THE H20 ZONE IS OVERFLOWING WITH FUN! Campers and staff love our four pools… learning skills at instructional swim each morning and having fun at free swim each afternoon. Our highly qualified swim directors and instructors always take into consideration the needs and comfort level of each camper.
Blue Rill’s top priority throughout camp is safety, with water facilities getting extra special attention. More than 70% of our lifeguard staff returns year after year and we far exceed the New York State Board of Health ratio requirements of lifeguards to swimmers. Additionally, your child’s group staff add extra eyes and ears for supervision during each swim period.
Instructional Swim:
The American Red Cross Learn-To-Swim Program guides swimmers through six levels of instruction, helping campers of all ages and abilities develop their swimming and water safety skills. From introductory water skills (helping campers feel comfortable in the water) to stroke development, improvement and refinement to diving and lifeguard readiness, campers are sure to have a positive and fun experience. Campers' swimming skills are evaluated during their first week of camp and each camper is placed in a small instructional group, with a ratio of one instructor to approximately five campers. At the end of each camper’s session, they will bring home a certificate indicating their level of achievement and skills developed throughout the summer.
Free Swim:
Campers truly enjoy free swim at Blue Rill! Campers follow the safety rules of our buddy system during free swim and especially love our perfect pool parties, rillazing water relays, water ballet/synchronized swimming and wet ‘n wild water polo games.
Middle and Deep Water Tests:
All campers must pass a middle and/or deep water swim test in order to leave the shallow area of the pool. These tests include three elements: independently swimming several laps across the pool, sustaining a back float and treading water for one minute each. Upon successful completion of the test, campers receive a Blue Rill water wrist band which identifies them as a non-shallow water swimmer. As a badge of honor, campers have been known to keep their bands on long past the camp season!
Super Swim Staff:
Our Pool directors, Lenny (26 years at Blue Rill) and Brian (21 years at Blue Rill), look forward to returning each summer to supervise our well trained staff of lifeguards and water safety instructors. Lenny and Brian each have numerous ARC certifications, including Lifeguarding Instructor, CPR/AED Instructor, and Responding to Emergencies (RTE) Instructor. Lenny recently became a Certified Pool Operator, and Brian is completing the Water Safety Instructor Trainer course, which makes him one of an elite group of instructors in the tri-state area. Cortney Steffans, who is joining us for her 8th summer, is excited to continue working with our sprouts. Our incredible staff of lifeguards and water safety instructors can’t wait to meet the campers and guide them through the ARC’s learn-To-Swim levels.
Boating & Fishing:
Canoes, kayaks, power paddlers, rowboats and pedal boats sail across our scenic lake. Campers 3rd grade and older love fishing off the pier… and yes… they do catch real fish, which are gently placed back into the water! Our lake area is always supervised by lifeguards with waterfront and boating certifications.
