Franchise News

Record-breaking participation highlights school's annual Water Safety Month campaign

Kicking off the summer swim season and reinforcing its dedication to water safety, Goldfish Swim School, the leading swim school franchise in North America, is "o-FISH-ally" rounding out its most successful Safer Swimmer Pledge campaign to date.

Goldfish Swim School's Third Annual Safer Swimmer Pledge, a commitment to following five golden rules of water safety, motivated a record 16,760 families throughout North America to commit to becoming safer swimmers ahead of the summer swimming season, which typically sees more drownings than any other time of year.

"Each year, the Safer Swimmer Pledge continues to grow, which speaks volumes about families' unwavering commitment to water safety," said Chris McCuiston, CEO and co-founder of Goldfish Swim School. "Drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury death among kids ages 5-14 and the leading cause for children ages 1-4. Along with local Goldfish families and safer swimmer advocates, we are dedicated to advocating for drowning prevention and creating safer summers for all families."

Throughout May, National Water Safety Month, Goldfish Swim School rewarded safer swimmers with "fin-tastic" prizes, including a year of free swim lessons given away weekly and a $5K Beach Getaway grand prize awarded to the Kaur family in Glen Oaks, New York. Goldfish Swim School - Milford in Massachusetts brought in the most pledges across all schools, with more than 1,400 pledges taken, and will be awarded a VIP pool party celebration with Olympian and Water Safety Advocate Cullen Jones later this year. Milford Safer Swimmer Champion and team member Jennifer Cruz was also awarded a prize of $2,023 for obtaining the highest number of individual pledges of all employees nationwide. Her accomplishment highlights the commitment of the entire system, including school owners, team members and enrolled members, to raise awareness of water safety.

The campaign's "Biggest Wavemaker" is Blessing Williams, a young swimmer at Goldfish Swim School - Cleveland East Side. The "Biggest Wavemakers Challenge'' encouraged Goldfish swimmers to be ambassadors for water safety and get their friends, classmates and communities to take the Safer Swimmer Pledge. The effort won Williams a "fin-tastic" pool party and a year of free swim lessons to continue her water safety journey.

Additionally, to further encourage pledge-takers, Goldfish Swim School ambassadors and Olympic gold medalists Cullen Jones and Ryan Murphy joined forces to amplify the campaign in May, with Jones visiting schools in Kansas City and Chicago, and Murphy making a visit to the Aliso Viejo, California school, emphasizing the significance of water safety to future swimmers.

Further demonstrating its commitment to water safety, Goldfish Swim School Franchising donated $16,760 — $1 for each pledge — to the USA Swimming Foundation to help provide access to swim lessons for underserved children across the United States. Additionally, Speedo USA again joined forces with Goldfish Swim School, providing a promo code with each pledge taken for 25% off purchases, with 10% of that purchase going to the Foundation. In Canada, Goldfish Swim School partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Grand Erie, Halton and Hamilton to promote water safety and access to swim lessons in these communities.

To sustain the momentum and raise further awareness about water safety and drowning prevention, Goldfish Swim School locations across North America will participate in the 14th Annual World's Largest Swimming Lesson™ on June 22, partnering with water safety advocates across the globe to continue making a splash for water safety this summer.

More information on water safety is available on the Goldfish Swim School website at https://www.goldfishswimschool.com/.