Why Lemonade Collective Doesn't Offer Swim Lessons Right Now
One of the questions we get asked most often is:
"Do you offer swim lessons?"
The short answer is no.
The longer answer is a little more complicated.
A Pool That Means a Lot to Me
Before I tell you why we don't currently offer swim lessons, I want you to know that this wasn't an easy decision.
I learned how to swim in this pool.
Long before it became Lemonade Collective, this pool was a part of my childhood. Years later, my husband and I purchased the facility, completed a full gut renovation, and poured our hearts into bringing the space back to life. After finally opening, fast forward four months later, the world shut down due to COVID-19.
Like many businesses, we faced challenges we never could have anticipated.
Before COVID, we offered swim lessons and were excited to continue growing the program. Even then, finding qualified swim instructors was becoming increasingly difficult. Organizations across the region, including the YMCA and Cenntennial, were experiencing similar challenges.
Then COVID happened.
Melissa (owner + blog writer) flipping into the pool on the left.
The Reality of Running Swim Lessons
When pools were closed and instructor training programs were paused for months, the shortage became even more severe.
Despite the challenges, we continued offering swim lessons and worked hard to maintain a roster of instructors and backup staff.
But post-COVID, a new challenge emerged.
Last-minute cancellations became increasingly common.
And while we had backup instructors, the reality is that qualified swim instructors aren't sitting at home waiting for a phone call. They have jobs, families, school commitments, and other responsibilities.
Too often, we found ourselves in the difficult position of having to cancel lessons on short notice.
For parents, that meant rearranging schedules, rushing through dinner, organizing pickups, getting kids changed and ready, and then receiving an email saying lessons were cancelled.
It was heartbreaking.
As a business owner, one of the worst feelings was sending those emails to 50 or more families who had already built their evening around swim lessons.
Then came the makeup lessons, scheduling adjustments, refunds, credits, instructor changes, and countless hours of administration behind the scenes.
For a larger organization, that workload can often be spread across multiple departments. For a small business like ours, it became incredibly difficult to sustain (especially for me, with 2 babies at home).
We Tried Private Lessons Too
Eventually, we shifted away from group lessons and focused on private and semi-private instruction.
We hoped this would solve some of the challenges.
Unfortunately, many of the same issues remained.
Instructor availability was still limited. Last-minute staffing changes still occurred. Scheduling became increasingly complex. The amount of coordination required both in and out of the water continued to grow.
We loved having swim lessons.
But at some point, we had to acknowledge that what we wanted to do and what was sustainable for our team were two different things.
This Doesn't Mean Swimming Isn't Important
In fact, quite the opposite.
We believe learning to swim is one of the most important life skills a child can develop.
That's one of the reasons we've spent the last three years spearheading the Swim to Survive program for students at Beaver Valley Community School.
When we realized there wasn't a program in place, we stepped in to help make it happen.
Our team has organized, coordinated, hired instructors for, managed, and supported the program for the past three years.
What Is Swim to Survive?
Swim to Survive is a national water safety program developed by the Lifesaving Society.
The goal is simple: ensure children have the basic skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water.
Students learn how to:
Roll into deep water
Tread water for one minute
Swim 50 metres continuously
These are practical life-saving skills that can significantly improve a person's chances of surviving a water-related emergency.
While Swim to Survive is not a replacement for formal swimming lessons, it provides an important foundation and helps build confidence around water.
As a facility with a pool and a deep connection to our community, we felt it was important to help make this program available to local students.
Never Say Never
People often ask if swim lessons will ever return to Lemonade Collective.
The honest answer is: maybe.
We're not closing the door forever.
If the right circumstances present themselves, if instructor availability improves, and if we can find a model that allows us to deliver a reliable, high-quality experience for families, we'd absolutely be open to revisiting it.
But for now, our focus is on ensuring that everything we offer can be delivered consistently and sustainably.
We know that may be disappointing for some families, and we truly appreciate your understanding.
Thank you for continuing to support our small business and for allowing us to be part of your wellness journey.
And who knows—maybe one day we'll be teaching the next generation of swimmers in the same pool where I learned to swim all those years ago.
Until then, we'll continue doing what we can to help our community stay active, healthy, and safe around the water.
Melissa Goldmintz
Managing Partner & Co-Owner
Lemonade Collective