Water Safety First

02/18/2026

This is butterfly- the hardest stroke to swim (in my opinion). It was removed from the Canadian Red Cross Learn to Swim program years ago because so many people couldn’t swim it properly, and it was hard to find instructors who could swim it, let alone teach it!

The Lifesaving Society’s Learn to Swim program also chose to omit this stroke and focus more on survival swimming strokes- if you’re stranded in the middle of the ocean or lake, butterfly would be the last stroke you’d resort to swim to safety! 🤪

Every once and awhile I do get requested to teach butterfly, and although it’s not part of the program, I can give some pointers on how to look more graceful. 😎🤗 That’s the beauty of private lessons- we can work with your individual learning goals/needs and are open to thinking outside the box.

02/18/2026

02/17/2026

Set your alarms for this Friday at 7:55pm in preparation for Spring Registration opening at 8pm! Lessons will be available to register for from March 30 to June 25!

Coach Elianna will be offering sessions Monday through Thursday, afterschool hours starting April 20! She will have Wednesdays from 3-7pm April 1 and 8. Elianna teaches 30 minute lessons.

Coach Jessica will be offering sessions Monday to Friday, between 9-1:40pm. Jessica teaches 35 minute lessons.

Lessons will be inputted and viewable online as of Tuesday February 17 at 9pm, so you can plan accordingly.

We instruct the Lifesaving Society’s Learn to Swim program. Water Safety First is registered affiliate of the Lifesaving Society. We issue report cards and stickers and badges, just like the majority of local City facilities.

We always say, one lesson is better than no lesson. Come try us out and see the power of a private lesson in a quiet, boutique swim spa. 🤗

All ages and skill levels welcome- including 4 month old babies AND high level triathletes!

02/16/2026

Water Safety Tips for visiting a new pool!

✅Look at the bottom of the pool and locate the deep and shallow areas. Also look for anything potentially dangerous (sharp objects, broken pool equipment/jets, murky/cloudy water)
✅Check for signage and read it prior to entering
✅Check the temperature with your hand prior to entering
✅Know where the emergency equipment is (ie. buoyant ring, reaching poll, first aid kit, etc)
✅Assign a water watcher if visiting a pool without lifeguards (hotel pools, backyard pools, clubhouse pools, etc)
✅Have a plan if you need to evacuate quickly, or call emergency services and direct them to your location
✅Always make children ASK PERMISSION before they get in the water. Start this habit at a young age- it starts at home in the bathtub!
✅Feet first entries are safest, and in most cases, mandatory! Most hotel and backyard pools are not deep enough to safely dive.
✅If swimming in an outdoor pool, ensure you’re dressed for the weather- sun protection (long sleeve bathing suits, sunglasses or UV protective goggles, sunscreen).
✅Ensure you stay hydrated. It’s difficult to tell when you’re sweating while in a pool, so make sure to have a water bottle by the pool edge so you can rehydrate!
✅Have fun!

What else could we add to this list?

01/26/2026

Just in case you missed my updates on my webpage, or the JaneApp, or my email from last week or today!
Spring Break lessons will open tonight at 8pm. Currently “Ms. Spring Break 2026 Jessica Rahman” has lessons to “contact to book”. This will change at 8pm and you’ll be able to book in.

If you are owed a lesson, (from a cancellation made with more than 48 hrs notice), please reach out and I’ll slide you over on the back end. 😊

01/25/2026

Tonight at 8pm Spring Break Registration opens! March 16-27 will be available to book! NEW this Spring Break- Coach Jessica will be offering 30min sessions instead of 35 min sessions! Don’t worry though, the price reflects the 5 minute difference! I created a new staff name to reflect the Spring Break sessions, so please make sure to click, “Ms. Spring Break 2026 Jessica Rahman” when booking in for Spring Break!

Coach Elianna will be offering sessions during Spring Break on Wednesdays from 9-2pm.

Coach Jessica will be offering sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays for both weeks, during the day. A total of 74 lessons will be available to register for! Please reach out if you have any questions!

01/24/2026

Planning a sunny vacation this winter? When’s the last time you or your kids got in to pool? 🤔 If your answer is, “last summer”, then you need to fit in some pool practice time. I see a lot of clients in the winter months who want to brush up on their skills before heading out to Mexico, Hawaii, Palm Springs, etc.

Practising water safety skills, like being sun smart, being aware of potential dangers, practice sizing and wearing a PFD, learning how to enter and exit the water safely, are all important life skills that I can help you with!
If I had a $ for every time a parent said, “oh wow, I never thought of that!”, I’d be able to build my dream outdoor change room! 😜😂😎
If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?!

knowtherisks
📸 credit to my big sister when my oldest baby was 11 months and we visited Aunty Corri in Palm Springs

01/15/2026

Sunday January 18 at 8pm is when Coach Elianna’s February lesson registration will be opening! We will know what days she’ll be working as of Saturday, and will update here and on the websites with that information. They will be afterschool sessions.

Water Safety First is incredibly fortunate to have Coach Elianna on our team. We strive to provide the highest possible quality of instruction, professionalism and cleanliness, but that’s only possible if we are well balanced ourselves. For that reason, we decided it would be best to release Elianna’s schedule one month at a time for the Winter season, to ensure school, work and play are evenly distributed.

Thank you so much to everyone who has entrusted us with your swimming goals, and allowed us to be a part of your journey! We look forward to seeing you in the water!

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas from Water Safety First! Thank you to everyone who has entrusted us with your swimming journey! We truly love what we do.

Coach Elianna and Coach Jessica sold out the first week of swim sessions! There are a couple of openings for next week, before the New Year! Visit www.watersafetyfirst.ca and click, “Register Now” to book in.

12/06/2025

Paw Patrol is on a roll, and this little human is ready to jump in to help out! She has been anxious at even the thought of putting on her PFD (personal floatation device), during her swimming lessons. Her “homework” was to try on her own PFD at home, and get comfortable wearing it and zipping the zippers and buckling up!
Mom sent me this picture and I couldn’t be more happy to see her practising with her pups! She LOVES Paw Patrol and there’s a swimming scene on the New Christmas episode, so she decided to “be safe like the pups” and test it out! Way to go A! I can’t wait for you to try it out in the water with me next time!
I genuinely love seeing videos and pictures of my students when they achieve a skill that they have been trying to work on. I always ask permission from parents before sharing any pictures or videos. 🤗

12/01/2025

This is the cutest little tugboat that transports a few vehicles at a time, across the Fraser River, from Surrey to Barnston Island. It operates 7 days a week, and is free to ride. We have been visiting this island for a while, to visit a farm where they sell the best free range, organic chicken eggs.
Every time we go I get the kids to unbuckle, roll down the windows, and if it’s not raining, we get out of the vehicle. I remind them where the lifejackets are, and talk about what we would do if we fell in the water, and where we would swim to. It’s the simple things that I sometimes take for granted, that I share with my children. I’m sharing these reminders with you, because I think it’s important to have discussions like these with yourself, and your family members whenever you’re in, on, or around water.

11/25/2025

Taking a moment to reflect on last weeks Ripple Effects Conference. Kimiko and I never planned on attending this conference because we were supposed to be presenting at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Egypt this week! Unfortunately, Lifesaving Society Canada released a statement at the end of August, saying they no longer condoned travel to Egypt due to the political warfare in Gaza. We were devastated to cancel our trip. Flights, accommodation and conference fees had already been booked and paid for. The refund process has been painfully slow, however, I believe that everything happens for a reason!

In the mean time, life goes on at home. Local gatherings and conferences ensue, and knowledge is shared locally between aquatic professionals. Coach Elianna and I have submitted an abstract to present at the first ever Youth Aquatic Conference in Calgary, AB, this Spring! We hope to inspire others to join us, and consider a career in aquatics. The work we do is invaluable. It’s never too late to join the aquatic world! Guest speaker Michael Rasher, Canadian gold medalist, and late bloomer to lifeguarding, would say the same thing!