As Big Blue Swim School continues its growth throughout the Chicagoland area, communities are beginning to take notice. Ahead of the March 18th opening of its fifth corporate-owned location in the North Center neighborhood, the swim school franchise has pre-sold a staggering 1,400 memberships, helping the brand make a splash with its first location in the city of Chicago before ever opening its doors.
Founded by former U.S. National Swim Team member Chris DeJong and fellow competitive swimmer John Lonergan in 2012, Big Blue Swim School has gained quick traction as a standout swim lesson program thanks to its specialized curriculum, state-of-the-art facilities and proprietary app.
“The excitement and interest we're seeing around the opening of our North Center location on Western Ave. is pretty incredible,” DeJong said. “We plan to open doors March 18th for lessons and we couldn't be more excited about it.”
Big Blue Swim School uses a distance-based, results-oriented curriculum to help children learn strokes and achieve goals faster. Simultaneously, parents access the company’s Lesson Buddy app to easily schedule lessons and monitor their child’s performance. In essence, Big Blue Swim School brings value to the entire family. The interest the brand is already seeing in North Center reflects on the value parents place on the importance of quality swim lessons in their children's lives, DeJong said.
“North Center is a tremendous place to raise children,” DeJong said. “Parents are really embracing Big Blue Swim School coming to their neighborhood because they realize swim lessons are a vital life-saving skill, generating an immense amount of excitement about this important addition to such a family-oriented community.”
DeJong explained that ahead of the opening, the brand has partnered with a number of local parents to help spread the word about how Big Blue Swim School’s unique offering is as much a child enrichment program as it is a swim lesson facility.
“We have a really awesome pre-opening promotion where we’re offering a membership deal for our North Center location that local parents are helping us spread the word about,” he said. “Their enthusiasm and dedication have played a huge part in the tremendous buzz we’ve been able to generate.”
Big Blue Swim School doesn’t charge registration fees or yearly membership dues. Lessons range from $21 to $26 per class and are available seven days per week with morning, afternoon and evening offerings. Classes are limited to three kids per instructor for all lessons for 3 to 5-year-olds, while lessons for more advanced swimmers are based on ability and capped at four to seven kids per instructor. All interested families are eligible to receive exclusive access to Big Blue Swim School’s North Center pre-opening deal by visiting the brand’s website.
“When families walk through the door of Big Blue Swim School, they’re greeted by remarkable staff in a unique facility designed to provide the best swim lesson experience possible,” DeJong said. “We create a fun and safe environment for swimmers in a relaxed and comfortable setting for parents.”
This pre-opening strategy will be applied to franchise locations in the future as the company begins growing with qualified franchise partners. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Big Blue Swim School, visit YourBigMomentStartsHere.com.