Mermaid Swim School at Dartmouth Sportsplex Expands to Teens and Adults

Dartmouth, NS- Halifax Mermaids expand their swim school services to allow teens and adults the opportunity to experience swimming like a fish.
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After several successful rounds of sold-out mermaid swimming lessons, the Halifax Mermaids have expanded their classes to offer lessons for teens and adults. With lessons beginning on September 26th for teens and adults, and September 28th for kids aged 5-11, the mermaids are poised to make a SPLASH this fall with students. 

While Halifax Mermaids have maintained the first Canadian mobile mermaid school for many years, they launched the first weekly mermaid school in Nova Scotia this past spring in Dartmouth. The weekly class came as an answer to a budding trend that sees kids swimming with a monofin- a device that keeps both feet together to properly perform a dolphin kick in the same manner free divers do. With concerns around safety, but also acknowledging the need for more physical activity experiences directed at girls, company owner Raina stepped up to the challenge to create a curriculum based on safety and empowerment.

Many studies show that girls often drop out of sports around puberty, but “mermaiding” is a trend that girls are interested in despite insecurities around body issues, and documented lack of encouragement on a global scale toward physical fitness in female youth.

Mermaiding isn’t just for girls, in fact many boys enjoy being mermen and experiencing the power of a mer-fin as they glide through the water. Torin Thibodeau was the school’s first male student and became a junior teacher offering support for all of the classes.

Adult classes offer the opportunity to tap into a little imagination along with fitness. The Halifax Mermaid team welcomes Karen King Holmans as Mermaid Kay- our adult instructor. Getting adults to do silly and fun things is nothing new for Holmans who performs and teaches belly dancing and burlesque as Halifax performer Kay-Licious.  

Adults will learn all the fitness and mental benefits of “mermaiding” while having a lot of fun and getting to take unique photos and underwater footage.

Praise has been pouring in for classes held earlier in the year. Students who struggled with swimming went on to become more competent. The classes welcome non swimmers with the use of swim aids, though they make no promises of learning to swim from scratch- that hasn’t stopped many kids from making huge gains and finding the confidence they needed for regular swim class sign up.

The success of mermaid school has seen the Halifax Mermaids company nominated for the Innovative Business Award through The Halifax Chamber of Commerce.
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Registration for swim school takes place online through the Dartmouth Sportplex Website, and in person registration will take place starting August 29th. Fish-fans can also visit the Dartmouth Sportsplex for their annual open house taking place on September 10th where Raina the Mermaid will be visiting from 9am-1030am. More info can be found on the Halifax Mermaids Website.