CHICAGO — Big Blue Swim School, one of the fastest-growing swim school franchises, was ranked among the Top 100 Game Changers by Franchise Dictionary Magazine for the second consecutive year.
The annual Game Changer list is part of the magazine’s December issue. Franchises on the 2019 Game Changers list were evaluated on a variety of criteria including how they serve communities, if they create an opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to fulfill a niche, if they impact veterans, and how well they appeal to millennials.
“We are honored to be listed again as a Game Changer franchise in 2019,” said Chris DeJong, founder and President of Big Blue Swim School. “We have always known that Big Blue is a special opportunity thanks to our mission-driven business focused on creating big, life-changing moments for kids, and our strong support infrastructure for franchisees, and we are proud to be recognized for our achievements.”
Founded by U.S. National Champion swimmer Chris DeJong in 2009, Big Blue takes a holistic approach to swim instruction, developing critical life skills like confidence and self-esteem consistent with children’s developmental levels. Backed by private equity firm Level 5 Capital Partners, the largest CorePower Yoga franchisee and third-largest national yoga studio operator, the brand has the depth of leadership and strong investment model to emerge as a leader in the underserved swim school industry.
“Since starting to franchise last year, Big Blue has awarded 55 franchises in key markets across the country,” said Scott Thompson, Chief Development Officer at Big Blue Swim School and Level 5 Capital Partners. “As we continue to expand our presence through strong partnerships, we will further set ourselves apart as game-changers in the $3 billion swim school industry. With best-in-class consumer offerings, strong leadership support, a recession-resistant business model and an aggressive growth plan, Big Blue Swim School is uniquely positioned to go from Game-Changer, to industry leader.”
Big Blue currently has franchise agreements in place in several targeted markets such as Illinois, Utah, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Arizona. The game changing swim school’s aggressive growth plan aims to franchise to 150 units signed by 2021.
ABOUT BIG BLUE SWIM SCHOOL
Big Blue Swim School was founded in 2009 by competitive swimmer Chris DeJong. The first location opened in Wilmette, Illinois, followed by Niles, Buffalo Grove and Hoffman Estates. In 2017, Level 5 Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in the brand, and is rolling out an aggressive strategy to grow through franchising to 150 locations by 2020. Big Blue Swim School’s real estate footprint, proprietary technology Lesson Buddy, coupled with its practice of employing full-time child engagement specialists that teach based on a proprietary distance-based swimming methodology sets Big Blue up for long-term success. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Big Blue Swim School, visit http://YourBigMomentStartsHere.com.
Big Blue Swim School is a SwimSwam Partner.