Aquatics

About Aquatics

• Provides progressive, skill-based swim instruction that builds water safety, confidence, and lifelong swimming skills.
• Offers engaging aquatic programs and events that promote recreation and community.
• Supports health and wellness through recreational swimming at two campus locations by offering open swim, lap swim, and inclusive aquatic opportunities.
• Delivers nationally recognized safety certifications in Lifeguarding, Water Safety Instruction, CPR/AED, and First Aid that develop lifesaving knowledge and skills. 

Adult Swimming Instruction

Program Registration

Swim Foundations*

• No previous swimming experience is required. Whether you're learning for the first time or working through past experiences that have made swimming difficult, our instructors will help you progress at your own pace.
• Build comfort and confidence in the water while learning the fundamentals of swimming. This class is designed for adults with little to no swimming experience, including those who may feel nervous or uncomfortable in the water.
• Participants will work with trained swim instructors to learn skills such as floating, going underwater, recovering to a standing position, and beginning basic swimming movements. Instruction is adapted to each participant's experience and comfort level.
  *Women's Swim Foundations offers the same beginner-friendly instruction in a supportive women-only environment.

Stroke Foundations

• Prerequisite: Participants should be able to comfortably swim at least 15 yards unassisted with their face in the water and be comfortable swimming or walking in shallow water.
• Build your strokes and become a more confident swimmer.
• This class is designed for adults who are comfortable in the water and ready to develop foundational swimming strokes.
• Participants will work on Front Crawl, Elementary Backstroke, and Breaststroke, with instruction focused on building proper technique and swimming with greater confidence.

Stroke Development

• Prerequisite: Participants should be able to comfortably swim at least 25 yards unassisted with their face in the water and have a basic understanding of swimming both the front crawl and back crawl.
• Improve your technique, efficiency, and confidence.
• This class is designed for adults who can already swim independently and want to become more efficient and confident in their strokes.
• Instructors will focus on improving Front Crawl, Breaststroke, and Butterfly with attention to technique, body position, coordination, and overall stroke efficiency.

Swimming Pools

Facility Hours

For general facility hours, please access Operating Status and general Facility Hours.

For hours by facility and room, please access the Recreation Calendar.

College Ave Gym

Rutgers’ original training and competition pool located in the College Avenue Gym on the College Avenue Campus. This indoor heated pool has 4 lanes, is 25 yards long with depths ranging from 8 to 10 feet and is connected to a smaller pool with an all around depth of 3 feet. The College Avenue Gym pool is used only for instructional programs and group reservations.

Cook/Douglass Recreation Center

The Cook/Douglass Recreation Center has an 8 Lane, 25 Meter Recreational Swimming Pool. The Cook/Douglass pool is available for open swim, instructional programs, events, and group reservations.

Sonny Werblin Recreation Center (Busch Campus)

The Sonny Werblin Recreation Center features an Olympic-size pool measuring 50 meters by 25 yards, complete with a 17-foot diving well and a 10-meter diving tower. The facility also includes an L-shaped Patio Pool with a movable floor that can be adjusted from 0 to 6 feet in depth, four fixed-depth lap lanes ranging from 4 to 4.5 feet deep, two water basketball hoops, and a pool volleyball net. The Patio Pool is maintained at a comfortable temperature of 85°F. The Sonny Werblin Recreation Center pool is available for open swim, instructional progarms, events, and group reservations.

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Accommodations and Inclusions

The Cook/Douglass Recreation Center Pool and Sonny Werblin Recreation Center Patio Pools are deck level pools like the one pictured in (fig. 1), and they are equipped with an ADA compliant stairway like the one pictured in (fig. 2). The Patio Pool is also equipped with an ADA compliant lift like the one pictured in (fig. 3).

fig. 1

fig. 2

fig. 3

 

If you need an accommodation to participate in an aquatic program or use our facilities, please contact Rutgers Recreation Aquatics at rurec.aquatics@echo.rutgers.edu before registering or participating so we can discuss your needs and determine what support may be available.