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AQUATICS ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY
YOU PROVIDE ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL IN OUR POOLS
FLYING FISH AQUATICS PROGRAM
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FOR YOUTH: FLYING FISH SWIM SCHOOL FLYING FISH SWIM TEAM GIRLS WATER POLO CLUB LIFEGUARD TRAINING
FOR ADULTS: AQUA AEROBICS GROUP & INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION LAP SWIM MASTERS SWIMMING
What makes our aquatics program so special? We are mission-driven and committed to the ideal that every child – and adult – should learn to swim and have opportunities to grow from the sport. Our swim instructors and coaches are professionals and many of them have been with us for decades. They employ methods that treat people as individuals. They also work to foster relationships that build community, not only among swimmers, but among their families, too. Flying Fish Aquatics partners with local organizations to ensure that as many young people as possible have opportunities to learn the lifesaving skill of swimming. In 2019 our community partnerships and outreach opened our pools to more than 500 children who may not otherwise have had access to instruction. These partnerships include: • Evanston Swims! (We are the leader in this partnership that provides free swim instruction to second graders in Evanston/Skokie School District 65.) • Books & Breakfast • Erie Family Health (Evanston/Skokie) • Family Focus • Learning Bridge • Kingsway Preparatory School • Roycemore School
YOUR IMPACT: 2019
1,606 children learned how to be safe in the water through our swim school and community partnerships
$60,296 was awarded in swim school scholarships - 1 in every 3 swimmers received a partial or full scholarship
515 children were part of swim team this year, including 95 swimmers who were new to the team!
...GIVING CHILDREN (AND ADULTS TOO!) OPPORTUNITIES TO THRIVE
"Drowning remains a leading cause of death for children nationwide and one survey from a few years ago showed that fewer than 20 percent of Evanston first graders were proficient swimmers. Evanston Swims! is changing these numbers and making our children safer, which is particularly important in a lakefront community like ours.”
Jody Koizumi, who serves as coordinator for Evanston Swims!
“I would see kids who needed more physical activity and opportunities for exercise, but they couldn’t afford it. So I began writing ‘prescriptions’ for swimming and sending families to the Flying Fish. They honored those prescriptions with free or reduced lessons and the kids got engaged in swimming. Several pediatricians and I have sent hundreds of kids to the YWCA, and we’ve seen it make a huge difference in their lives.”
Dr. Aimee Crow, an Evanston pediatrician who launched the “prescription to swim” concept, which is now a partnership between Flying Fish Aquatics and Erie Family Health
