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Refunds/Changes for Sets of Private Lessons - NEW for 2025

Starting on January 1st 2025, I'm going to ask customers to commit to sets of Private Lessons the same way you had to for Classes. Once you sign up for a set of Private Lessons, you can cancel or change the whole set until 48 hours before the first lesson in the set. Cancelled single lessons almost never re-book except as flash sales which only break even. I've had so many of these that I've been working up to 5 hours each week without profit. (You may always bring a substitute student(s) of any age or skill to a private lesson.)

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Automatic Reminders

The website is setup to send automatic reminders 24 hours prior to the start of your first session. If you are taking a class, you will only get a reminder for the first session. If you are taking private lessons, you will get a reminder for each separate session - unless you booked a set such as 4x Private Lesson, in which case the reminder is only sent for the first of the four. (At this time this software can only be on or off for the entire website, without any customization options.)

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Substitutions

Private Lessons: If someone is sick you are always welcome to substitute another student. For a private lesson, it can be anyone because we will adjust the session to their level. If it's a two student private lesson, it should be someone of similar skill level. We can teach students of greatly different skill levels but it will impact the quality of the lesson.

Classes: Generally we don't accept substitutions to classes. A class works together and grows in strength and knowledge and introducing a new student in the middle of a class forces the instructor to redo introductions and the new student may not be ready or understand the skills slowing down the entire class. Substitutions are only available if you speak with the instructor prior to the session and they approve it.

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My Class Appears to Have an Error in The Time/Date etc

Trust the Upcoming Sessions list. Click on "Info and Booking" for any class or private and scroll down to see the Upcoming Sessions. We program classes on a visual Calendar program and then write the title. Sometimes we make a mistake with the title. It's extremely rare that the Schedule is wrong. Also please send us an Email and let us know we made another mistake and we'll fix it!

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Refund Policy

A full refund for the entire Class will be issued if requested 48 hours before the first Session of the class. While you are welcome to attend only part of a Class, we do not offer a lower price, or refunds, if you miss Sessions of your class. Exceptions to this rule may be made on a case by case basis and we will try to resolve problems.

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Class vs Session

   For our Policies we refer to a Class as one or more consecutive Sessions. A Session is each period of time you spend in the pool. (Sometimes Class is used to refer to one session. We won't be using it that way in our Policies.)

 

Partial Refunds

   We do not offer Partial Refunds or Partial Classes. You can not attend part of a class and only pay for the part you attended. If you attend a Class you must pay for the whole class. There are two exceptions; First, if we close the pool or cancel sessions we will offer a refund or makeup classes. Second we offer Prorated classes; If you arrive after the first Session, we may lower the price to reflect the missing Session(s).

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REFUND TIME: Wix is my web provider and states that refunds take 3-5 business days but in their fine print it takes 20 days or more. On a small number of occasions refunds I have issued no longer appear and have to be re-issued. If you are concerned about a refund please contact me. I can issue you the tracking number for a refund and your bank can tell you where it is.

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CANCELLING LESSONS/CLOSING THE POOL: If we close the pool or cancel lessons, you will be offered your choice of refunds or rescheduled sessions if we have room to run them.

SNOW: Unless we close the pool, we do not offer refunds for snow or other conditions.

 

REQUESTING REFUND: To request a refund, please email us. There is a minor issue with the Wix software. If the Refund button is turned on, customers can also edit their class times, which immediately causes scheduling conflicts and isn't a feature we are able to offer.

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Rescheduling Classes

This follows the same policy as refunds and can only be done up to 48 hours before the class starts unless we cancel the lessons.

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Illness

If you have a cold or flu, common medical information says that you are contagious until symptoms have passed and we ask you not to attend. If you are obviously ill, you may be denied service and asked to leave until symptoms have abated. Refunds and Rescheduling are not offered for illness.

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Prorating a Class

If a class has already started and you would like to join it, please email Charke Swim and we will discount the cost of the class based on how many of the classes you've already missed. Since this might be last minute, and we might be in the pool, you may simply show up for the class and we'll figure it out. We don't want you to miss any more of a class you want to take.

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Minimum Class Size

If a class has less than 3 people in it, Charke Swim reserves the right to cancel that class. The Students will be given an option of transferring to another class of the same level, if one is available, or receiving a refund.


Partial Classes and Makeup Classes
Unfortunately Charke Swim does not offer partial classes or make up classes. With classes filling up, we don't have space for them.

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Report Cards and Grades

You should be given a complete or incomplete grading at the last class so you know what level to proceed into. If you miss the final class, please contact us and tell use what class you were in and who your instructor was and we will contact them and try to get that information to you as quickly as possible. 
Charke swim provides digital report cards and we send them to the email address on your account. While we try to get them out as quickly as possible please allow up to 4 days after the last class to receive your report card. If you haven't received your report card please check your account and see if the right email is being used, then please contact us and we'll try to get your report card out as soon as we can. In the event that an instructor is dismissed or suffers a long term illness, report cards may be unavailable for a lesson set, although we will make every effort to tell you what level the student should be moving into.

 

Substitute Instructors
We reserve the right to substitute an instructor without notice. Swimming is a fairly physical and demanding activity and our instructors are in the water for hours at a time and can occasionally need to leave without little warning, especially if they suffer an injury. Instructors are also more exposed to the flu and other illnesses than average. We can not guarantee a male or female substitute. We will try to let you know if your instructor is changing for one or more sessions. If a class is without an instructor, again, we will try to let you know and offer a refund for the affected sessions. It is our goal to have the same instructor for the entire lesson set but occasionally that is not possible.

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I Can't See My Class

We hide full classes so that other customers don't have to scroll through them. Your class is still running! We are looking at an alternative way of doing this but right now it means your classes become invisible to you.

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Hostility and Unacceptable Behavior

Anyone who is unacceptably rude or violent towards staff members may be asked to leave without refund. We understand that children can get very excited and might strike an instructor or say something inappropriate.  That is usually still acceptable behaviour although we will discourage it. If you are experiencing unacceptable behaviour from someone in a class, please report it to the instructor, or to Mark Charke.

 

Lost and Found

We will make every reasonable effort to return items left behind at the pool. You can come collect items whenever we are open, although you might have to wait for a staff member to be available if you need something that has been moved to that back. Recent items are generally left out to be found and then moved into storage in the back. After a month most items are thrown out. Socks, undergarments and disposables such as diapers are thrown out immediately unfortunately.

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  • What Level am I in?
    This is a quick and simple guide to determine what Swimmer level you should be in. Swimmer 1: 5+ years old. This is an introductory level for someone who has no swimming experience. Swimmer 2: You must be able to swim, off the ground and confidently, 5 meters prior to starting this level. Swimmer 3: You must be able to swim 15 meters and tread water for 15 seconds. Swimmer 4: You must be able to swim 25 meters and tread water for 30 seconds. Swimmer 5: You must be able to swim 100 meters and tread water for 1 minute and swim underwater 5 meters. Adult 1: This is for adults who are not yet comfortable in deep water. This class focuses on strokes with the goal of getting the students ready to swim in deep water. Adult 2: This is for adults who ARE comfortable in deep water. This class focuses on improving strokes, learning treading water, diving, and swimming farther distances with a goal of swimming 100 meters. Adult 3: This is for advanced students with a goal of learning advanced strokes, treading water for a minute and swimming 300 meters.​
  • What Payment do you take?
    Charke Swim is primarily setup to take booking and payment on the website (www.Charkeswim.com). We can take E-transfer and Paypal. We can not take Credit Cards over the phone (we have no Point of Sale device) at this time. Finally, we can take cash when you first arrive to the class.
  • Do You Teach People with Special Needs?
    Yes, absolutely. I teach people with special needs and have done so many times including a wide variety of mental and physical difficulties or limitations. If your student requires supervision to remain safe or on topic, you or a caregiver is welcome to come into the water with them. I understand that some people can not perform certain tasks that might normally be required to pass a level, and, unless it's a safety issue, will not hold a student back for that.
  • What Should I Bring?
    A Bathing Suit is all that is absolutely required to swim. Goggles are nice to have. Goggles should stick to your face, without the strap, for at least several seconds, otherwise they don't fit your face. (Goggles should NOT cover your nose, those are for SCUBA.) If you have long hair, you should consider a Hair Tie or Swim Cap. This will keep the hair out of your face which can block vision, and make it hard to breath without wiping it away first. A Towel and separate bag for wet clothing are handy. Everything else will be provided; Kick boards, noodles, foam dumb-bells, toys, mats and so forth.
  • Do you teach Ages 1-4?
    Yes! Charke Swim teaches Parent and Tot for (ages 1 to 3 ) and Preschool (ages 3-5).

ABOUT US

Charke Swim was founded by Mark Charke who started teaching swimming lessons in 1996 for the City of Richmond, BC where he worked as a Lifeguard and Instructor for 15 years. He has also worked in Surrey, Maple Ridge, Vancouver and other cities. He has more than 20 years of teaching experience in aquatics.

OTHER INSTRUCTION

At this time Charke Swim is a one person business. I want to provide quality lessons to as many people as possible. If I can't meet your needs, please contact these other individuals and organisations who may be able to provide the lessons you need.

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