Courtesy: USA Swimming Foundation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The USA Swimming Foundation today announced Affiliate Coalition agreements with Aqua-Tots Swim Schools, Bear Paddle Swim School and Swim Angelfish, expanding the Foundation’s existing Affiliate network.
The USA Swimming Foundation Affiliate Coalition is a strategic network of community-based organizations and nonprofits who share the common goal of promoting water safety and swim lessons As Affiliates, these organizations will promote and provide support to the USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative.
“Learning to swim is a critical life-saving skill and also the launching pad to a lifetime of aquatic enjoyment,” Tina Dessart said, USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash Program Director. “Aqua-Tots and Bear Paddle Swim Schools, along with Swim Angelfish, each provide for the expansion of swim lesson opportunities for children across the U.S. and we are thrilled to be working with them. Additionally, the tools and techniques offered by Swim Angelfish will aid our Make a Splash swim lesson providers by eliminating barriers to entry for children with special needs and further supporting the USA Swimming Foundation’s goal of teaching every child to swim.”
As part of the Affiliate Coalition, Bear Paddle and Aqua-Tots Swim Schools expand the USA Swimming Foundation’s network of quality, accessible Make a Splash learn-to-swim programs across the United States.
“We’ve been committed to keeping children safer in and around the water since 1991,” Ron Sciarro, Co-Founder of Aqua-Tots Swim Schools, said. “For 28 years, we’ve come alongside families all over the world to teach their children how to swim and to offer communities the water safety education they need. This partnership is an opportunity to join forces with an organization that is equally committed to reaching communities by spreading awareness and offering life-saving swimming skills. At the end of the day, this is about so much more than swim lessons. It’s about saving lives.”
“Our Mission at Bear Paddle is ‘Building Safer Swimmers’ and one of the best ways to do that is to teach as many lessons in the country as possible,” said Robin Everson, Director of Operations for Bear Paddle Swim Schools. “The USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash program allows Bear Paddle to become a more easily identifiable source for top quality swim lessons within our communities. The important view we stress to parents and our greater swim school community is that taking swim lessons is the most important thing for young children.”
With the addition of Swim Angelfish to the Affiliate Coalition, the Make a Splash swim lesson provider network now has access to educational tools and strategies they can utilize within their existing learn-to-swim programming to expand services and provide opportunities for children with special needs.
“The Swim Angelfish tools and resources seamlessly integrate into existing swim curricula and apply to all disabilities and challenges,” said Co-Owner Cindy Freedman. “Our program works for swimmers with autism, anxiety, trauma, sensory and motor disorders, discomfort, physical difficulties and delay, as well as neuro-typical swimmers, enabling them to learn faster and with less discomfort. We are thrilled to be able to share this information with the entire Make a Splash swim lesson provider network, helping them serve more children across the U.S.”
For more information about the USA Swimming Foundation, its swim lesson provider network, and the Make a Splash initiative, please visit www.usaswimmingfoundation.org.
About the USA Swimming Foundation
The USA Swimming Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming. Established in 2004, the Foundation works to strengthen the sport by saving lives and building champions – in the pool and in life. Whether we’re equipping our children with the life-saving skill of learn-to-swim through our Make a Splash initiative, or providing financial support to our heroes on the U.S. National Team, the USA Swimming Foundation aims to provide the wonderful experience of swimming to kids at all levels across the country.
About Make a Splash
The USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiate is a national, child-focused water safety campaign, which aims to provide the opportunity for every child in America to learn to swim. Through Make a Splash, the USA Swimming Foundation partners with learn-to-swim providers and water safety advocates across the country to provide swim lessons and educate children and their families on the importance of learning how to swim. The USA Swimming Foundation has invested millions of dollars to provide grants to qualified Local Partner learn-to-swim programs to spread national awareness, and to bring together strategic partners to end drowning. To date, more than 7.5 million children have received the lifesaving gift of swim lessons through the USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash swim lesson provider network, comprised of more than 1,000 qualified lesson providers across the nation. To learn more, visit www.usaswimmingfoundation.org/makeasplash.
About Aqua-Tots Swim Schools
Aqua-Tots Swim Schools serves over 100 communities worldwide, offering dedicated, year-round, indoor swim instruction, community outreach and drowning prevention education to children of all abilities as early as 4 months old. As the world’s largest swim school franchise, their hand-selected instructors are passionate about teaching children how to remain safe in and around the water, using tried-and-true curriculum, 28 years in the making and trusted worldwide to teach millions of swim lessons annually. To learn more, visit www.aqua-tots.com.
About Bear Paddle Swim Schools
Bear Paddle Swim School is a national leader in the swimming lessons for kids industry. As a result, Bear Paddle Swim School sets the standard of excellence for swimming lessons for children ages 6 months to 15 years old. Our swim school program educates both parents and students in skills that build confidence. This enabled us to save lives and promote water safety. Bear Paddle Swim School was created when we saw the need for a quality swimming lessons program for children of all ages and abilities in an approachable kid-friendly environment. The team developed the Bear Paddle concept, creating a one-of-a-kind children’s swim program with a state-of-the-art facility and pool. To learn more, visit www.bearpaddle.com.
About Swim Angelfish
Swim Angelfish creates educational resources for the world’s adaptive swim lessons needs and advocates for the necessity of having specifically trained instructors for this growing population. For 20 years we have provided both free and paid online training materials for all aspects of adaptive aquatics. The Swim Whisperers® methodology stands above the rest by educating instructors not by disability but by roadblocks and easily integrates with any existing swim curricula. By recognizing the underlying problem and using our toolbox of strategies and techniques to overcome them, swimmers of all abilities are able to learn to swim faster and with less discomfort, helping them be safe and independent in the water. Through the knowledge gained from our co-founders working as aquatic therapists plus the continuous feedback received from our 20 locations throughout New England, we are able to continuously add new and vital content to our program.