Emler Swim School opens first Washington location in Klahanie
Monday marks the Sammamish opening of Emler Swim School, a chain swimming program that has been providing aquatic education since 1975. Headquartered in Texas, Emler has opened a new outlet in Klahanie as its first Washington location.
Emler specializes in early learning and offers swim classes for all ages, from babies as young as two months to adults. For the infant age group — 2 to 35 months — classes are structured to be with parents in the pool.
“At the baby level, it also is a bonding opportunity because the parents are getting in with the kiddos and I’ve got three kids of my own and one of the cool things about getting in a pool is you don’t have a cell phone,” said Craig Kinney, Vice President of Real Estate and Strategy at Emler Swim School.
Swim camps and swim parties are offered along with group and private swim lessons. According to Kinney, the once-per-week lessons, offered at a monthly rate of $170, are the most popular. The school also provides open swim times, giving families the opportunity to enjoy the water together.
With the mission to eliminate the fear of swim lessons and instill a lifelong love of water and swimming, Emler uses 11 different levels of progression to achieve more than 100 milestones during learning.
The school has strict hiring criteria. All of the teachers to go through roughly 30 hours of additional training by Emler.
Kinney said they are rooted in the local community and almost all of the employees at the Klahanie location are local, from Sammamish and Issaquah. Among the new hires is Tony DeBoom, the general manager with a background in competitive swimming who brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the team.
To give back to the community, the school has a program named EmlerCares, through which they offer discounted and free lessons for lower-income families, ensuring that everyone has access to essential swim education. The program also encourages staff to volunteer and take part in efforts to enhance the community outside of lessons.
“We will plan ways to volunteer in the community as a team,” said Kinney.
Emler Swim School invites the community to take advantage of the special founding member discount. With its focus on early learning, local hiring, and community engagement, Emler Swim School is a new learning option for beginning swimmers in Sammamish.
Emler Swim School is located at 4506 Klahanie Drive SE in Sammamish. They are offering 25% off your first month of swim lessons to those who enroll before the end of 2024.
