How well do I need to swim?

Less than you might think to begin with, and more as the water gets deeper. Each course asks for a level of swimming that matches the water it uses. This guide explains what each level asks, why, and how to check yourself honestly before you book.

The short answer

You can start with no swim test at all. Two of our first courses take place in water where you can stand. Once a course moves into water where you cannot stand, it asks you to show a swim, and sometimes a float, first.

Aliyah's rules come first.

Starting with no swim test

PADI Discover Mermaid and MFI Basic Mermaid are built for people who are new to this. You learn to put the tail on and take it off, move with your legs together, and stand up whenever you want. Lessons are mostly one-to-one, so Aliyah is usually right beside you.

These courses suit you if you can relax in water up to your chest and do not panic when your face gets wet. You do not need a tidy front crawl.

Why a tail changes things

On a normal swim, your legs are your safety net. You can kick hard, tread water, or put your feet down. A tail takes most of that away. Royal Life Saving Society Australia notes that a tail holds the legs together from the waist down, which affects your balance and your ability to support yourself.

That is why their advice is clear. Tails and monofins are for competent swimmers who can float on their front and back, turn themselves upright, free their feet from the fin without help, and reach the side or shallow water. Our swim tests exist to make sure of that before the water gets deep.

What the tests really check

Swimming without aids

The distance shows you can move yourself to safety without a tail, fins, a float or a pause on the rope. Any stroke counts. Steady and relaxed beats fast and frantic.

Floating

Floating is the skill people underrate most. If you can lie back and rest, you can recover your breath, think, and wait for help. The RNLI's "Float to Live" advice is built on exactly this: tilt your head back with your ears under, control your breathing, move your hands and legs gently to help you stay afloat, and accept that your legs may sink. Everyone floats a little differently.

A float of three to ten minutes is not a test of stillness. Ask Aliyah how the float is judged. What matters is that you stay calm and keep your face clear without a struggle.

Turning upright

You need to get from lying on your back to upright, and back again, without swallowing water. In a tail this matters even more, because you cannot simply put your feet down.

Staying calm

No test measures this directly, but it underlies everything. Someone who can float quietly is safer than someone who can swim fast but panics when they splash.

A useful yardstick

Water safety bodies describe a basic level of "water competency". The details vary, but they share the same core:

• American Red Cross: get into water over your head, come back up, float or tread water for a minute, turn around and find the exit, swim about 25 yards, and climb out.
• Swim England: its self-rescue outcomes for schools include a 60-second back float with minimal movement, turning from a back float to upright, and treading water for 30 seconds.
• SwimSafer, Singapore: the national programme run by Sport Singapore works towards 25 m of continuous swimming at Stage 2 and 50 m at Stage 3, with water survival skills at every stage.

If you can comfortably do the Red Cross sequence, you are ready for the no-test courses and close to the first deep-water ones; the table shows what each further step asks.

How to check yourself before you book

Many adults last swam properly years ago, and memory is generous. A quick check saves disappointment on the day.

1. Go to a public pool with a lifeguard, and bring a friend. Stay in the lane by the wall.
2. Swim the distance your course asks for, without stopping, standing or holding the rope. Count in metres, not lengths, since pools vary.
3. Float on your back for the time the course asks. Then roll to your front and back again.
4. Tread water for 30 seconds where you can reach the wall.
5. Notice how you feel. Out of breath but fine is normal. Panicky or swallowing water means you need more practice first.

Do not practise breath-holds or underwater lengths on your own while doing this. See Breath-holding and shallow-water blackout.

Common mistakes

• Counting with fins or a float. The test is without aids, because a tail is not a lifejacket.
• Swimming the shallow end only. Being able to stand any time is not the same as swimming in deep water.
• Rushing the float. Holding your breath to stay up is not floating. Breathe normally.
• Hiding nerves. Tell us if deep water worries you. We can go at the right pace, but only if we know.

If you are not there yet

That is completely fine, and very common among adults.

• Start with a no-test course. Discover Mermaid or Basic Mermaid M will build your confidence in a tail in standing depth.
• Take some adult swimming lessons. A few sessions on breathing, floating and a relaxed stroke make a big difference. SwimSafer is mainly aimed at children, but many swim schools in Singapore teach adults too.
• Practise floating in a supervised pool. Ten relaxed minutes on your back is a great goal in its own right.
• Come back to us when you are ready. Your first course will mean more for it.

For parents

Children face the same tests as adults where a course has one, and the same reasons apply. A child should be able to float, turn upright and take the tail off alone before using one outside a lesson. See Mermaiding for children.

What to do next

• Read Your first mermaid class to see what happens in a lesson.
• Check Health checks before you start.
• Choose your first step on the course pages: MFI Mermaid, PADI Mermaid or Underwater Dance.