Summer 2024 update to our swim policy:

Effective September 1, 2023, Texas passed House Bill 59, also known as Cati’s Act. This bill seeks to address the issue of ensuring camper safety in “by requiring certain organizations that authorize a child to engage in an organized water activity to affirm with the child's parent or legal guardian in writing as to whether the child is able to swim or is at risk of injury or death when swimming or otherwise accessing a body of water and to provide each such child with the appropriate personal flotation device.” You can find the full description of H.B. 59 HERE. 

What does that mean for our camp experience at spilled milk? 

Put simply, we will change the language in our water activities waiver to align with the language set forth in Cati’s Act. Parents who do not affirm their child’s ability to swim competently (as defined by the American Red Cross) will be required to provide a US Coast Guard approved personal floatation device (PDF) in order for their children to participate in swim activities. 

How does the American Red Cross define water competency? 

The American Red Cross defines the skills of water competency as the ability to complete all of the following:

  • able to enter the water; 

  • get a breath;

  • stay afloat;

  • change position;

  • swim a distance then get out of the water safely.

What do spilled milk swim activities look like? 

We take the responsibility of going swimming with your kids very seriously. All swim field trips take place at City of Austin pools with trained lifeguards present. Our pool protocol include keeping low ratios, designated groups, vigilant counting, a buddy system, and regular buddy checks. We set clear and firm physical boundaries at the pool, and maintain a stricter set of behavior expectations while in the pool. All staff are trained in Basic Water Safety and First Aid/CPR and will be stationed in and around the pool, actively watching all swimmers while our swim session takes place. 

For all groups, we generally take in 15-17 campers at a time with two to three staff members. We will generally have one or two staff members out of the water (1 for Gallons, 2 for Pints and Quarts), actively monitoring our group in the pool, and one staff person in the water to monitor and assist swimmers. Each group spends one hour at the pool and one hour at the park, switching at the hour. 

Our swim reservations look a little different for each age group:

Pints - This year, our Pints group will only have access to play in the wading pools, which have a maximum depth of 3 feet. We are scheduled to go to Shipe Park each Thursday from 1 pm - 3 pm. The Pints group will have 2 staff members stationed outside of the pool and 1 staff member inside the pool. 

Quarts - Our Quarts group will be swimming at Dottie Jordan pool each Tuesday from 1 pm - 3 pm. The Quarts group will keep a ratio no greater than 1 staff for every 6 campers, with 1-2 staff members stationed outside the pool monitoring and 1 staff member in the pool. Our staff will set clear and firm boundaries within the shallow end of the pool, ensuring that our boundaries don’t exceed a depth within which all campers can comfortably touch the bottom when standing up. 

Gallons - Our Gallons will swim at Brentwood pool each Wednesday from 1 pm - 3 pm. We will have no fewer than 1 staff for every 10 Gallons campers, with at least 1 staff person monitoring from the side of the pool and another in the pool. Being our oldest and most experienced campers, Gallons have the option to take a deep water test and swim in the deep end of the pool. The City requires that campers are able to swim a specific length of the pool, put their face in the water and come up for air, as part of their deep water test. We go beyond that, requiring an additional 2 minute water treading component. 

In years past, there have been many campers who are allowed to swim in deep water with their families but who aren’t able to pass our deep water test. In order for us to feel safe and confident allowing multiple children in our care to swim in deep water, we must rely on our own judgment to make the final call on the strength of their swim skills. We appreciate your understanding that we cannot make exceptions to our deep water test requirements for the sake of the safety of all campers and staff. All shallow water swimmers will have the same boundaries and expectations as the Quarts group.

If you have any questions about our swim policies or protocol, please feel free to email us at ali@spilledmilksocialclub.com.