Aquaventures Swim Centre

Just going through some old files and found a letter I sent to Aquaventures in 2010. My son had started when he was 5 in 2008 and we went for 2 years. I was so appreciative of the experience he received. They gave him confidence being in the water. He is now 17 and for years has been in a triathlon club. He loves his sport, and I am so grateful for the start he got at Aquaventures. I was a very nervous mom when it came to him and learning how to swim. You instilled confidence in both of us. Seeing my old file on Aquaventure brought a huge smile to my face and many happy memories. Thank you!

The entire staff and instructors are hands down the best in town. My children have been taking lessons since they were 14 months old and now they are 7. The instructors care about the children and their progress. Every instructor is excellent. My children love the water and love to swim. I hope that one day, my girls would want to teach there too.

New updated facility. Very clean and well organized. Temporary limited parking on the side of the building and pay street parking.

Great instructors and excellent place for young children to learn the fundamentals of swimming. The facility has a great layout and easy to follow procedures in order to adhere to Covid protocols. Separate entrances for entering and exiting. Booking system is also easy to use.

There are so many great things about Aquaventures. We've been coming here for almost 5 years and every semester, we've had excellent instructors. They are incredible and I can't thank them enough for their patience and efforts. For those of you who question the cost, the instructors are teaching something every second in the water and it's completely worth it (in my experience). Most staff have been there for a long time. If you are looking for a place with quality instructors, this is it!

Our daughter's been going to Aquaventures since she was 9 months old, she's 4 and a half now. The instructors really care about each individual student's development. They know all the kids' strengths and will place them with groups that complement their skill level to ensure they are always challenged. Awesome school!

We have been going to aquaventures off and on for almost 8 years. Most importantly during the baby, toddler and beginning of independent swimming levels for both our kids. I was a Red Cross swim instructor in my teens and the training left me unprepared for teaching parent and tot levels. I was so happy to see and participate in a program where the staff were much better trained and the program flexible to each kids abilities and ages. Because of the higher cost we have come and gone after the age of 3/4 depending on what’s going on. We have returned to it when something hasn’t worked elsewhere or if we were out of swimming for a period of time. I especially like the summer where it’s everyday for a week. My older kid really improved this way after months of no swimming, and my younger one has learned so much in the private covid style right now. The registration is yes unfortunately stressful, however I have been willing to deal with the short term stress for long term gains. I do wish for a better system in the future :)

If you are not a current family, please do not waste your time applying for their programs.We spent hours of our time, across two terms and couldn't get any class for any of our kids. Their system is very time consuming, including multiple mailing lists and making sure you are in the correct mailing list, keeping on checking for available classes, being available at 8am on the registration day for getting a classes, when you might have to drop your kids to school at that time.We attended some classes in the summer, but somehow they decided that we are a previous family because it was not a full term. Their priority order is Current family -> Previous family -> New Family. By the time it reaches Previous family, there are practically no classes left.I understand that they are optimizing for spots for current families. But they create a false hope for everyone else and people just end up wasting their time.If you value your time, stay away! We wasted our time, please don't waste yours!Update: To add few more details. Mid way last year we found that one of the sessions had a spot. We reached out if we could join, but they said that they can't have someone join mid session.There is just so much bureaucracy at Aquaventures and the whole place feels very impersonal. Life is difficult enough dealing with academic milestones and all the other kid activities, you shouldn't have to go through such a non-deterministic process here.Our application process at all the private schools in Vancouver was better and more personable than dealing with Aquaventures.Aquaventures has implemented an extreme version of legacy+first come first serve admissions. Sure, they fill their spots - but I wonder if they are missing on a lot of talent and commitments. Thankfully, schools and colleges - don't follow their model.Hope Aquaventures can learn and improve their process.

Aquaventures has an amazing facility and great instructors. We love it there. My main complaint is that it is impossible to get through to anyone if you have any questions. There has been several occasions where we had time sensitive questions, called and or emailed. We have never received a call back on any occasion, and the email responses are too delayed to be able to help.

I am a physician and have been a customer for several years, as all three of our kids learned how to swim there, after we unsuccessfully had tried several other places with our first... Aquaventures is unbelievably great - they dealt with each kid's needs and got them water smart as well as great at swimming. I have no idea how but the whole team knew our kids, and remembered them well even after we took a break for a year. The experience was fantastic!!