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This article was published 09/04/2021 (1750 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A building once filled with trampolines and birthday parties is now home to a hub for swimming lessons run by former high-performance synchronized swimmers.
Kaley Maksymyk and Krista Morden cut a ribbon to formalize the opening of their business, H2O Academy, at 200-400 Fort Whyte Way on April 5. The next day, students were rolling in with their swimsuits to start spring classes.
The co-owners say the pool is the first in Manitoba to be built by a private swim school for swimming lessons. The 5,300-square-foot space used to be part of Sky Zone, a trampoline park that folded in late 2019; now, it holds a 13-metre-by-10-metre pool with water temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees F (about 26 to 32 C).
Maksymyk and Morden used the words “amazing” and “exciting” to describe finally being able to open. They originally planned a September 2020 opening, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the date back to January 2021.
Manitoba was firmly placed in code red restrictions when January rolled around, so the entrepreneurs set a new opening date of April 6 — just in time for a spring session to begin.
“It’s been a process,” Maksymyk, 36, said. “We’ve had … lots of highs and lows, and a lot of hard conversations.”
Meeting with bankers and securing loans proved difficult for the entrepreneurs.
“A lot of people asked us, ‘Who did you hire to do your business plan?’” Morden, 38, said. “Some agents referred to us as girls … We would think back and say, ‘Wait a minute, we’re 10 years older than you.’ That was a little frustrating, but we overcame it.”
She and Maksymyk met over 20 years ago on a pool deck. They were part of the same synchronized swimming team for years. In 2011, the pair coached Team Manitoba for the Canada Winter Games.
In discussions with others, the duo noticed many people coming from swimming lessons lacked basic skills and confidence to go further. So, they created their own swimming curriculum outside of their full-time jobs. At the time, Maksymyk was a policy analyst on healthy schools for the provincial government, and Morden was a respiratory therapist.
The entrepreneurs created AQUA-Lit, a system with no passing or failing. Students are separated by age and ability, and swim instructors are constantly evaluating understanding, confidence and skills, Maksymyk said. If a teacher sees change, students will be moved to the group that suits their needs best.
“It’s just kind of keeping everyone moving because swimming is a life skill,” Maksymyk said.
In 2015, the Winnipeg Winter Club allowed Maksymyk and Morden to launch their new program — H2O Academy — and hold lessons two days a week.
Christine Starkman, the Winnipeg Winter Club’s aquatic director, was the first to have meetings with the former Team Manitoba coaches. The club normally teaches Canadian Red Cross programming.
“When they were kind of explaining it to me, I thought it’d be a nice little integration to help the members at our club and potentially bring in new members,” Starkman said. “If kids are learning to swim, I’m happy.”
H2O Academy would split a pool with Winnipeg Winter Club’s regular swimming lessons. Maksymyk and Morden’s business kept gaining popularity, Starkman said.
“It was always nice to see the pool pretty much full to capacity,” she said.
Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson took lessons through H2O Academy while training for a triathlon, she said at the April 5 ribbon cutting.
Maksymyk and Morden quit their jobs in 2015 to make H2O Academy their full-time responsibility. By February of 2020, they had 13 teachers and long waiting lists.
Now, students from four months old to adults are coming for lessons at the company’s first pool of its own. Class sizes are capped at three or four people if students are over the age of three; younger classes have a maximum of eight learners. Groups have staggered start times. As restrictions ease, more groups will be allowed in the water at the same time, but class sizes will remain the same.
A building once filled with trampolines and birthday parties is now home to a hub for swimming lessons run by former high-performance synchronized swimmers.
Kaley Maksymyk and Krista Morden cut a ribbon to formalize the opening of their business, H2O Academy, at 200-400 Fort Whyte Way on April 5. The next day, students were rolling in with their swimsuits to start spring classes.
Krista Morden, left in the pink, and Kaley Maksymyk, right in the pink, cut a ribbon to celebrate the opening of their business, H2O Academy, on April 5. Macdonald reeve Brad Erb stands to the left, and Health and Senior Care Minister Heather Stefanson stands on the right. (GABRIELLE PICHÉ/CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS/HEADLINER)
The co-owners say the pool is the first in Manitoba to be built by a private swim school for swimming lessons. The 5,300-square-foot space used to be part of Sky Zone, a trampoline park that folded in late 2019; now, it holds a 13-metre-by-10-metre pool with water temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees F (about 26 to 32 C).
Maksymyk and Morden used the words “amazing” and “exciting” to describe finally being able to open. They originally planned a September 2020 opening, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the date back to January 2021.
Manitoba was firmly placed in code red restrictions when January rolled around, so the entrepreneurs set a new opening date of April 6 — just in time for a spring session to begin.
“It’s been a process,” Maksymyk, 36, said. “We’ve had … lots of highs and lows, and a lot of hard conversations.”
Meeting with bankers and securing loans proved difficult for the entrepreneurs.
“A lot of people asked us, ‘Who did you hire to do your business plan?’” Morden, 38, said. “Some agents referred to us as girls … We would think back and say, ‘Wait a minute, we’re 10 years older than you.’ That was a little frustrating, but we overcame it.”
She and Maksymyk met over 20 years ago on a pool deck. They were part of the same synchronized swimming team for years. In 2011, the pair coached Team Manitoba for the Canada Winter Games.
Kaley Maksymyk, left, and Krista Morden stand by H20 Academy's pool on April 5. (GABRIELLE PICHÉ/CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS/HEADLINER)
In discussions with others, the duo noticed many people coming from swimming lessons lacked basic skills and confidence to go further. So, they created their own swimming curriculum outside of their full-time jobs. At the time, Maksymyk was a policy analyst on healthy schools for the provincial government, and Morden was a respiratory therapist.
The entrepreneurs created AQUA-Lit, a system with no passing or failing. Students are separated by age and ability, and swim instructors are constantly evaluating understanding, confidence and skills, Maksymyk said. If a teacher sees change, students will be moved to the group that suits their needs best.
“It’s just kind of keeping everyone moving because swimming is a life skill,” Maksymyk said.
In 2015, the Winnipeg Winter Club allowed Maksymyk and Morden to launch their new program — H2O Academy — and hold lessons two days a week.
Christine Starkman, the Winnipeg Winter Club’s aquatic director, was the first to have meetings with the former Team Manitoba coaches. The club normally teaches Canadian Red Cross programming.
“When they were kind of explaining it to me, I thought it’d be a nice little integration to help the members at our club and potentially bring in new members,” Starkman said. “If kids are learning to swim, I’m happy.”
H2O Academy would split a pool with Winnipeg Winter Club’s regular swimming lessons. Maksymyk and Morden’s business kept gaining popularity, Starkman said.
Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson speaks at H2O Academy's ribbon-cutting event on April 5. (GABRIELLE PICHÉ/CANSTAR COMMUNITY NEWS/HEADLINER)
“It was always nice to see the pool pretty much full to capacity,” she said.
Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson took lessons through H2O Academy while training for a triathlon, she said at the April 5 ribbon cutting.
Maksymyk and Morden quit their jobs in 2015 to make H2O Academy their full-time responsibility. By February of 2020, they had 13 teachers and long waiting lists.
Now, students from four months old to adults are coming for lessons at the company’s first pool of its own. Class sizes are capped at three or four people if students are over the age of three; younger classes have a maximum of eight learners. Groups have staggered start times. As restrictions ease, more groups will be allowed in the water at the same time, but class sizes will remain the same.
