Indoor swimming pool opening in Paris next spring

Brave Waves Swim School excited to announce plans for state-of-the-art aquatics facility on Rest Acres Road

By Casandra Turnbull

A new state-of-the-art indoor pool is coming to Paris soon, with plans for a grand opening by April 2024. Brave Waves Swim School is excited to officially announce their plans to construct an indoor pool, offering residents a new opportunity to swim all year long and filling a major shortfall for this type of recreational service in the County of Brant.

It’s no secret that registration day for swim lessons can fill up within a matter of minutes. Right now, many families commute to Brantford in the winter to continue lessons at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre but by next year a more convenient option will open up in Paris.

The new pool will be located off Rest Acres Road in the Arlington Commons Plaza between the Applewood Montessori School and Paris Home Hardware It’s the perfect location for families, with convenient access to the 403 for those families who travel from Ancaster and Woodstock to swim with Brave Waves Swim School. Construction is set to begin next month

“We’re excited to have the architectural and technical plans complete and now moving onto the permit and tender stages,” explains Julia and Jessica Surette, Founders of Brave Waves Swim School “Our goal is to break ground inside the unit in September to begin excavating the pool That’s when the project is going to become very real.” The state-of-the-art pool will be one of the largest private indoor swim school pools in Canada at 10M x 20M It will be a purposebuilt pool for swim instruction, heated to 30C with 15M of shallow water instruction area and 5M of deep water for advance instruction.

“We have included a built-in ledge down the entire shallow length of the pool for the comfort of young swimmers and a built-in grip space in the deep end assisting more advance swimmers,” said Julia. The facility will be equipped with oversized change rooms and a floor-to-ceiling glass walled viewing area.

This new pool, as well as the outdoor facility they operate out of at Five Oaks, will enable the swim school to continue to instruct and graduate swimmers of all ages and skill levels, addressing a critical shortage of qualified lifeguards and instructors across the province. In addition to parent-and-me, toddler, youth and adult swim lessons, Brave Waves Swim School offers certification opportunities like Lifesaving Society Aquatic Leadership courses and First Aid courses They have a history of training region firefighters as there are swim proficiency standard requirements in their field of work. The indoor facility will enable the school’s instructors to carryon these important programs all year round. “Municipalities do a great job of offering group lessons and that’s true in Brant County and Brantford. For years though, parents have wanted more – more individualized lessons, more convenience, better schedules, and more focussed instruction,” said Jessica. “That is where swim schools like Brave Waves helps with two-on-one and small group classes with flexible schedules,” she added. Continued on page 7

So how exactly does Brave Waves individualize lessons and progress swimmers in a more efficient matter than most swim programs out there? It’s simple - they rely on highly qualified personnel and technology of course! Instructors use iPads poolside to help track the progress of every swimmer, making digital notes and detailed evaluations on a swimmer’s progress at the end of each lesson, enabling them to advance a swimmer to the next level as soon as they are ready, rather than waiting for them to ‘graduate’ at the end of that registered session. When the evaluation shows the student is ready to move up, they advance right away to continue to build on their momentum and progression. Immediate positive reinforcement does wonders for a swimmers’ confidence, which in turn only heightens their ability in the pool.

Brave Wave Swim School started off as a modest idea between the two sisters in their parent’s backyard in Brantford 12 years ago. The goal was simple: learn a bit about entrepreneurship, make some money to fund their schooling and teach people lifesaving skills in the water. It has since grown to be the largest private swim lesson provider in the region serving more than 1,000 swimmers from 800 families for 12 weeks every summer Their base operations are out of the pool at Five Oaks Centre on Bethel Road, and even though they will have a new state-ofthe-art facility to call home next year, Surette said they still plan to facilitate lessons in the outdoor pool at Five Oaks.

“Outdoor swimming will always be an important part of the Brave Waves experience. There’s something truly special for Canadian kids to learn to swim outdoors and it will be an ongoing option with our wonderful partners at Five Oaks,” said Jessica. As the school continues to grow, so will its philosophy for philanthropy. Brave Waves contributes annually to local charities - Lansdowne Children’s Centre, the Rotary Club, the Arnold Anderson Sports Fund, the McMaster Children’s Hospital, the Brant County SPCA and Autism Dog Services among others. The Brave Waves family is very passionate about community building and giving back

As for the cost of the private project, Jessica and Julia explained that the swim school has truly metamorphosed into a family passion where parents, aunts/uncles, grandparents and even family friends have contributed.

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It takes a team of dedicated staff to successfully run the Brave Waves Swim School. The team consists of approximately 35 instructors (many seen to the right during a group outing for ice cream recently) and are a mix of young adults, some in college, university and late high school. Submitted photos