We find that it takes more than 1 class for a student to get used to our facility and their instructor so a trial class is not a good indicator of whether your child will enjoy lessons with us. We do not have a contract so if you find your student is still not enjoying lessons after the first month you can drop at anytime.

Unfortunately we are not able to hold your student's class time and spot without payment while you're out.