UPDATED JUNE 19, 2023
Do you already have basic skills (floating, treading water, rhythmic breathing, freestyle, swimming laps, etc.)? Are you new to organized swim practices? Are you looking to learn the basics of how these things work in lap swimming? We will teach you everything you need to know in a relaxed, stress-free environment. The LPZ offers workouts using a slower pace appropriate for intermediate swimmers. Even though the focus is on improving speed and stamina, LPZ also includes drills to improve stroke technique.
LPZ is held once a week, on Saturdays between 12.30pm and 2pm at John Jay College. This 90-minute clinic-style practice for intermediate swimmers created a space for swimmers with basic skills to help them improve technique building up to masters-level swimming. Our mission is to attract new swimmers who have historically been excluded from pool access, especially people of color and the trans/gender non-confirming/non-binary community.
The average swimmer in LPZ swims 100 yards in approx. 3-4 minutes and maintains that pace for an entire practice (60-90 minutes). If you can swim 100 yards in 2 minutes or less consistently in that time, you are ready for speed swimming practices. If you do not yet have basic lifesaving skills (floating, treading water, rhythmic breathing, freestyle, backstroke, etc.), then our adult learn-to-swim program is for you. If you feel like you don’t fit into any of these categories, email us; our goal is to meet you where you are.
Sign up for LPZ like any TNYA practice; you should join the team according to these instructions, and then book the LPZ practice on MINDBODY. If the cost of membership or practice is too high for your budget, please do not that keep you from swimming LPZ! For financial assistance, apply for a Fortoul Fellowship to have the costs reduced. We want you to get all the benefits of LPZ and Fortoul Fellowship programs.
If you’ve never taken part in an organized swim practice before, please read this intro to swim etiquette. You should also bring a towel, swim goggles, swim cap, and swimsuit; there is no need to bring a kickboard, pull buoy, or flippers.
We recommend arriving 10-20 minutes early for your first LPZ practice. Tell the Gatekeeper you are there for the “LPZ” practice. The Gatekeeper will introduce you to the LPZ coach. Please tell the coach your swimming experience and whether you know how to read a swim workout.
Finally, a very special thank you to Heritage of Pride (NYC Pride) for providing $2,500 in grant funding through their Pride Gives Back Grant Program to help us restart this program and offer it for free in the Spring of 2021.
