At Goldfish Swim School, time in the pool is more than just about learning to swim.
With vibrant, tropical-inspired spaces and a playful approach rooted in safety, families discover a spot where fun floats to the top and every child is celebrated for diving into new skills.
The Lexington location opened earlier this year and is the second for South Carolina. For children from 4 months to 12 years, the school offers step-by-step instructions that build critical swimming skills like floating, paddling, and breath work. More than 600 students enrolled in programs when the school opened in February.
Tiffany Keyser is the regional manager for both the Lexington and Greenville locations. Keyser has a daughter who is an elite swimmer at the age of 13. “I’m around a pool deck for fun and for work all the time,” she said.
Keyser’s background in early childhood education and recreation gave her the perfect combination to run both locations of the swim school, a franchise concept created by Jenny McCuiston and her husband Chris, who saw the need for a more playful approach to swim instructions with an emphasis on safety. They opened their first swim school in 2006.
There are several reasons Goldfish Swim School has grown to more than 200 locations in North America. The instruction is personalized — the goal is to have one certified instructor for every four students. The pool used is slightly smaller than a regulation pool, allowing small spaces for simultaneous instruction.
Students are not only learning swimming skills, but water safety, an important life skill in South Carolina, where rivers, lakes, and the ocean are a big part of life outdoors. Learning to swim is an adventure, not a chore. Interiors are bright and colorful, almost tropical, with tiki huts hair dryer stations and individual family changing huts. “It’s an immersive experience for children and their families, where swimming is celebrated and the experience is top notch,” Keyser said.
And for parents and caretakers, the program offers flexibility to easily find a class that matches a family’s busy schedule, with makeup sessions available. But more importantly, the school’s instructors spend time building confidence and teaching through fun and engaging swim lessons. The 90-degree pool and an emphasis on fun and socialization make Goldfish a choice for teaching little ones how to swim.
But why would you want to teach a 4-month-old baby to swim? “We feel passionate that they come in at the earliest age, so not only does the baby start to feel comfortable in the water, but the parent also learns to feel comfortable and can work on safety skills,” Keyser shared.
Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death for children in the United States, according to the American Red Cross, and the No. 1 cause of death for children under the age of 5. And children younger than 1 are more likely to drown at home. Taking formal swim lessons can decrease that chance by 88%. “We talk about safety hazards around your house, even what to look for, such as run-off drains, leaving the baby pool, making sure you don’t leave toys in the backyard pool that are eye catching to children, that you’ve got to put those away,” Keyser said.
Goldfish Swim School
932 North Lake Drive
Lexington, SC
(803) 868-5911