Goldfish Swim School Has Plans to Close Out 2020 with a Splash; Earns Multiple Awards for Impressive Franchise Performance & Commitment to Water Safety

TROY, MI – Even amid a pandemic, Goldfish Swim School Franchising, LLC continues to innovate and grow. This year alone, the leading learn-to-swim franchise has signed 14 agreements, launched a new app and online portal and adapted to best support its franchisees and communities amid COVID-19 – all of which resulted in an impressive list of award wins. As the brand enters Q4, it is on track to surpass last year’s 17 school openings by expanding to open a total of 20 by year-end.

Based on factors like franchise sales, unit growth, satisfaction surveys and more, Goldfish Swim School was recognized by many prestigious organizations, consistently outranking its competition and staking its claim as the most established swim school franchise in the space.

  • Franchise Times – Top 10 on Fast & Serious List and made the Top 200+ Ranking.
  • Entrepreneur Magazine – No. 28 on Franchise 500® and featured on Top Growth Franchises list.
  • Inc Magazine – Made The Inc. 5000 list for the sixth year in a row.
  • Franchise Update Magazine – Took Gold for Local Marketing Leadership and Silver for Cause Marketing Campaign as part of the Franchise Innovation Awards.
  • Franchise Business Review – Alex Tyler, owner of two Illinois Goldfish Swim Schools in Saint Charles and Glenn Ellyn, was recently recognized as a Rock Star Franchise Owner.
  • Michigan’s Best and Brightest in Wellness – The brand was recognized for promoting a culture of wellness.

“This year certainly threw a lot at us, but I have no doubt that we will emerge a stronger brand from this experience,” shared Chris McCuiston, CEO and Co-Founder of Goldfish Swim School. “As we push forward with new openings and development deals in this COVID era, I’m beyond appreciative of the incredible culture we’ve built, our hardworking franchisees and dedicated Franchise Office support team. With the opening of our 100th school, breaking into new markets to continue teaching a lifesaving skill, and successfully navigating the pandemic – 2020 will certainly be a year to remember.”

While 2020 has presented its fair share of difficulties, Goldfish Swim School remains committed and focused to meet the growing need for water safety education. This meant working tirelessly to build out a robust reopening plan for its 100-plus schools through its Safer. Stronger. Together. ™ initiative. While all its locations have safely reopened, the leadership team continues to lobby for essential business status alongside the Aquatics Coalition so that learn-to-swim facilities can continue to teach the lifesaving skill. Even when schools were closed, Goldfish Swim School was quick to adapt, creating ‘Goldfish At Home’ to provide free, virtual dry-land swim exercises to families nationwide, along with a variety of online and interactive water safety focused initiatives and activities.

“Words can’t explain how thankful we are to have had so much support during the height of the pandemic,” explained Toby Loukmas, co-owner of Goldfish Swim School – Lakewood Ranch. “Our school was only open a few weeks ahead of mandatory shutdowns around the country. My team and I had so many questions, but with the support of the Franchise Office and the network of other franchise owners, we were able to stay one step ahead and safely reopen. We’re very thankful to have opened our doors in order to help keep our members and their families safe, and I know they’re appreciative too.”

As the brand began to welcome communities back for in-person lessons, families were met with a new and improved member portal as well as the launch of an app. Available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, the Goldfish Swim School app allows members to easily manage their account. The platform lets members select their school and log in to their account to book classes, reschedule lessons, receive timely notifications about class changes and more. The online member portal upgrade includes access to digital progress reports as well as the same easy-to-use capabilities the app provides, but easily accessible from a computer. These technological developments make the Goldfish experience even more convenient amid the ever-changing business landscape due to COVID-19.

“At first, I was nervous with how my kids would respond to heading back to swim lessons with all these new changes,” shared Adrienne W., a member at Goldfish Swim School – Rochester, via a written review on the school’s Facebook page. “But the staff did a fantastic job making it as safe and clean of an environment as possible. The teachers had the same great energy – one of my daughter’s teachers was giving out ‘air fives’ with no hand touching to show she was doing a good job. Overall, we had great experience and felt safe. It’s qualities like these that make Goldfish a premier swim school.”

Goldfish Swim School provides swim lessons and water safety instruction to infants and children ages four months to 12 years, teaching thousands of children each week how to be safer in and around the water. Each school offers swim lessons and programs using a proprietary philosophy, The Science of SwimPlay®, to build life skills both in and out of the water using play-based learning in a fun and safe environment. Each school’s number one focus and main priority is always the same – educating children on water safety while teaching them how to swim and respect the water.

About Goldfish Swim School

Founded by husband and wife team Chris and Jenny McCuiston, Goldfish Swim School provides swim lessons and water safety instruction to infants and children ages four months to 12 years. Classes are offered by specially trained instructors in a safe, child-friendly and fun environment using their research-based philosophy called The Science of SwimPlay®. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, Goldfish Swim School was established in Birmingham, Michigan in 2006, and opened its first franchise location in 2009. They are currently in the process of expanding franchise opportunities throughout North America, with more than 100 schools open, and 140-plus in development across the United States and Canada.

All Franchise News »

Popular Industries

Find a Franchise