😊👍Your Child's SwimSafer Journey with Buddy Sports 🏊‍♀️🏊‍♂️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♂️

Buddy Sports
Aug 5
3 min read

Updated: Aug 6

At Buddy Sports, we're more than just a coach — we're your buddy every step of the way. Here's exactly what the SwimSafer journey looks like, from your first lesson to that proud certificate moment.

1. Find a Certified SwimSafer Coach

Look for an instructor who holds a valid SwimSafer 2.0 Instructor certification — that's us! Coach Ling and the Buddy Sports team are ready to guide your child.

2. Learn Stage-Specific Skills ***( Stage 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 Bronze / 5 Silver / 6 *Gold )***

Your child works through the skills required for their stage — Entries & Exits, Sculling, Underwater Skills, Strokes, Survival Skills, and Water Safety Knowledge. We build these up progressively, in small groups, at your child's pace.

3. Get Assessment-Ready

Before we recommend your child for testing, we evaluate their readiness against the official Must-See Criteria through a dedicated test preparation session — so they walk into the assessment feeling confident, not just "ready enough."

Assessment readiness is a team effort between coach, parent, and child. We will share the assessment requirements with parents and encourage you to review them together at home. When children see that both their parents and coach have the same expectations and goals, they are more likely to take ownership of their preparation and approach the assessment with focus, confidence, and responsibility. 4. Register a CAMS Participant Account *under child's name

Parents create an account on CAMS (the Centralised Assessment Management System) — this is required before any official assessment can be booked.

5. Tag Your Child's School & Coach

Link your child's CAMS profile to both their school and Buddy Sports coach. This allows all parties to stay aligned and helps ensure a smoother registration and assessment process.

By tagging the relevant school and coach, important updates and assessment information can be coordinated more effectively, making it easier to support your child's SwimSafer journey together.

6. Register for the Practical Assessment

We'll guide you to select an assessment slot on CAMS (slots open up to 3 months ahead). Registration must be validated by your tagged coach — we'll take care of this with you.

7. Coach Validation

Your registration is sent to your tagged coach for validation — this must happen before payment can be made. We keep an eye on this so it doesn't hold you up. 8. Pay the Assessment Fee

Once validated, complete payment on CAMS — $50 per participant, covering both the practical assessment & the online theory quiz.

9. Complete the Online Theory Quiz

We recommend doing this before assessment day, while it's fresh — needs a 90% score, and must be completed within 7 days of the practical assessment regardless of when you attempt it. *Parents are encouraged to do this together with your child, because it's a great chance to reinforce important water safety knowledge as a family — not just tick a box!

10. Assessment Day

Arrive 15–30 min early, consent form ready. The practical assessment is scored against the Must-See Criteria. 11. Get results Released on CAMS within 48 hours (not on the spot at poolside) 12. Receive certificate Auto-generated on CAMS once both practical and quiz are passed — parents find it under "My Certificates" 13. Progress to the next stage Repeat from Step 6! (or after Stage 6, continue the swimming journey with SwimFurther) A few things worth flagging to parents in your materials, since they trip people up:

No cancellations are allowed — only rescheduling (before the 3-week cutoff)
Absentees without a medical certificate forfeit the slot with no refund
The quiz deadline is strict — missing it voids an otherwise-passed practical result