Coaches are absolutely amazing!…read more We switched over from another club in the area and there is such a big difference! The coaches seem way more strict at first, but each child gets so much one-on-one attention, Because of that, not only did our kids improve - they both have developed a genuine passion for swimming and even set swimming goals for themselves. All of the swimmers are very supportive of each other and a lot of them actually look forward to practice. Definitely recommend switching to Dolphins to anyone who lives in the Burlington/Oakville area.

From the owner: The Dolphins Swim Team program strives to instill in young swimmers an understanding of, and…read moreappreciation for, such concepts as high self-esteem, personal accountability, constructive self-motivation, goal setting and goal achievement as these ideals relate to their success in training and in competition.

This place will NOT be for you if you are looking for your child to be challenged and want a well…read moreorganized place from season to season with good communication. I DO NOT recommend due to poor Supervisor / Management and Organization skills We completed our first season with Making Waves and really enjoyed the coaches, however, we enrolled our kids in advance for a second season based on the coaches feedback from each session and our observations every week. We came to Making Waves from the Community Center and it was difficult to translate the levels. We signed our son up for Big Wave 1/2 and he was promoted from 1 to 2 on the 2nd class. He continued to perform all exercises at level 2; coaches suggesting he's doing amazing each class, so we enrolled him for Big Wave 3/4 to ensure our spot with no friction. Making Waves cancelled our child's enrolment for 3/4 last minute with the only option to repeat a level at which my child is excelling (1/2). Conveniently the space disappeared online so it feels they needed to make room for another child (Making Waves eliminated Big Wave 3/4 likely creating a ton of friction). Making Waves wants him to repeat level 2. This will not challenge my child to progress, is unfortunate and disappointing. Especially given my child is also asking for harder classes. We won't be going back and recommend parents looking for good management and continued learning growth for their child to seek an alternative school.

Took my nephew for his swimming lesson and was really impressed with this facility. Very kid…read morefriendly and very well maintained. The space is clean and temperature of the pool was perfect. Shower and change rooms were very clean and they also have a nice viewing area for the parents. Instructors were really nice and friendly. They were very young but they knew what they were doing. The classes are separated by sections and class sizes are small, which is great because the kids get the attention they need. Highly recommend!

Great club for competitive swimming. The club has their own gym for dryland which is quite rare for…read morethe swimming clubs in the area. Coaches are all professional, knowledgeable, and approachable.

WARNING: Questionable Business Practices and Ineffective Governance…read more Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this club due to poor governance and what appears to be exploitative practices. QUESTIONABLE BUSINESS MODEL: In my opinion, their fee structure seems problematic: families pay high monthly fees (hundreds of dollars) AND are required to provide significant volunteer hours - with MORE hours required as your child advances. This double-burden approach appears designed to extract maximum value from families. MY FAMILY'S EXPERIENCE: Despite providing weeks of advance notice for a travel conflict and arranging a substitute volunteer through their own Community Coordinator (Jane Talbot), OAK imposed a $200 penalty based on policy language that I believe was misrepresented. BOARD GOVERNANCE FAILURE: After receiving dismissive responses from management, I attempted to escalate concerns to the Board of Directors, including President Mark Thompson. Despite multiple attempts to reach board members, I received zero responses. This complete lack of engagement raises serious questions about board oversight and accountability. SPECIFIC ISSUES I ENCOUNTERED: Policy Misrepresentation - Management claimed their policy requires "direct participation by the family member." After reviewing their complete Volunteer Incentive Program document, this exact phrase appears nowhere in their written policies. Inconsistent Staff Guidance - Their Community Coordinator confirmed our substitute arrangement satisfied requirements, but management later reversed this decision without clear explanation. Lack of Accountability - When I requested specific policy citations to support their position, Business Manager Jason Morawski provided none, despite multiple detailed requests. Board Non-Responsiveness - President Mark Thompson and other board members appear to ignore member concerns entirely, suggesting ineffective governance oversight. Poor Customer Service - Management showed what I perceived as dismissive and arrogant responses to legitimate policy questions, particularly disappointing given our family was dealing with a death during this period. GOVERNANCE CONCERNS: Based on my experience, the board appears to: - Provide no oversight of management decisions - Ignore member escalations completely - Allow arbitrary policy enforcement without accountability - Fail to respond to legitimate governance concerns DOCUMENTED CONCERNS: - Management appears unable or unwilling to cite specific written policies supporting their decisions - Staff assurances seem unreliable when contradicted by management - Board members (including President Mark Thompson) appear unresponsive to member concerns - No effective appeals process for disputed charges - Policies appear to be interpreted arbitrarily rather than consistently PATTERN I OBSERVED: - Collect high monthly fees from families - Require substantial volunteer commitments - Apply unclear policies that can be interpreted multiple ways - Dismiss member concerns without substantive responses - Board provides no oversight or accountability - Maintain charges even when unable to provide policy support RED FLAGS FOR OTHER FAMILIES: No board accountability - don't expect responses to escalated concerns Budget for unexpected fees beyond monthly charges Get all arrangements in writing - verbal confirmations may not be honored Demand specific policy citations for any charges Be prepared for dismissive responses from management and silence from board MY RECOMMENDATION: Based on my experience, I believe families should consider clubs that: - Have responsive, accountable board governance - Operate with clear, consistently applied policies - Treat families with respect during difficult times The combination of unaccountable management (Jason Morawski), non-responsive board leadership (President Mark Thompson), high fees, mandatory volunteering, and arbitrary policy enforcement creates what I believe is an exploitative environment with no oversight.

Way too many kids. The teacher doesn't give enough attention to any of them. My son would spend…read moremore time doing nothing than swimming.

We tried it...New swim school in town and were disappointed that all the hype seemed to be made up…read more The instructors had no clue how to teach stroke mechanics like the place we always went to for years. Well, we are sticking with our first choice. The renovations are looking fabulous but we go there for the knowledge more than the paint. It is a shame that no one except one place in Oakville really knows how to teach kids to swim properly and actually know how to fix problems in a stroke. Sorry Goldfish...back to OSA

The place---4.5/5 the whole place is amazing especially for families! Our family enjoys the pool a…read morelot especially the outdoor pool! Only down fall is the messy family changing room which is not the fault of the staff but the other families that are not courteous enough to clean up their mess. Value for the money--3/5 it is very very pricy but if you're going everyday then I guess you'll get your money's worth All in all I would definitely go especially if you have the budget and time

Was assaulted here and a minor with me was assaulted by a grown man…read more ill Try to sum this up to the best of my ability. long story short. I was here with a student, training him at the basketball court. some man In his 40s was getting very frustrated that we kept beating him. so he grabs my neck and starts to choke me. it took maybe 4-6 other grown men to get him to stop. he then tried to assault the minor. Mind you over a game of basketball. and when lifetime brought us in to mitigate the issue they were great with all these empty claimed promises. they promised to ban the other member if I did not press legal charges. i Still have 3-5 witnesses that were there that day. many of them are current active members still. but regardless the matter. lifetime told me they would ban the other member. so I was content with that as I was a daily guest at lifetime most times 2-3 times a day. the staff there all know me and my family. i can have at least 10 workers there vouch for me that I would go at least 2 times a day 5/6 am and 7/9 pm everyday. Regardless I noticed the member lifetime told me they banned, was in fact not banned. is lifetime that greedy that they ignore an assault case they had on video on a minor and a guest Just for some extra money ? I cancelled my membership immediately after finding this out. I contacted Devin yesterday through email and he might have been the worst assist in history of customer reps. Anyways that's my 2 cents and I strongly advise you to pick another gym than lifetime. I would rather pay 2/3x more instead of being around a gym that's just greedy and cash hungry, they don't even value their guests. my entire family was enrolled here before 2010 and we stayed active for over 13 years. absolutely insane way This company looks at their clients. STAY AWAY FROM THIS GYM

Excellent atmosphere and a great place to train for people of all ages, body types and skill levelsread more