Effective August, 2025

During registration, you will sign 4 waivers: (click on each for an explanation)

1. Medical Release

2. Liability Waiver

3. Acknowledgement of Registration Fees; Pro-Rate, Cancellations, & Refunds

4. Promotional Materials Waiver

Additional Information

If you would like to share information, including socio-emotional, or past swimming experience (negative or positive), about your child with the M3A Swim School staff, please contact the Swim School Director. At your approval, the Director will share this information with your student’s  instructors so that we can better accommodate your child.

Group Lesson Class Schedule

Each group lesson is 30 minutes in length. A class is held at the same time and day(s) of the week, each week.

• Group lessons at the UChicago Laboratory Schools Sunny Pool are held on Saturdays and Sundays for a total of 8 classes per 4-week session. Parent & Tot and Adult classes are held once a week at the same time each week, for a total of 4 lessons per 4-week session. Refer to our Class Schedule for more details.
• Group lessons at the Illinois Institute of Technology Ekco Pool are held on Sundays only for a total of 4 classes per 4-week session.  Parent & Tot and Adult 1&2 classes are held on Sundays only for a total of 4 classes per 4-week session.

Instructors and Class Changes

While we try our best to keep consistency among our classes, instructor substitutions, modifications and changes may occur at the discretion of M3A Swim School. If classes are not booked full, we reserve the right to combine classes to fill the class. We reserve the right to cancel or amend class schedules based on enrollment or instructor availability as necessary.

Moving To The Next Level

Every student learns skills at different rates. Swimming is a skill that takes time, patience and plenty of practice. Therefore, students will be moved up only once their instructor believes they are ready. We will confirm their readiness in our Mid Session Reports. For more information about the class levels and skills required to move up, refer to our Class Descriptions.

Private and semi-private lessons are scheduled through the Swim School Director, pending availability. We offer private and semi-private lessons only at the UChicago Laboratory Schools Sunny Pool.  Lessons occur on the same Saturdays and Sundays as group lessons within the hours of 12p - 1p and 4:30p - 6p. We have limited instructor availability, and we reserve semi-/private lessons for students who need additional support to learn. Students must be at least 3 years old in order to take semi-/private lessons. Semi-private lessons are for 2-3 students who are at a similar level. If you plan to sign up for a semi-private lesson, please be sure to contact the Swim School Director first and confirm days/times before registering. 

Semi-Private & Private lessons are booked for a specific number of dates and times. Once scheduled, you will be billed for the lesson should you fail to notify the Swim School Director of cancellation 48 hours prior or if you "no-show" a scheduled lesson. Rescheduling and/or postponing lessons due to instructor availability or personal scheduling must be done through the Swim School Director via email, text or phone call.

Future lessons beyond the current session are not guaranteed at the same days and times. If you intend to continue taking semi-/private lessons with us beyond our scheduled session, please contact us after the session ends to arrange for additional lessons. Please note: We cannot make any guarantees on the availability of the days and times you normally attend beyond the appointments you have already scheduled with us.

Shared Spaces

The M3A Swim School rents the pool space from the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. This means, we are guests in the building and do not make the rules or have authority over the UCLS management, such as the Security Officers or Custodial Staff. Please be respectful of all those working in the building.

This also means that we do not have access to the rest of the building. This includes the locker rooms. We have access to the single-use restrooms which are located outside the pool main entrance.  We do not rent the locker rooms, nor do we have locker room attendants. While other sports teams may be in the building at the same time, and have access to the locker rooms, they are not to be used by M3A Swim School clientele. Again, we rent the pool space, not the building. 

As per our agreement with University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, swimmers may use the single use restrooms. The single-user restrooms are located right by the pool and can be used for changing into and out of swim gear. It is up to our clientele to keep the single user restrooms orderly. Please keep our shared spaces clean, so that everyone can have a pleasant experience. 

Check-In and Timeliness

Please be on time for class. Classes begin and end at the published time. Please arrive early enough so that you can check in with our Swim School Administrator, your child has time to stop by the restroom, get changed and get ready before class begins. If your child plans to wear a wetsuit for class, please take a few minutes before class to find one in the correct size and put it on. 

If you are more than 10 minutes late for the beginning of class, you will not be allowed to join class that day. Having a student jump in after class has begun requires us to back-up and review what we have already started for the day, disrupting the learning process for the rest of the class. This is unfair to the other students.

Parents

We do not allow parents on deck. However, we do make an exception on the final day of every session and allow parents to watch along the railing or in the bleachers.

Rules of the Pool

• No one is allowed into the pool area if an instructor is not present on deck or in the water

• Non-potty trained children must “double diaper” — wear a fitted, reusable swim diaper over a disposable diaper.

• No food or drink on deck other than water; no glass containers

• No diving

• No running or horseplay on deck or in the water

• Swim Suit

• Goggles (optional but encouraged)

• Swim Cap (strongly encouraged to keep hair out of the face when breathing)

• Towel

• Flip Flops or Deck Shoes (if you don’t want to walk barefoot)

• If your child is not potty-trained: Fitted, Reusable Swim Diaper AND Disposable Swim Diaper

Swim Diapers

All students under the age of three or that are not fully potty-trained are required to wear:

1. A disposable swim diaper and

2. A reusable (non- disposable) swim diaper. Disposable swim diapers (such as Lil’ Swimmers) should be worn under the non-disposable swim diaper.

Reusable diapers have a tighter fit, which helps to avoid accidents in our pools. A swimsuit or a pair of shorts should be worn over the diaper. Even a small accident in the pool can close the pool down for as long as 24 hours. If in doubt, do not take the chance.

Wetsuits

We acknowledge that the pool can be chilly! We have a number of wetsuits that swimmers can wear over their swimsuits during their lesson. If your child plans to wear a wetsuit, please have them come in a few minutes early so that they can put them on before the lesson begins.