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Header image courtesy of YMCA of Hong Kong Swimming Academy
While a lot of us in Hong Kong had our eyes on the fencing tournaments at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the swimming races also captivated local audiences thanks to athlete Siobhán Haughey. After winning two bronze medals in the women’s 200-metre and 100-metre freestyle, she is now the most decorated Olympian for Hong Kong!
Hoping to follow in Haughey’s footsteps? If you want to explore your potential for the water sport, here are the top places for swimming lessons in Hong Kong. Get splashing!
Whether you are a frequent or casual swimmer, it is likely you will recognise Stanford Swim School’s iconic logo, which is regularly plastered over numerous street poles and minibus stops in Hong Kong promoting its summer or school-year swim courses.
With 21 locations across the city, it’s the largest swimming school around, as well as the only swimming school in Hong Kong to be awarded the ISO 9001:2015 international quality certification, making it the go-to for many parents who are hoping to get their kids into swimming. Its coaching team also has a solid reputation, as it is led by none other than Shoulin Gang, the former coach of China’s Olympic swimming team.
Due to the amount of locations and coaches, there is no centralised course start date, so check out the website if you’re thinking of signing up!
Everybody knows its fun to stay at the YMCA, but did you know it’s also fun to swim there? With a team of instructors certified by associations such as the Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association and the Hong Kong Swimming Teachers’ Association, coaches are more than qualified to teach the entire family!
There are nine levels for toddlers and children, where teaching gets progressively harder as learners improve. Meanwhile, teens and adults can also learn basic swimming skills at three different levels. Most interestingly, it offers “Master” programmes for the elderly, where those aged above 55 can learn how to float and swim at their own pace, as well as “Aquacise” and aqua aerobics to stretch and exercise in a unique way. Keep an eye out for announcements about upcoming courses here.
While most swimming academies in Hong Kong focus on the competitive aspect of the sport, the Hong Kong Swimming Academy looks to the life-saving aspect of it. Its main goals are to promote water comfort and self-rescue skills not just to regular learners, but also to marginalised communities by providing swimming lessons for refugees and children with congenital heart disease. Its lessons aim to create a non-stressful environment for learning swimmers, as there are no age restrictions for intermediate and club training courses.
The core of its adult course is to help swimmers gain water confidence in smaller classes. Co-founded by former Hong Kong Olympian and TVB personality Alex Fong, you and your little ones are in good hands if you decide to start your swimming journey there.
Although it has branches across the globe including in England, Australia, and Germany, this famed swimming organisation had its humble beginnings in Hong Kong. Founded in 1975 by the late Harry Wright, the premier swim school has remained a giant in the Hong Kong swim-school industry. Most notably, Hong Kong’s very own Olympian Siobhán Haughey trained there for years before going on to win two medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and two more at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Aside from its competitive programme, the school also offers learn-to-swim programmes, infant aquatic lessons, and private lessons for all levels, including adults. Additionally, if you’re undertaking rehabilitation from an injury, you’ll find its adult aqua aerobics class especially useful in enhancing your flexibility and body control.
No matter if you want to simply strengthen your body through swimming, help your child become a competitive swimmer, or bond with your child through waterplay, the variety of courses at Harry Wright International will come in handy.
With a primary focus on kids, Alison Tam Swimming’s courses are catered towards accommodating both parent and child while the young one learns how to swim. The baby and toddler programme allows parents to accompany their young swimmer so that they learn how to safely interact with their babies in an aquatic environment.
The “Aquatots” programme offers the same service but online, so that parents can learn and in turn teach their children at their own convenience. Meanwhile, the kids’ classes have a no-parents (or at least, none in sight) policy to ensure the kids don’t cling to them or distrust the coach.
Aside from the regular classes, there are also drop-in classes open to the public for casual swimmers, or those who want some extra practice aside from their regular classes. Make sure to check the website for more information on class or programme schedules.
Do you want to make swimming a family activity? Floatplus can help you achieve that goal with its variety of kids and adult classes. There are 10 different levels for kids’ lessons based on age grouping, and the class duration also increases according to the age group’s attention span.
Unlike most swimming academies that only provide base-level swimming classes, Floatplus has advanced classes that aim to refine swimmers’ efficiency, speed, and endurance. Alternatively, Floatplus offers an open-water swimmer course, which teaches advanced swimmers how to swim safely and adapt to open waters in an immersion-based class.
Floatplus, locations across Hong Kong | (+852) 6504 8283
If your child is interested in going pro and participating in swimming competitions regularly, then Stingray is a swim club you should definitely consider. As the sole parent-owned, coach-run swim club in Hong Kong, it understands all too well what becoming a competitive swimmer entails, and makes sure to provide its learners with the necessary practice.
For each competitive swim meet, there is a Stingray meet, which essentially functions as mock competition, so swimmers can run through the steps and ensure all preparations go smoothly. There are also Hong Kong China Swimming Association meets, where specific students will be chosen as representatives to compete, as well as team travel meets, where the entire squad of swimmers will travel to other countries to compete internationally. Additionally, it also provides dry-land programmes so athletes can enjoy a holistic training.
Despite its intimidating name, Hong Kong Hurricanes Swimming is a lot of fun! For its baby and beginner levels, it aims to teach swimming through games and activities rather than conventional methods to lessen the fear that might be felt by young students.
After the improver and advanced levels, if students wish to continue swimming, they can choose between competitive or fitness squads, according to their level of interest in swimming professionally. Similarly, fitness swimming classes are available for adults, too. All classes adhere to Australian, US, and UK standards, so students’ safety is ensured at all times.
Hong Kong Hurricanes Swimming, Australian International School Hong Kong, 3A Norfolk Road, Kowloon Tong | (+852) 2711 1280
True to its name, Eliteswim Academy is taught by a team of internationally accredited swim coaches who aim to help produce elite swimmers. This quality is ensured through bi-annual evaluations of swimming instructors, as well as only taking teachers who have a minimum of four years of teaching experience in English-medium educational settings onto the team.
As for the students, Eliteswim Academy presents end-of-term reports to both student and parent, no matter what level the student is at, so that everyone involved knows what needs to be worked on, or how much the student has improved. Students can choose the learn-to-swim course or the competitive course, which helps develop the swimmer’s individual skills and sense of teamwork.
Splash Foundation believes that swimming is a superpower that everybody should get to master. With the primary mission of providing opportunities to marginalised communities in Hong Kong, it provides a variety of classes free of charge. It’s yearly splash camp, held during the summer, and is free to all families receiving government assistance.
The camp has classes for both adults and kids at the same time, so the entire family can learn how to swim simultaneously. Its regular programmes are also free for refugees, domestic workers, or families receiving government assistance, and all it asks in return is a 75 percent participation rate to ensure that spots in classes aren’t being wasted. For timely updates on class or activity availability, make sure you subscribe to the website notifications, or follow its Facebook page.
Splash Foundation, 2123, 21/F Remex Center, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong Island
Punita is currently an English major at Durham University. As a longtime bookworm, she is passionate about all forms of storytelling. When she’s not stuck in a bookstore or cheering for a celebrity, you can always find her wandering the streets of Hong Kong on the lookout for stray cats.
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