BU FitRec Aquatics Center

The actual pool is extremely nice. The swimmers and staff are not. There are many secret, unposted rules here– the ladies in the lane next to me had a near heart attack when I jumped in without a swim cap. Who knew you had to have one?! Ridiculous. I’ll pass and go back upstairs now… Sorry to have invaded the private club.
Additionally, the hours are erratic. It opens at 6am but closes mid-​morning then reopens at 11:30am. Who can keep track?

My toddler has taken two series of swim classes at BU.
The facilities get five stars! The family locker rooms are very clean and well organized. The pool is fantastic! The lazy river is a lot of fun for kids.
The instruction, however, is quite poor in comparison to lessons at The Evelyn Kirrane Aquatic Center at Brookline High School. The classes can be disorganized with limited one-​on-​one focus. What makes Brookline’s lessons so much better than BU is how the instructions help the parents to ensure they know the right techniques and approach to getting the kids prepared for future swimming. Also, there are just too much reliance on toys at BU. I found this distracting for my daughter. At Brookline, we can focus on the lessons and the drills without having a rubber duck float by.
We will certainly go back to BU, if it fits our schedule better than Brookline. Like I said, the facilities are what you would expect from a D1 Swim program.

My daughter loves the swimming classes. We look forward to them every week.

We have been taking our little one to swimming classes here for two years, and we’ve got nothing but positive things to say. We started the first parent-​tot class when she was about 10 months old, and it was great. The instructors are very personable and welcoming, and they immediately helped my lady feel comfortable in the water. At the end of the session, they provided a detailed feedback card (like a report card) recommending the appropriate level for our lady to take during the next session. We’ve now completed the entire parent-​tot series as well as the class that transitions students to independent swimming. This spring, she’ll be ready for her first ‘big kid’ class. We’ve always enjoyed the classes here, and our lady just LOVES the water, which I credit largely to the good experiences she’s had with these classes. Because I’m a BU alum, I get a discount on the course fees, which helps a lot. And just a note that the other classes at FitRec (such as gymnastics) are great too!