So you want to be a mermaid, but where do you start? To find out whether you’re mermaid tail ready, follow along with me! Cozy up in your favourite mermaid tail blanket, and let’s get started. And quicker than one-two-three, we’ll have you singing along with Sebastian, “Life is much better, down where it’s wetter, take it from me!” 

A few notes before we dive in. First, most kid-safe mermaid tails start for kids aged six to seven. Check out my blog “How to Choose a Mermaid Tail” for more information on what makes a safe tail. Some mermaid courses offer classes for kids as young as six, but others require you to be at least eight years of age. 

Are you mermaid tail ready? Before you slip on your first mermaid tail, test yourself with these 7 key swimming skills you should master before buying your first mermaid tail. 

 

1. Swim in the Deep End

That’s right. To swim in a mermaid tail, you should be confident swimming in the deep end of the pool. Not quite there yet? That’s okay. Come back later when you’re ready to show off your skills, and keep practicing skills two through six in the shallow end.

How do I level up? Some options include: 

 

1. 1. Enroll in a swim course 

Whether you’re a kid or an adult, a swim instructor can help you to go from fearful to confident. You might prefer to learn in small groups or privately, but whatever your choice, this is a great first step to level up your swimming skills. Some areas offer mermaid swimming lessons, and they offer courses from everyone from beginners to experienced swimmers. 

For those in the Greater Toronto Area, check out my courses to help you become mermaid tail ready at www.swimsplashmermaid.com/mermaidschool. 

 

 

2. 2. Practice Weekly/Regularly 

If you don’t have access to a swim instructor, no worries. You can practice on your own. Stay in the shallow end, and pick one or two skills you want to focus on each session. Time yourself, and increase your practice time by a few minutes each time till you reach your goal time. Your goal time could vary depending on your age, but between 30 minutes up to an hour is a good goal. 

The more you practice, the faster you’ll improve so plan to practice two to three times a week so you increase your cardio, boost your confidence and level up so you’re one step closer to swimming in your very own mermaid tail. 

 

2. Back Float

Photo by Kiana Bosman on Unsplash

The first thing you need to think about when considering a mermaid tail is safety. Yes, mermaid tails are super fun, but they can also be very dangerous. What do you do when you panic in the water? The answer should be…FLOAT! 

 

Whether you’re a competitive swimmer, or just a fish who loves the water, the first time you put on a mermaid tail will feel foreign. Just imagine you’ve been swimming for nearly an hour, and you get tired. In a mermaid tail, you need to have an exit strategy. In an emergency, you can do a quick release BUT if you could lose your tail to the dark, deep depths of a murky lake. So, the solution. You got it – a back float! 

 

To practice a back float, stretch your arms out wide and keep your legs together to mimic a mermaid tail. How long should I be able to float? If you are practicing in the shallow end of a pool, hold your back float for at least one minute or 60 seconds. In a float, you do not move your arms or legs, you rest in position, and your legs, arms, hips and head should be at the water level for the full 60 seconds. Keep practicing this skill until you can hold your back float for at least three minutes. 

 

3. Roll from Front to Back

The next skill is to roll from front to back. Now, why is this such an important skill? Because despite wanting to transform into magical mermaids, we humans need to breathe. Let’s imagine you’re swimming in your tail in a lake, maybe in Muskoka. You’re a good swimmer, but you’re starting to get tired. Your mom waves to you from the dock, and you wave back. She’s out of arm’s reach, and you need a break-and fast. What do you do? 

 

First option, you tread water until a friend or family member comes to you with a pool noodle, or other flotation device. What’s the problem with this? You’re exhausted and treading water in a mermaid tail is hard and will tire you out quicker. Option two, you can quick release your monofin, pull off your mermaid tail and swim back to the dock. But, you will lose your tail to the depths of the lake. Bye, bye mermaid tail! This is where the roll comes in handy. You are doing the dolphin kick, and you flip over, giving yourself a few minutes to breath and rest in the back float, otherwise known as a relaxed mermaid.  Now, you might have the energy to swim back in your tail, or have waited long enough for someone to bring you a flotation device. 

 

How do I do a front to back roll? Start in the front float. When you’re ready, start the momentum in the direction you want to flip. Open up at your shoulder, and keep turning until you flip onto your back. Spread your arms wide, and take a nice, deep breath. You are now a relaxed mermaid. Practice your front to back roll each time you get in the water, so you can use this move whenever needed in your mermaid tail. 

 

4. Tread water

Another key skill you should master before trying out a mermaid tail is treading water. This is a skill that should be practiced in the deep end, as you don’t want to touch the bottom of the pool. You should be able to tread water for at least sixty seconds. 

 

How do I tread water? There are a few ways to tread water. Your head must remain above the water the entire time. Use your arms to help keep you afloat. The motion you’ll use is called sculling. The motion is similar to washing a window, you brush your hands away from your body, then toward your body. The force of your arm movements should be able to help your head stay above water. 

 

Time to add in your legs. Eggbeater is a strong stroke that mimics the movement of the beaters of a hand or stand mixer. For eggbeater, start in a sitting position, with your back straight and knees bent with your thighs parallel to the surface of the water. Each leg rotates in a different direction giving a constant flow of propulsion, pushing the body up out of the water. 

 

Another option is scissor kick. For scissor kick, kick your legs front to back, slicing through the water like a pair of scissors. This is an easy stroke but not as powerful as the eggbeater. 

Treading water in a mermaid tail is very different. To practice this, keep your legs together and scull hard with your arms. Most of the power will come from your arms. Move your legs forward and back at a steady pace. The quicker you tread, the greater your propulsion will be. 

 

5. Swim 50 meters without assistance

In Toronto, most public indoor pools are 25 yards in length. Check the length of your pool so you can accurately estimate how many meters you can swim. 

 

1 yard = 1.09361 meters

 

So, let’s do the calculation. For a 25 yard pool, you would need to swim slightly over one lap or two lengths to reach 50 meters. 

 

First, let’s review unassisted. What is an assist? This can include help from another person, a flotation device such as a pool noodle, flutter board or lifejacket.If you require assistance to help you complete two lengths, one lap or 50 meters of the pool, keep practicing! 

 

To start your practice session, you can choose any stroke. For mermaid swimming, you will be doing dolphin kick, but for now focus on any stroke on your front. These strokes include: freestyle or front crawl, breaststroke, or possibly butterfly. If you are looking into completing any PADI mermaid swim levels beyond Discover Mermaid, you will need to complete 50 meters without swimming aids. 

 

6. Swim 50 meters of the dolphin kick

So, you are confident swimming in the deep end, doing a three minute back float, rolling from front to back, treading water and swimming 50 meters without swimming aids. Next step is to add in the most important swim stroke, the dolphin kick. Practice this stroke out of the water first. Do a body roll that starts at the shoulders and moves down your body to your toes. It should be a fluid motion, and your knees shouldn’t bend too much. 

 

The incorrect version of the dolphin kick with overly bent knees is aptly called the inchworm. This version of the dolphin kick will not propel you forward and does not look as graceful as the dolphin kick. A few pointers before you jump in the water. Point your toes at all times when doing the dolphin kick. The dolphin kick should be done with your face or head submerged at or below the surface of the water. 

 

The power from the dolphin kick comes from the flow of the body, from shoulders to pointed toes. Your arms are aesthetic, and do not generate the power of the movement. There are many ways to practice the dolphin kick once you are ready for a challenge. 

Start with the front dolphin kick with your hands in streamline position. In a streamline position, your hands are stretched above your head. Lock your top thumb under your other hand, for example if your top hand is your left hand, lock your left thumb over your right hand to secure the position. Squeeze your ears, so your arms cover your ears and keep water out. Your hands should be stacked on top of each other, right on left or left on right. Keep your head trained downward at the bottom of the pool as you swim. 

 

Streamline Check:

 

1. 1. LOCK your thumb

1. 1. SQUEEZE your ears 

1. 1. LOOK down 

Dolphin kick can also be done with both hands at your sides, one hand in front and the other at your side, or using “Mako Mermaid” hands with bent elbows and your hands pulsing up and down. Be creative, have fun and experiment. When you’ve mastered front dolphin kick, try back, side and explore different levels: at the surface of the water or skimming the bottom of the pool. 

 

7. Swim Underwater 

Last but not least, to wear a mermaid tail, you have to be comfortable with swimming underwater. If you’re still learning to submerge your face and head underwater, keep practicing. The more you practice kissing the water, submerging your lips, your nose, whole face and your whole body, the closer you’ll be to your dream mermaid experience. 

 

To practice getting comfortable with being submerged, play some games in the water. One of the best games for increasing your comfort in the water is “Treasure Hunt”. To play “Treasure Hunt:, drop several diving toys at the bottom of the pool, then go, and have fun swimming to the depths of the pool to find all of the treasures. 

 

Not ready to go diving for treasures? No problem! A great place to start is to play games that get you comfortable with putting your face and head underwater. If you’re swimming with a little one, you can play “Bob!”. This is a great story game, in which you tell a story that includes the word “Bob” throughout. Each time the swimmer hears the word “Bob”, he/she/they will bob into the water, and hopefully be feeling like a super swimmer in no time. 

 

Imaginative play is a great way to engage nervous swimmers, and get them playing and feeling less anxious about getting their faces wet. Play the same game, but switch the word to “bubbles”, and get your nervous swimmers to blow bubbles in the water every time they hear the word “bubbles”. 

 

There are so many ways to get used to submerging your face, but patience is key. It can be scary to submerge yourself in water, and there are a lot of anxieties that accompany it, so try to make it fun so your nervous swimmers become confident guppies.

So, keep playing. Make the pool a fun, safe place to swim and stay active, and eventually you’ll be ready to transform from a guppy to a mer-mazing mermaid or merman.  

 

Ready? Set? Go!

Great work, future mermaid! You’ve mastered all of the seven skills above, and are ready to get your very first mermaid tail.

 

To learn more about “How to Choose your First Mermaid Tail”, and other fin-tastic ideas, subscribe to “Swim Splash Mermaid”. 

 

Mermaid Kisses and starfish wishes!