Aqua-Tots swim school to open this spring
The Aqua-Tots swim school, set to open in Barcroft Plaza this spring, will focus on swimming lessons for kids from four months old to age 12.
It’s going into the space formerly occupied by Chico’s Natural Pet Market. Chico’s moved into another storefront in Barcroft Plaza on the other side of Harris Teeter.
Aqua-Tots offers group classes, semi-private, and private lessons in the afternoon, evenings, and weekends during the school year and all day during the summer.
The first priority is teaching kids to be safe in the water, says Sean Gaffney, manager of the Aqua-Tots on Broad Street in Falls Church. As they progress, the instructors prepare them to be competitive swimmers. There are four swimmers per instructor.
The training covers basic swim instruction, the four competitive strokes, and turns. “That would set kids up for success on a swim team,” Gaffney says. As enrollment grows, the facility will establish a swim team.
Parents can watch the lessons through a glass wall in the lobby. The water temperature is 90 degrees. The changing rooms have swimsuit dryers and hair dryers.
If there’s enough demand, Aqua-Tots could add swim instruction for adults,
There are flexible enrollment options, Gaffney says, so families sign up for a day and a time whenever they want to start; they don’t have to wait until the next month to enroll in a class. Families pay monthly, so they can cancel at any time without being locked into a lengthy contract.
The cost depends on the type of enrollment and the number of lessons per week. The charges at the Barcroft facility haven’t been set yet.
At the Falls Church Aqua-Tots, it’s $129 per month for a weekly class. Gaffney recommends lessons twice a week, which is $248 a month. The cost is the same for all skill levels.
Since Aqua-Tots Swim Schools was formed in 1992 in Arizona, the company opened more than 130 franchise locations in 14 countries.
The Aqua-Tots in Barcroft Plaza will be the fifth one in Northern Virginia. The others are in Centreville, Chantilly, Leesburg, and the City of Falls Church.
“Swimming is a lifelong and life-saving skill,” Gaffney says. “For parents, there’s definitely an understanding that swimming is one of those things that should take priority for young kids.”
Well, I suppose if we can’t land another vape shop, this is an acceptable use for that space.
Damn, I was hoping for an upscale restaurant like a french cafe with white tablecloths. Be real Vax, this place is not Paris!
Vax, Never in Mason. You are thinking Great Falls. Not enough money in Mason for that.
Our taxes pay for (subsidize) county recreation centers. Any with a pool has cheaper classes and very good instruction. Sent my kids to them.
Hope the biz does well, but challenging market.
Aqua Tots offers lessons for children with special needs; while Fairfax County supposedly does, too, where and when those lessons are is not readily apparent on the FCPA website’s list of aquatics classes.
While I’m not knocking FCPA at all and am not involved with any swim school, I’m 100% certain that some children would feel more comfortable in a smaller class and smaller facility. It could make a world of difference.
I’ve seen several swim schools in the area so there is a market and they should do well. It’s clean, caters to infants and small children and no rowdy teenagers or suspect characters hanging around the locker rooms because only paying customers can enter. If you have the money and want to make sure your offspring can swim go for it.