Swim School Helps Equip Children with Both Survival and Competitive Swimming Skills: SwimRay

From competitive to open water swimming and swimming for special needs, SwimRay offers a broad spectrum of classes for people of varying needs

SwimRay has a 5-step Aquatic Roadmap that progressively teaches students accident survival swimming and competitive swimming concepts, concluding in open water swimming. PHOTO: SWIMRAY

21 gold medals. That’s how many gold medals Team Singapore’s swimmers, led by swimming powerhouses, Joseph Schooling and Quah Zheng Wen, have swept at the 31st SEA Games this May.

Beyond dazzling gold medals, swimming is an essential life skill. In fact, it is a key skill for most Primary School children under the SwimSafer 2.0 programme, designed to equip participants with more rigorous water survival and swimming competency skills.

Swim classes for adults are also available at SwimRay Swim School. PHOTO: SWIMRAY

Swimming is one of the most popular sports in Singapore, with over 2.5 million visits to swimming pools in 2021 alone. With its growing popularity, water safety in pools – and open water has become all the more paramount, especially with the concerning spate of recent drowning incidents that have occurred in open water.

With that in mind, we turn our attentions this week to SwimRay, a leading private swim school in Singapore that offers a first-of-a-kind pedagogy combining accident survival swimming techniques and competitive swimming skills.

An Open Water Swim lesson conducted by SwimRay's co-founder Jay Lin. PHOTO: SWIMRAY

As a former swim student and naval diver himself, SwimRay Co-Founder Ray Kua noticed that most private swimming lessons in Singapore primarily focus on stroke efficiency, with little to no emphasis on water survival in open water.

Ray also explained that parents have shared their past experiences with him, where they faced inconsistent scheduling and tardiness with some freelance private swim coaches.

SwimRay is an inclusive swim school that caters to people from all walks of life. PHOTO: SWIMRAY

As such, SwimRay developed its “School to You” motto for parents, with professionalism and quality control equivalent to a venue-based swim school, combined with the flexibility and convenience of private swimming lessons.

To help value-add the learning experience and build confidence amongst swimmers in open water, SwimRay incorporates accident survival swimming skills to equip children with drownproofing, limb immobility swimming, and shock entry skills.

Classes at SwimRay include categories for babies (6 - 24 months), toddlers (2 - 4 years old), and kids (5-16 years old). PHOTO: SWIMRAY

Together with Co-Founder Jay Lin, a former competitive swimmer for Taiwan and Singapore, SwimRay’s lessons also include the competitive elements of swimming. This is enhanced with their proprietary 5-step Aquatic Roadmap that progressively teaches students accident survival swimming and competitive swimming concepts, concluding in open water swimming.

Each student is also tagged to a dedicated administrative, scheduling and financing team, along with their coach, to ensure proper rostering, scheduling and quality control.

SwimRay Swim School features a team of 30-strong coaches. PHOTO: SWIMRAY

The 30-strong team of coaches are selected based on their experiences in open water or competitive swimming, and they undergo monthly trainings and orientations to keep their skills relevant and aligned with SwimRay’s pedagogy and services.

With over 5,000 students in Singapore and 15 specialised swimming classes available, SwimRay also offers female-only, special needs and family classes for students of all ages.

Special partnership programs, curated with organisations like the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped, help ensure that all children can get an equal opportunity to learn to swim regardless of their needs.

Co-founders of SwimRay Ray Kua (left) and Jay Lin. PHOTO: SWIMRAY

About SwimRay

SwimRay is a leading private swimming school in Singapore pioneered by Ray Kua and Jay Lin, two individuals with strong backgrounds in water-related training and sports. Ray was a former military combat diver during National Service, and Jay is a competitive triathlon swim coach.

Together, they have formulated a teaching pedagogy unique to SwimRay, combining elements of accident survival swimming with competitive swimming, with a fundamental goal of ensuring students learn to swim safely and confidently.

Since 2017, SwimRay has established a strong industry presence with over 5,000 students of all ages in Singapore and a 30-strong team. They offer an extensive range of 15 specialised swimming classes catered for all needs and ages, including babies, toddlers, children, adults, females, special needs children, and families.

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