BEYOND LESSONS: Keep Swimming with Bluefins💙
- Spencer Turner
- 17 hours ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 30 minutes ago
September 2025
From Lessons to Squads — The Next Step
Swimming lessons give children a fantastic foundation. They learn the strokes, gain water confidence, and start to enjoy the rhythm of regular swimming. But many families reach a stage where lessons alone no longer feel enough. Lanes can be crowded, age ranges are wide, and the opportunity for progress starts to feel limited.
That’s where Bluefins comes in. Our Club squads for ages 10–17 provide a natural pathway beyond lessons, offering the chance for swimmers to keep developing their skills in a fun, structured, and supportive environment — one that feels more mature and motivating for their age.
What Makes Club Squads Different?
At Bluefins, we group swimmers into age-based squads (10–13 and 13–16) so that sessions feel more balanced and age-appropriate. This makes a big difference: swimmers train alongside peers of a similar stage, rather than being in a lane with much younger or older children.
Rather than lessons, we call them training sessions — a step up from learn-to-swim, with more focus on skills and technique, but without the pressure of competition — not every swimmer wants to race.
The emphasis is on:
Great technical coaching that builds on the foundations from lessons.
A fun, supportive squad environment with no pressure to compete.
Building confidence in the water and developing lifelong fitness.
Making friendships that last.
This gives swimmers the space to keep progressing while feeling comfortable, challenged, and inspired at the same time.
Why Families Choose Bluefins
For some swimmers, Bluefins becomes the launchpad to competition. Many of our athletes progress through our competitive pathway squads into performance training, racing at county, regional, and even national level.
For others, it’s about something different: staying active, making friends, and building a healthy routine that fits into family life. That’s where our fitness pathway comes in — giving swimmers the chance to keep swimming regularly, develop skills, and enjoy the benefits of the sport without the pressure of competition.
Both paths matter equally. Whether a swimmer dreams of medals or simply wants to swim for fitness and fun, our role is to make sure they feel supported and valued.
What unites everyone is the quality of coaching. Our coaches go beyond the basics, helping swimmers:
Refine technique and efficiency.
Build aerobic fitness and water skills.
Develop discipline, teamwork, and confidence that extend far beyond the pool.
A Community at Heart
Bluefins isn’t just about training — it’s about belonging. We’re a community club at the heart of Basingstoke, run for and by local families. Our squads bring young people together in a positive, active environment that supports wellbeing, builds friendships, and promotes lifelong participation in swimming.
We are proud to be a registered charity, existing to serve our community rather than for profit. Bluefins receives no external financial support — everything we achieve comes from the shared commitment of our swimmers, families, and volunteers. That’s what makes our club such a special place.
Why It Matters
Sport is about more than results. It’s about healthspan, wellbeing, and creating good habits that last a lifetime. At Bluefins, we believe swimming can play a powerful role in young people’s lives — helping them stay active, resilient, and socially connected through their teenage years and beyond.
Swimming is also unique: it’s one of the few sports you can do for life. By joining a Club squad, swimmers set themselves on a path that can carry them through school, exams, early adulthood, and into a lifelong relationship with health and fitness.
Join Us
Whether your child wants to push on toward competition or simply keep swimming for fitness and fun, Bluefins is here to help them take that next step.
💙 Ready to go beyond lessons?📖 Find out more, get in touch, or arrange a trial today: Find out more at bbfsc.org - Your journey starts here.
