Courtesy: Big Blue Swim School
Big Blue Swim School, one of the nation’s fastest growing swim school franchises, announced today the acquisition of Tom Dolan Swim School, allowing the brand to expand its presence in Northern Virginia with schools in Dulles and Falls Church. As part of the agreement, Dolan, who opened his first swim school in 2012 following an impressive career as a two-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer in the 400-meter individual medley where he also held the world record, will join the Big Blue team and maintain an integral role in the expansion and management of Big Blue Swim School in Northern Virginia.
“We are incredibly excited about our partnership with Tom and look forward to working with him to bring Big Blue Swim School to families around Dulles and Falls Church,” said Chris DeJong, founder and president of Big Blue Swim School. “Tom and I have a strong swimming history with similar philosophies about the importance of teaching water safety and helping kids to unlock their full potential in the water. He’s built an incredible program here and we are thrilled about the opportunities ahead as we grow throughout region.”
“For nearly a decade Tom Dolan Swim School has enjoyed serving families in Northern Virginia by helping children learn to be safer swimmers and build critical life skills,” said Tom Dolan. “By partnering with Big Blue Swim School, we’ll be part of a team impacting our community in a way that stays true to our core values and our learn-to-swim philosophy. Our current families will love Big Blue as they will maintain the existing team of instructors our swimmers adore and look forward to seeing each week, and they will gain exciting improvements in the facility, in services, and in the overall customer experience.”
Big Blue Swim School was founded in 2009 and currently operates schools in the Chicago and Atlanta markets. The company is building a new school in Chantilly slated to open this summer, and another location was recently secured in Fairfax. Under the agreement with Tom Dolan Swim School, the Dulles and Falls Church pools will transition to Big Blue Swim School over the coming three months. Nationally, Big Blue Swim School has franchise agreements for 123 schools in 19 states and plans to add another 50 schools in 2021.
Open year round, Big Blue offers swim lessons to children ages six months to 12 years of age. Big Blue has four curriculums of instruction, spanning 11 levels. Big Blue offers flexibility to start and stop lessons at any time. Each child progresses to their next swim level as soon as they achieve the skills required, not when they complete a set number of classes.
In addition to employing only highly trained, professional swim instructors, Big Blue sets itself apart from other swim school brands by allowing parents to schedule multiple children to swim during the same 30–45 minute timeframe with only a few easy taps from their mobile app, and Big Blue pools are designed to maximize comfort for both children and parents. “With 90-degree, ultra-clean water, a comfortable viewing area that manages for cleanliness and sound, free Wi-Fi, plenty of private changing areas, and capacity for parents to schedule multiple kids to swim at the same time, Big Blue makes it easy to enjoy a frictionless weekly swim lesson routine,” said DeJong.
For more information about Big Blue Swim School Falls Church and Big Blue Swim School Dulles, visit http://www.BigBlueSwimSchool.com. To learn more about special deals and the programs offered, follow both pools on Facebook at @BigBlueFalls Church and @BigBlueDulles or on Instagram at @BigBlueFallsChurch and @BigBlueDulles.
ABOUT BIG BLUE SWIM SCHOOL
Big Blue Swim School was founded in 2009 by competitive swimmer Chris DeJong and now has pools in the Chicago and Atlanta areas. Big Blue offers an unparalleled swim lesson experience made easier and more effective by our professional instructors, proprietary technology and curriculum, and our family-friendly facilities. We create and celebrate Big Moments in the pool which lead to kids learning they can achieve anything in life. To learn more visit http://www.BigBlueSwimSchool.com.
ABOUT TOM DOLAN
Tom Dolan is a native of Arlington, Virginia and was a back-to-back Olympic gold medalist in the 400 Individual Medley in Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. Tom also won an Olympic silver medal in the 200 Individual Medley in 2000. For nine years, he held the 400 Individual Medley World Record, won two gold medals at the World Championships, and helped lead his alma mater, the University of Michigan, to an NCAA team title in 1995 while winning nine NCAA titles as a student-athlete. During his swimming career, Tom was a 14-time US National Champion and in 2006 was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. When his run at the elite level of swimming was complete, Tom focused his attention on the grassroots, educational side of the sport and opened the Tom Dolan Swim School in 2012. Since then, he has taught tens of thousands of swimming lessons to children in Northern Virginia.
Big Blue Swim School is a SwimSwam Partner.
