Lesson Agreement, Liability Release & Policies
Last updated August 24, 2026
This agreement is between Manatee Swim School and the parent or legal guardian booking lessons. Please read it before you book. By ticking the agreement box at checkout you confirm you have read it, that you understand it, and that you accept it on behalf of yourself and each swimmer you enroll.
1. What we provide
Manatee Swim School provides private, one-to-one swimming instruction at a pool you nominate — usually your own home pool, or a community or HOA pool you have permission to use. Lessons are taught by instructors who hold Water Safety Instructor certification and current CPR and First Aid certification, and who have passed a background check.
2. Swimming carries risk, and you accept it
Swimming and being near water carry inherent risks that cannot be removed no matter how carefully a lesson is run. Those risks include slips and falls on wet surfaces, collisions, cuts and bruises, swallowing or inhaling water, ear and eye irritation, exhaustion, cold, sunburn, illness carried in pool water, and — in the most serious case — near drowning, drowning, permanent injury or death.
You confirm that you understand these risks, that you have considered them, and that you accept them for yourself and for each swimmer you enroll.
3. A parent or guardian must be present
A parent or legal guardian aged 18 or over must be present and within sight and sound of the pool for the whole of every lesson. For swimmers under two years old, a parent or guardian must be in the water for the whole lesson.
Our instructor is there to teach. They are not a lifeguard and are not responsible for supervising anyone other than the swimmer in the lesson — not siblings, not friends, not other guests. If no parent or guardian is present, the instructor will not begin the lesson, and the lesson will count as taken.
4. The pool is yours to keep safe
Where lessons take place at a pool you own or control, you remain responsible for it. That means the pool, its water quality and chemical balance, the deck, steps, ladders, drains, covers, gates, fencing, lighting and any equipment are your responsibility to keep in safe working order.
You confirm the pool has no known defect or hazard that has not been disclosed to us, and that the water is clean, clear and chemically balanced. Our instructor may end or decline a lesson if in their judgment the pool is not safe to teach in; where that happens because of the pool’s condition, the lesson counts as taken.
Where lessons take place at a community, HOA or third-party pool, you confirm you have the right to use it for paid instruction and that you accept any rules or fees it imposes.
5. Health, medical conditions and emergencies
You must tell us, before lessons begin, about any medical condition, disability, allergy, medication, seizure history, recent illness, injury or surgery, or any other circumstance that could affect a swimmer’s safety in the water. Tell us as soon as anything changes.
You confirm each swimmer is physically fit to take part. If you are unsure, ask a doctor first.
If a medical emergency happens and you cannot be reached immediately, you authorize us to call emergency services and to permit emergency medical treatment. You are responsible for the cost of any medical care.
6. Release of liability
To the fullest extent the law allows, you release Manatee Swim School, its owner, instructors, employees and contractors from any claim, demand or cause of action for injury, illness, death, or loss of or damage to property arising out of participation in lessons — including claims founded on ordinary negligence.
This release does not cover gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional or unlawful conduct, and it does not waive any right that cannot lawfully be waived. Nothing in this agreement limits any right you have under applicable law.
You also agree to indemnify us against any claim brought by or on behalf of a swimmer you enroll, or by a guest present at a lesson, to the extent it arises from a breach of this agreement by you.
7. No child is ever drown-proof
Swimming lessons reduce risk. They do not remove it. No lesson, no number of lessons and no level of skill makes any child safe to be near water unsupervised, and nothing in our teaching or our guarantee should be read as saying otherwise. Constant, close adult supervision around water is always required, and layers of protection — fencing, alarms, covers, supervision — remain your responsibility.
8. Photographs and video
Instructors sometimes record short clips during lessons so that progress can be shown to you.
We will not publish, advertise or otherwise share any photograph or recording that identifies a swimmer without your separate, express written permission. Permission is specific to the material you approve, and you may withdraw it at any time by writing to us, after which we will stop using that material going forward.
9. Payment
Lesson packages are paid in advance. When you book, your card details are stored securely by our payment processor, Stripe — we never see or hold your full card number. No charge is made at the time of booking. Your card is charged for the package you selected once you have been paired with an instructor, in line with the timing stated at checkout.
The one-time sign-up fee is charged per swimmer and is not refundable.
Prices, promotions and discount codes are those shown at the time of booking. A promotion applies only while it is running and only where its stated conditions are met.
10. Scheduling, cancellations and missed lessons
Please give at least 24 hours' notice to cancel or move a lesson. With that notice, the lesson is rescheduled at no charge. With less, or where nobody is present at the agreed time, the lesson counts as taken.
If your instructor cancels, or if a lesson cannot go ahead because of weather, unsafe water, or anything else outside your control, the lesson is rescheduled at no charge and does not count against your package.
Lessons in an unused package remain available for twelve months from purchase.
If you need to stop lessons altogether, write to us and we will refund the lessons you have not taken, less the sign-up fee and any promotional discount already applied to lessons you have used.
11. Weather and conditions
Lessons are canceled for lightning, thunder, or any condition the instructor judges unsafe. That judgment is the instructor’s to make and is final. Cancelled lessons are rescheduled and do not count against your package.
12. The Safe Swimmer Guarantee
Where a package includes our guarantee, the terms shown alongside it at the time of booking apply in full — including the eligibility conditions, the required lesson frequency, the minimum water temperature, attendance of the lessons required by that guarantee, and the period within which a claim must be made. The guarantee is a promise about instruction. It is not a promise that any child is safe near water unsupervised.
13. Instructors
We assign the instructor best suited to your swimmer, location and schedule, and we may change the assigned instructor where we need to. We will tell you if that happens.
14. General
This agreement, together with the details shown at checkout, is the whole agreement between us. If any part of it is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply, and the unenforceable part applies to the greatest extent the law allows.
This agreement is governed by the law of the state in which the lessons are taught. It binds you, and your heirs and personal representatives.
We may update these terms. The version that applies to your booking is the one published on the date you booked.
15. Contact
Manatee Swim School
954-546-3024
manateeswimschool.com
By ticking the agreement box at checkout, you confirm that you have read and understood this agreement, that you are the parent or legal guardian of each swimmer you enroll, that you are at least 18 years old, and that you accept these terms.