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Our Founder and CEO, Susan Wainscott, is an educator by profession with over 25 years of swim teaching experience. As an elementary school teacher with a backyard pool and long summer vacation, she started what became the Swimtastic program in 1996. Her goal at the time was to earn enough money to pay for a heater for her backyard pool, but a long list of parents who wanted her to teach their children how to swim kept the program going long after the heater was purchased and paid for. 
As word spread among parents and demand for classes grew, Susan sought space at local colleges and health clubs with larger pools and additional teachers.
While the larger pools offered more space, they didn't provide the warm, nurturing environment Susan felt was critical to making children comfortable and able to devote their full attention to their lessons. Determined to provide the quality swim lessons children deserve, Susan set out to build a swim school that would cater to their needs.
She started with a specially designed pool, filled it with 90‐degree water, then added a custom water slide and palm tree shower to help children overcome their fear of the water. Next, she hired a professional, loving staff to develop each child's self‐esteem and love of the water, created small class sizes for individualized attention, and set up a system that makes it easy for parents to register. In January 1999, the Swimtastic Swim School opened in Waukesha, Wisconsin, creating a unique market niche and lots of happy families in the process.
Of course, it takes more than a marketplace niche to start a viable business venture — it also takes technical know how. That's where Susan's husband Barrett lent his expertise. With over 20 years of software engineering and program management experience, he designed Swimtastic's exclusive software program, to expedite enrollment, track payments and conduct the effective marketing programs that have enabled continuous business growth. And in October 2000, the Wainscott's opened a second school. 
From day one, Susan and Barrett knew that Swimtastic would become a strong franchise. Founding Swimtastic Corporation, they signed their first Swimtastic franchise in Omaha in 2004, followed by steady growth into additional markets. Today, with a proprietary curriculum, terrific marketing programs and all the right systems in place to manage the business, they are continuing to share their vision with the world!
