Frequently Asked Questions
What is a “family” as covered by a Family membership? Typically, a family membership covers family members who reside at the same address. We are not in the business of regulating what makes a family! :) If you have questions about your personal situation, we would be happy to chat it through with you.
Why can’t my child wear a life jacket/swimmies/use a raft/etc? This is a tough one, but it's a long-time Little Troy Park policy. Floatation devices can create significant blind spots for lifeguards, encourage horseplay, and cause non-swimmers to push the boundary of their swim ability. Children get used to wearing their puddle jumpers and don't learn horizontal buoyancy. However, due to the pond's gradual entry into the water, children are not immediatley in water over their heads. We've found that practicing swimming skills in shallower water allows children to gain confidence and skill quickly.
What's your policy on cancelling lessons due to weather? We try to squeeze in as many swim lessons as we can, so lessons will be held if it's raining. Thunder does cancel lessons, as we have to keep everyone out of the water for 30 minutes after an instance of thunder.
What can I do to help out? Talk to the board! There’s tons of things we’d love your help on - planning fun activities, or even becoming a board member. Job sharing and training are available!
What are your swim lesson levels? Confused about which level to register your child for? This link may help. Our guards can also do an informal assessment before lessons begin or on the first day. We also can move children up and down levels as needed, to meet their needs through the summer.
How often do lessons meet? Each lesson lasts for 30 minutes, and meets daily, Monday - Thursday for 6 weeks. That’s 24 lessons! We hold so many lessons to allow people to go on vacation and still make progress. The weather also will generally impact a few days of lessons.
Can I host a party at the park? Of course! For larger parties (10+ people), we need to know ahead of time to plan our lifeguard coverage. See a board member, or send an email to hear about special rates for parties.
How is the water treated? It’s not! Luckily, our pond is fed by the beautiful Alplaus creek, as well as many natural springs. The water continuously circulates into and out of the pond. We also test the water every summer. It’s a natural ecosystem - including the “white fuzz” that drifts down from the trees each June.
Where can I find the schedule for the summer events? We will post a schedule on the Guardhouse bulletin board, publish it on our site, and of course - email our members!
Why is there an Activity & Maintenance fund? We are planning ahead for future maintenance issues (for example, the water pump), and want to build in some money to cover fun activities through the summer.