Nine year old Nitya is a rising 5^th grader at Endhaven Elementary. When Nitya is not swimming, she enjoys playing outside with her friends, reading, playing piano, ice skating and of course watching television. Her favorite stroke is backstroke. Because Nitya is such a good swimmer, her favorite memories of swimming already include a triathlon camp and a snorkeling trip. One of her favorite things at Charlotte Aquatics is swimming with all her clothes on during Safety Week. She has saved all of her patches and has them neatly arranged in order on the bulletin board in her room.

 “A big thank you to Charlotte Aquatics and Ms. Gigi and Mr. Mike for coaching Nitya. She has definitely learned a precious skill for life. Learning how to swim is just one aspect of her experience at CA. She has become more confident, healthier and earning level 6 has taught her that hard-work and perseverance pays off. We plan on continuing her in tune up class.” Nitya’s mom

Priyam is a fifth grader at Ballantyne Elementary and has been taking swim lessons since he was four years old. His mom says, “He is a fish!” When he is not swimming he is quite busy playing the guitar and the violin, playing chess and basketball, and reading science books. He loves to play 3D-DS with his friends and little brother Shivey. When asked, how swimming has changed your life? Priyam responds, “Swimming makes me feel like I am a fish. Swimming is like a meditation for me, which relaxes me so much. I just want to swim all day and night too!” he says with a smile. His best swimming memory is the safety/survival lessons he learned about how to save himself and others. Not only has he put all of his hard earned patches in his collection, he has photocopied them to share with his family in India. Priyam’s favorite stroke is Freestyle and one of his favorite things at Charlotte Aquatics is the music under the water. Priyam’s favorite memory of Charlotte Aquatics will be receiving his Level 6 trophy! Congratulations!

Samuel is a second grader at Ballantyne Elementary and a very determined, hard working eight year old. (See below to read his mom retelling Samuel’s declaring his goal to pass level 6!) When Samuel is not swimming he is resting and playing Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. When you ask Samuel how swim lessons have changed his life? He responds, “I can swim!” His favorite stroke is the Butterfly and his favorite thing about Charlotte Aquatics is the teachers. He has all of his patches displayed on his closet door in his bedroom. And of course his favorite memory of Charlotte Aquatics is passing level 6 and receiving his gold trophy! Way to go Samuel!

  ”Samuel started at Charlotte Aquatics in January 2011 and although he was quite confident in the water he was unable to swim at all. On his very first visit, he was inspired to accomplish Level VI by the lure of the gold trophy!!! Every time he came in, he would study the badges, their colours, the different levels and what was required, and he always said “I’m going to get the gold trophy.” Each time he graduated, he knew he was one step closer to his goal. In just 17 months he has progressed through the levels and won the trophy he was so desperate to obtain. I would like to thank Charlotte Aquatics not just for their wonderful teaching but for giving children the opportunity to set goals and obtain them. The look on Sam’s face when he knew he was graduating Level VI was priceless and one I’ll remember for the rest of my life.” Many Thanks – Charis 

 Anthony is nine years old and when he is not swimming he loves to play soccer. His best swimming memory? “When I was a baby, and my dad had to go into the water with me for my swimming classes.” Anthony’s favorite stroke is Front Crawl.  He has diligently worked hard for all of his swim level patches and now that he has all of them, his mom will put them in a frame with his picture. The thing he likes most about Charlotte Aquatics is playing “hit the teacher” with Mr. Mike. His favorite memory is when he finally got the Butterfly stroke. Swim lessons have changed his life because he can now swim safely in his own pool.