What was once a portion of a Ridley’s Grocery Store in the heart of Orem is now a Big Blue Swim School, one of the nation’s fastest-growing swim school franchises. The new location, at 23 W. Center St., will open Monday after a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday.

“The City of Orem is excited to welcome Austin Smith and his team at Big Blue Swim School, to their new location at 23 W Center Street in the City of Orem,” said Kathi Lewis, Orem’s economic development division manager. “Big Blue is a great community partner as is evident by their focus on teaching kids to swim and to be safer in the water. In addition, Big Blue is helping to build a thriving and balanced business environment in Orem.”

Families can take advantage of a special rate when they enroll in weekly swim lessons at Big Blue Orem for the first week, getting their first four weekly lessons for $25.

The location will host a Big Blue Family Fun Day from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday where guests can get a first look at the new swim school while enjoying live entertainment.

“We really connect with Big Blue’s mission to share the importance of water safety and are excited to bring it to Orem,” Austin Smith, area developer of Big Blue Swim School Orem, said in a statement. “We believe every child should learn how to swim and are honored to be able to make a difference in our community by teaching a valuable lifesaving skill.”

Big Blue Swim School Orem will offer weekly, year-round swim lessons for children as young as three months old. Classes are 30 or 45 minutes long and held seven days a week. Level-appropriate, engaging lessons are led by professional instructors.

Big Blue Swim School uses a mobile app, giving parents the ability to schedule and coordinate classes for multiple kids simultaneously and track their progress.

“We are so excited to continue to make a splash in Utah with our second Big Blue Swim School opening in the Orem community,” says Chris DeJong, founder and president of Big Blue Swim School. “Every new pool opening provides the opportunity to teach an important skill that leads kids to learning they can achieve anything in life.”

Founded in 2009 by DeJong, a national champion swimmer at the University of Michigan, Big Blue now has more than 26 pools across the U.S. including one another in Utah. The state’s first Big Blue Swim School location is in Cottonwood Heights.

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