TERMS, RISK
& RESPONSIBILITY.

01Who these terms cover

Proteus Aquatics provides private swim instruction to children and toddlers and performance and technique coaching to competitive and adult swimmers. These terms apply to everyone who books, pays for, supervises, or takes part in a session — referred to below as you, the swimmer, or the parent or guardian.

Booking a session, paying an invoice, or entering the water for instruction means you accept these terms. Where a swimmer is under 18, the booking parent or legal guardian accepts them on the swimmer's behalf and confirms they have authority to do so.

Proteus Aquatics teaches swimming. It does not provide medical care, physical therapy, diagnosis, rehabilitation, or lifeguarding services to the general public, and nothing said during a session should be treated as medical advice.

02Lessons, booking & payment

Sessions are reserved through the online booking system. A booking is confirmed only when you receive a confirmation for a specific date and time; a requested slot is not a reservation.

• Session length, rate, and location are stated at the time of booking. Rates may change for future bookings but never for a session already paid for.
• Payment is processed by Square, Inc. as an independent payment processor. Proteus Aquatics does not receive or store full card numbers.
• Lesson time starts at the scheduled time. A swimmer arriving late receives the remainder of the booked session; the session is not extended.
• Where a prepaid package of multiple sessions is purchased, the dollar value of unused prepaid sessions does not expire and remains redeemable, consistent with California's restrictions on expiring prepaid value.
• A prepaid multi-session package may be cancelled in writing within three business days of purchase for a full refund of sessions not yet used.

03Cancellation, weather & refunds

Coaching time is reserved exclusively for one swimmer, so late cancellations cannot be filled.

• 24 hours or more notice: the session is rescheduled or credited in full.
• Less than 24 hours notice, or a no-show: the session is charged in full.
• Illness: a session cancelled for illness inside the notice window is credited rather than charged. Swimmers should never be brought to the pool unwell in order to save a fee.
• Cancellation by Proteus Aquatics: if a coach cancels for any reason, you receive a full credit or a refund at your choice.
• Lightning, contamination & facility closure: sessions are suspended for thunder or lightning, a fouled or chemically unsafe pool, unsafe water temperature, or closure by the facility operator. These sessions are credited in full. Safety decisions rest with the coach and the facility and are not negotiable poolside.

Refunds are issued to the original payment method. Credits are held in your name and, as above, do not expire.

04Assumption of risk & release of liability

Aquatic activity carries risks that cannot be removed by careful instruction. These include drowning and near-drowning, hypoxic blackout, slips and falls on wet decking, collision with pool walls, lane lines, blocks or other swimmers, cold-water or heat stress, ear, sinus and eye irritation, overuse injury to shoulders, knees, hips and lower back, aggravation of existing conditions, exposure to pool chemicals and to recreational water illness, and cardiac events brought on by exertion.

By taking part, you knowingly and voluntarily assume these risks, whether they arise from the nature of the activity, the condition of the facility, the conduct of other swimmers, or the ordinary negligence of Proteus Aquatics and its coaches. To the fullest extent permitted by California law, you release Proteus Aquatics, its owners, coaches, employees, and contractors from claims for injury, illness, death, or property loss arising out of participation.

A parent or guardian who books for a minor accepts this assumption of risk and release on the minor's behalf, as California permits for recreational and athletic programs.

05Health disclosure & fitness to swim

Before a first session you must disclose any condition that affects safety in water. Disclosure is a condition of instruction, not an optional form. This includes seizure or epilepsy history, asthma or other respiratory conditions, cardiac conditions, diabetes, fainting episodes, ear tubes or perforation, recent surgery, concussion history, pregnancy, autism or sensory processing differences, mobility limitations, and any allergy requiring emergency medication.

• A swimmer with a seizure history, cardiac condition, or recent surgery is asked for written clearance from a treating physician before entering the water.
• You must tell the coach about medication changes, injuries, or illness before each session, not after.
• Any required rescue medication — an inhaler, epinephrine auto-injector, glucose — must be brought to the pool deck, in date, and pointed out to the coach.
• A coach may pause, shorten, or decline a session if a swimmer appears unwell, over-fatigued, or unsafe to continue. No fee is charged for a session ended this way on safety grounds.

Withholding relevant health information puts the swimmer and the coach at risk and may end instruction without refund of the affected session.

06Breath-holding & hypoxic training policy

Shallow-water blackout kills strong, fit, experienced swimmers without warning and without struggle. Proteus Aquatics therefore enforces the following, for every swimmer at every level:

• No repetitive or competitive breath-hold work, no hyperventilation before submersion, no underwater distance or time challenges, and no breath-hold sets performed alone.
• Hypoxic sets for competitive swimmers are used only in coach-directed form, within set rest intervals, under direct observation, and are stopped at the first sign of dizziness, tingling, or visual disturbance.
• Swimmers and parents are asked not to practise breath-holding games outside of sessions, including at home pools.

A swimmer who continues breath-hold activity after being asked to stop will be removed from the water for the remainder of the session.

07Supervision & emergency care

Instruction is one-to-one. A coach teaching one swimmer is not a lifeguard for the rest of the pool, and the presence of a coach does not relieve a parent, guardian, or facility of their own supervision duties.

• A parent or guardian of a swimmer under 18 must remain on site and reachable for the entire session, and within sight of the water for toddlers and non-swimmers.
• Siblings and other children brought along remain the responsibility of the accompanying adult at all times.
• Coaches hold current CPR, AED, and first aid certification and act within the limits of that training.
• By booking, you consent to Proteus Aquatics obtaining emergency medical care, including calling 911 and permitting transport, if a swimmer needs it and you cannot be reached in time. You remain responsible for the resulting medical costs.
• You must keep an emergency contact and any relevant insurance details current.

08Child safeguarding

Teaching children to swim involves physical support in the water. Proteus Aquatics keeps that contact instructional, explained in advance, and open to view.

• Physical support is limited to what the skill requires — supporting the torso, hips, or limbs during a stroke or float — and is described to the swimmer and parent before it is used.
• Sessions take place in open, observable areas of the pool. Coaches are not alone with a child in changing rooms, restrooms, vehicles, or behind closed doors.
• Parents are welcome to observe any session at any time.
• Coaches working with minors are mandated reporters under California's Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and will report suspected abuse or neglect to the authorities as that law requires, regardless of who is involved.

09Facility, hygiene & illness

Sessions are held at pools operated by third parties. Facility rules apply in addition to these terms, and the facility operator remains responsible for water chemistry, decking, drain covers, fencing, and lifeguard coverage.

• Shower before entering the water. Swim diapers are required for any child not reliably toilet trained; cloth or disposable street diapers are not permitted in the pool.
• Do not enter the water with diarrhea, vomiting within 48 hours, an open or draining wound, an untreated skin or eye infection, or a fever. Recreational water illness spreads through shared water and closes pools.
• No diving into shallow water, no running on decking, no glass on the pool deck.
• Bring swimwear, towel, goggles, and any equipment requested for your program. Proteus Aquatics is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen personal property.
• Abusive, threatening, or unsafe conduct toward a coach, another swimmer, or facility staff ends the session immediately and may end the coaching relationship without refund.

10Photography & media consent

Stroke video is a coaching tool and is sometimes useful publicity. The two uses are kept separate.

• Technique video may be recorded during a session for analysis and shared with the swimmer and parent. It is not published without separate written consent.
• Marketing use — website, social media, printed material — requires your specific written consent, given freely and never as a condition of receiving lessons.
• Consent can be withdrawn in writing at any time. On request, material is removed from channels Proteus Aquatics controls, though copies already redistributed by others cannot always be recalled.
• Parents and spectators may photograph their own swimmer only, and must avoid capturing other children. Recording is not permitted in changing areas or restrooms under any circumstances.

11Privacy & your California rights

Proteus Aquatics collects only what is needed to teach safely and get paid: swimmer and parent name, email address, phone number, session history, the health information described above, emergency contacts, and payment records held by Square.

Health disclosures are sensitive personal information. They are used solely for participant safety, seen only by the coaches who need them, and never used for marketing. Personal information is never sold or shared for cross-context behavioural advertising. It is disclosed only to service providers who make the business work — the booking and payment platform, email hosting, website hosting — and where the law requires it, including mandated reporting and emergency response.

Records are kept while you are an active client and afterwards only as long as needed for tax, insurance, and liability purposes, then deleted.

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended, you may request to know what personal information is held about you, request a copy of it, have it corrected, have it deleted, limit the use of sensitive personal information, and opt out of sale or sharing. Proteus Aquatics honours these requests regardless of whether it meets the statute's revenue thresholds, and will not withhold or degrade service because you exercised a privacy right. California residents may also request disclosure of information shared for direct marketing under the state's "Shine the Light" law; Proteus Aquatics does not share information for that purpose.

To make a request, email performancebyproteus@gmail.com. Verification is required before information is released or deleted, and a parent or guardian must make requests concerning a child under 13.

This website sets no advertising or tracking cookies.

12Accessibility & equal access

Proteus Aquatics welcomes swimmers with disabilities and does not discriminate on any basis protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act or California's Unruh Civil Rights Act. Tell us what a swimmer needs — entry assistance, a quieter pool time, extra processing time, a support person or service animal on deck, adapted equipment — and reasonable adjustments will be made where the facility allows, subject to any physician clearance required above.

If any part of this website is difficult to use with assistive technology, email us and the information will be provided in another format.

13Governing law & disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute is brought in the state or federal courts serving the California county where the session took place, and both sides consent to that venue. Nothing here prevents either side from using California small claims court.

Before filing anything, please raise the issue by email so it can be resolved directly; most problems are scheduling problems. If a provision of these terms is held unenforceable, the rest remains in force. Proteus Aquatics may update these terms — the current version always governs new bookings, material changes are notified by email to active clients, and a session already booked and paid for is held to the terms in place when it was booked.