What does it mean to swim Up?

"Swim up," in the world of swimming, means to swim a race above your age group to fill a gap for the benefit of your team; to push yourself beyond individual expectations and assumed limitations for a greater good.

Our hope is to apply this concept to life, both in and out of the water.

“You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.” - Michael Phelps

In May of 2019, SWIM UP, Inc. and DC Parks and Recreation partnered with Bishop Walker School for Boys, a tuition-free private school for children from traditionally under-served communities, to provide weekly swim and water safety instruction to students. Bishop Walker embraced the idea of a water safety initiative and included the SWIM UP program as a required class for their third, fourth, and fifth grades for the 2019-2020 school year. We are excited to announce we will also be implementing our program into the curriculum at The Washington School for Girls beginning in January 2021!

The students would meet at Barry Farm Pool every week during school hours where coaches from Potomac Valley Swim Clubs teach class. SWIM UP provides all needed equipment, including swim suits, goggles, caps and towels for the students. Our goal is to implement this program in more schools across Washington DC and show educators and administrators that free swim and water safety should be a part of all elementary school curricula!

this could be the past

• 64% of Black/African-American children cannot swim

• 45% of Hispanic children cannot swim

• 79% of children from families earning less than $50,000 a year have low to no swimming ability

this could be Your Child’s future

• There is over $475 million dollars of scholarship money available for women to swim in college

• There is over $275 million dollars of scholarship money available for men to swim in college