Most students know where the CWU aquatics center is located but many don’t know what is actually offered there.  

CWU offers several classes at the aquatic facility, from springboard diving to the triathlon.

The full list of classes offered includes springboard diving, beginning, intermediate and advanced swim conditioning, aquatic conditioning, deep water fitness, lifeguard instructor, water safety instructor, and triathlon.

Senior English and literature major Lindsey Spurbeck and junior pre-nursing major Clara Stuart are both enrolled in swim conditioning. Stuart is also a lifeguard at the CWU aquatic facility.

For Spurbeck, this is her first time taking the class and she does two classes of swimming per day on Mondays and Wednesdays.

“I’ve gotten a lot better cardio wise,” Spurbeck said. “I’ve really built up endurance, and gotten faster swimming [and] just better overall.”

Spurbeck said she plans on taking  more classes. If she can’t, she still wants to be in the pool swimming on a regular basis. The aquatics center offers open swim four days a week, multiple times per day.  

This is Stuart’s second time taking the class, but her first with this instructor.

“[The classes have] really helped me get faster in the pool, but also helped me lose a little bit of weight,” Stuart said. “It’s a good way to insert cardio into your routine without having to run or do horrible things because I don’t like running.”

Trever Gray is a graduate assistant and has been teaching at CWU for the past five years. During winter quarter, he teaches five classes: three conditioning classes, one technique class and one weight training class.

“[The] human body is designed to move. If [people] want to have high functioning capability in [their] old age, they better start exercising in their 20s,” Gray said. “The research is clear on that.”

There are several benefits to taking a class instead of just going out for a swim, according to the coordinator of the Physical Education (PE) program, Debra D’Acquisto.

“Taking a course is going to focus on water confidence, water safety, etiquette and rules such as using a pool that has lanes and lines,” D’Acquisto said. “Water is a life skill, meaning this is a sport that you can take with you into your 80s and 90s.”

There are also some things that D’Acquisto hopes students will take away from the classes.

“Well definitely an appreciation for water. They’ve changed their bodies somehow into more fit, and that could be whatever their weakest link was. Could have been cardiovascular, technique [or] upper body strength, D’Acquisto said. “I hope that they come back for another class.”

These classes also help people gain life skills that may not be gained through other PE classes.

“If you go on a family vacation and you get caught in a surf or out at a beach, hopefully you have the skill set to know how to swim out of a dangerous situation,” D’Acquisto said. “I know a lot of young parents that don’t have swimming in their background, [so] I applaud those that are bringing their kids to swim classes.”

The classes that are offered each quarter are beginning swim, a couple of conditioning classes and an advanced swim class. The number of classes offered range, from about six to seven courses each quarter.

Deep and shallow classes are also offered, but alternate from quarter to quarter. D’Acquisto said that she would like to see both offered in the same quarter.

During summer quarter there is one class offered, but it covers all three levels in the same hour from beginning, intermediate, and advanced.