Summer 2025 Session FAQ + Policies

Everything you need to know about Summer Session! Click a section below to expand and read the answer.

+ Summer Session Dates and Fourth of July Break Week

The full Session dates are Tuesday, May 27th through Sunday, August 24th

However, if you are enrolling for the nine-week block of weekly swim lessons, those will run from May 27th through July 31st. We will be skip the week of June 30th to July 4th. This is a scheduled session Break Week. That means weekly Summer Session bookings have the week off. (Don’t worry — this break was factored into your tuition for the semester, so you are not paying for it.) Make-up swim lesson times will be available for clients who need to complete make-ups due to previously submitted cancellations. See the Cancellation section below for more details.

+ Pool Locations and How to Enter

Fitness Alive South Philly: 714 Reed Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

  • Located Inside Fitness Works Philadelphia
  • Enter on Beulah Street, to our pool deck door. Look for the Fitness Alive awning.

Fitness Alive Center City: 1425 Arch Street, b level, Philadelphia, PA 19102

  • Look for the Fitness Alive sign outside of the sidewalk-level elevator vestibule to the right of the building’s front steps.
  • Choose Fitness Alive on the call box and we buzz you in.
  • Proceed onto the elevator to level B and follow signs to the pool.

Fitness Alive Creekside: Corner of Media Parkway and Moore Road in Wallingford, PA 19086

  • Creekside lessons are available for drop-in only in July and August.
  • You do not have to be a member of Creekside to lessons there!

You can see photos of the front entrances at all pools right here.

+ Who Can Enroll

Swimmers must be aged 3 and older to enroll in swim lessons, no exceptions. Adults are welcome too. For adult group class options, go here.

+ What's the Difference Between Weekly Lessons and Drop-ins

Weekly lessons are just that — swim lessons that recur on the same day, time and location, and with the same instructor, each week of the session. You pick your day, time, location and instructor when you enroll. In summer, we are offering weekly bookings for nine weeks, from May 27th through July 31st. (No lessons week of Fourth of July.)

Drop-in lessons remove the weekly commitment. These are one-time swim lessons you can book anytime through our website. You simply book and pay for each lesson individually as you go.

The 24-hour cancellation policy applies to both types of bookings. See below for details on that policy.

+ What to Bring/Expect for First-Timers

You'll want to bring a towel and goggles. If you forget, we have both of those (plus swim caps) available for purchase on deck. Children who are not yet potty trained will need a swim diaper (disposable or reusable) — no exceptions.

Please be on the pool deck ready to swim at least 5 minutes before your lesson begins. Swimmers may not enter the pool until their lesson time, when they are invited by the instructor. If your child is swimming, parents can find a seat on the pool deck to observe. (Parents do not get in the water!) We encourage you to cheer your kids on. And please, no food or drink on the pool deck or in locker rooms.

For facility-specific instructions, like parking, public transit, etc., click below:

+ Summer Tuition Rates and Billing Dates

Click here for Weekly Lesson rates and billing dates.

Click here for Drop-in Lesson rates.

+ How to Find Your Lesson Schedule and Lesson Reminders

You can see your swimmer's complete schedule in the Fitness Alive Portal. You will also receive email and/or text reminders 2 days ahead of your next lesson. This gives you time to cancel before the 24-hour mark, if needed.

Click here to view a video tutorial on finding your schedule in the Portal.

If you are not receiving these emails and/or texts, please email appointments@fitnessalivephilly.com so we can fix your account settings.

+ How to Cancel Lessons, and Our Cancellation Policies

To be fair to our instructors and honor their time, Fitness Alive has a 24-hour cancellation policy. You can cancel upcoming swim lessons through the Fitness Alive Portal. (See a video tutorial here for how to cancel through the Portal.)

Depending on how much advance notice you give, one of the following rules will apply:

  • If you cancel your appointment with at least 24 hours notice, this is an early cancellation and it is eligible for rebooking/make-up.

  • If you cancel your appointment with less than 24 hours notice, this is a late cancellation and it is not eligible for a rebooking/make-up.

  • If you no-show, this is a late cancellation and it is not eligible for a make-up.

If you are in a semiprivate swim lesson (2 swimmers, 1 instructor) or a group swim lesson (3 swimmers, 1 instructor), please note this ADDITIONAL CANCELLATION/MAKE-UP POLICY:

Early Cancellations for Semiprivates/Groups:

  • If one partner in a group/semiprivate early-cancels a lesson, the entire lesson will be early-canceled for all other partners. This means the other partners will not be able to keep the lesson time on the date that was canceled by their partner.

  • Semiprivate/group make-ups resulting from early cancellations must be completed with all partners. If you plan to take a lesson with a friend(s), you will need to coordinate a make-up time with that friend(s). Separate private make-ups will not be allowed for semiprivate/group swimmers

Late Cancellations for Semiprivates/Groups:

  • If a semiprivate/group partner late cancels or no-shows, this is considered a “charged” lesson so the partners who did not cancel can keep their normal lesson time.

+ How to Schedule Make-up Lessons

Make-ups are scheduled through the Fitness Alive Portal. Click here for a video tutorial on how to schedule make-ups

Make-ups are provided ONLY for early-cancelled lessons. However:

  1. Make-ups must be completed during the Summer Session timeframe, May 27 through August 24. If you have incomplete make-ups at the end of the session, we’re sorry, but we do not provide refunds or make-up extensions.

  2. You must book your make-up lessons yourself. When you EARLY CANCEL a lesson, you will be provided an opportunity to make it up.

  3. Make-ups can be completed at either location, regardless of where you normally swim, and with any instructor. Make-ups are not guaranteed with your usual instructor.

  4. See the previous section on cancellations for make-up rules specifically for semiprivate/group lessons.

Pro Tip! If you know you'll be away later in the session — say, a vacation in July — you can early cancel them now and make them up in advance.

+ How to Terminate Weekly Swim Lesson Payments/Contract

You must submit your lesson termination request in writing to appointments@fitnessalivephilly.com at least 2 weeks before your next tuition billing date.

You will not receive a refund/credit for past payments or the deposit, but you will be removed from future tuition payments. Please note, terminating before the term’s end will preclude you from receiving priority booking for the next term.

If the swimmer has a medical emergency that prevents them from being in the water for the remainder of the term, please provide a doctor’s note and we will cancel your lessons and provide an account credit for unused weeks. We cannot issue refunds.

+ Sick Policy

A last-minute cancellation due to illness — just like any cancellation with less than 24 hours notice — will be treated as a late-cancel and is not eligible for a make-up.

We understand this can be frustrating as a parent; we have kids, too, and know they sometimes just wake up sick! However, as a business, we need to honor our instructors' time and pay them for coming in for your lesson. Thank you for understanding.

Please also note that, to protect the health of our staff and other clients, Fitness Alive reserves the right to refuse services to swimmers who show symptoms of illness, at our discretion. They will be asked to leave the facility and are not eligible for a make-up.

In the event that a Fitness Alive coach is sick and needs to call out last minute, we will do everything we can to provide a sub. You will be notified about any substitutions. If you decide that you would prefer to not swim with a substitute instructor, you are permitted to late cancel your lesson. Late cancellations are not eligible for rescheduling or make-up.

In the event that a sub is not available for your swim time, you will be given a make-up you can schedule on your own for a later date.

+ Locker Room Policy

  1. All children must be accompanied by an adult in the locker room.

  2. Swimmers over age 6 are not permitted in opposite gender locker rooms. Please change in the Family Changing Room and Restroom.

Both pool locations have private family bathrooms. These have been provided to allow a place for parents to assist children with changing in situations when children are too old to enter a locker room. The Family Bathroom at the South Philly pool is located on the opposite end of the deck from our front desk. In Center City, the Family Bathroom is in the hallway on the way to the pool deck. If you need assistance, our deck supervisors would be happy to show you where they are.

If swimmers or families are found to repeatedly violate these policies, we will need to take action including suspending swim lessons.

+ Swimmer Drop-off Policy

A “drop off” is defined as leaving your child at Fitness Alive without your supervision for any reason and for any amount of time, including but not limited to finding parking, running an errand, parental/guardian exchanges, etc.

To be eligible to drop off your swimmer, we require the following:

  1. Your swimmer must be at least 10 years of age.
  2. Swimmers who are being dropped off must be signed in at the front desk by their parent/guardian.
  3. When your swimmer leaves, they must be signed out at the front desk by a parent/guardian. Your child will not be permitted to leave unless they are signed out.
  4. Dropped-off swimmers are only permitted to use the family changing bathrooms, as they cannot enter a locker room without a parent/guardian present.

We understand that parking can be tough depending on the time of day and location that you are headed to. However, we cannot allow for any swimmers to walk in without a parent or guardian, even if you are just going to find parking. We recommend planning to arrive at the facility 15 minutes prior to when your lesson starts to allow for parking and walking over to the pool.

Any child who is under the age of 10 years old and sent to the pool deck without a parent will not be permitted to swim. They will be sat next to the deck supervisor until their parent or guardian arrives at the facility.

Any swimmer who is dropped off who participates in disruptive or unsafe behavior is liable to lose their drop off privileges at management’s discretion.

+ Inclement Weather or Facility Emergency Cancellations/Closures

In the event of inclement weather or a facility emergency, Fitness Alive will determine if we need to cancel lessons or close early/open late by 1pm on weekdays and 8am on weekends. Any schedule changes or closures will be communicated to via email, text and at the top banner on our website.

If cancellations/closures are deemed necessary, clients will be early-canceled with no penalty. The lesson or class token will be returned to your swimmer's account so you can book a make-up later. Make-ups must be completed before the end of the session term. We will not offer refunds for weather cancellations.

If Fitness Alive is open but a client decides to cancel their lesson, this will be a late cancellation, meaning it is not eligible for a make-up.

+ Video Tutorials for the Portal

You'll find them all here!

+ How to Contact Fitness Alive

Email or text: