About
SwimRVA Swim School & Learn-to-Swim Programs offers swim lessons, group swim lessons, private swim lessons, and a Learn-to-Swim program, along with a Swim School and school-based swimming lessons. The program also includes the SwimRVA Rapids swim team, the SwimRVA Hammerheads program and Hammerheads Masters Swimming, an adult swim team, swim workouts, water polo through SwimRVA Water Polo, and an Artistic Swimming Team for artistic and synchronized swimming. Additional activities include Autism Swims, Summer Camps and other camps, Running University, Senior Wellness programs, and training such as lifeguarding, CPR, first aid, water rescue, Lifeguard courses, Lifeguard Instructor (LGI) courses, and CPO courses.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Learn-to-Swim school-based lessons run over seven structured lessons; facility hours include weekday daytime and evening options, with additional seasonal hours at SwimRVA North
SwimRVA’s Learn-to-Swim program provides cost-free, school-based swimming lessons to second graders across multiple districts in the Richmond region, with seven structured lessons that cover essential survival skills, water comfort, and foundational stroke techniques. The organization operates with a station-based curriculum, month-to-month billing, and programs for any age, and it serves as a non-profit community hub for aquatics in the Richmond region. SwimRVA leads the Drownproof Richmond initiative, described as one of the largest and most impactful community water-safety strategies in the nation, and it has a stated $7 million annual economic impact goal.
SwimRVA began as the Greater Richmond Aquatics Partnership (GRAP), a collaboration of five educational and youth sport leaders focused on providing a world-class aquatics facility in Chesterfield. SwimRVA maintains partnerships with civic leaders, schools, community groups, and organizations such as the YMCA of Greater Richmond, the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs, and VSU. Together with the YMCA of Greater Richmond, SwimRVA provides every second grader in the community the opportunity to learn how to swim, and it partners with middle and high schools to teach essential swim skills and provide life safety certifications, including lifeguarding, CPR, first aid, and water rescue.
SwimRVA is a nonprofit organization with a mission to change lives through aquatics and to build a Drownproof Richmond, with three mission pillars: Swim for Safety, Swim for Health, and Swim for Economic Vitality. Its Autism Swims program is described as being designed in partnership with behavioral experts and experienced aquatic educators. SwimRVA is a training hub certifying lifeguards, instructors (LGIs), and CPOs, and it offers workforce development programs that provide life safety certifications, including lifeguarding, CPR, first aid, and water rescue. The organization notes that it operates one of two water polo teams in Virginia. The leadership team includes Adam Kennedy, Executive Director; Scott Bennett, Director of Communications; Kirk Chamberlain, Director of Facilities; Debbie Kelo, Ph.D., Director of Programs; and Sean Gaffney, Director of Life Safety.
Last updated May 14, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Learn-to-Swim school-based lessons run over seven structured lessons; facility hours include weekday daytime and evening options, with additional seasonal hours at SwimRVA North
SwimRVA’s Learn-to-Swim program provides cost-free, school-based swimming lessons to second graders across multiple districts in the Richmond region, with seven structured lessons that cover essential survival skills, water comfort, and foundational stroke techniques. The organization operates with a station-based curriculum, month-to-month billing, and programs for any age, and it serves as a non-profit community hub for aquatics in the Richmond region. SwimRVA leads the Drownproof Richmond initiative, described as one of the largest and most impactful community water-safety strategies in the nation, and it has a stated $7 million annual economic impact goal.
SwimRVA began as the Greater Richmond Aquatics Partnership (GRAP), a collaboration of five educational and youth sport leaders focused on providing a world-class aquatics facility in Chesterfield. SwimRVA maintains partnerships with civic leaders, schools, community groups, and organizations such as the YMCA of Greater Richmond, the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs, and VSU. Together with the YMCA of Greater Richmond, SwimRVA provides every second grader in the community the opportunity to learn how to swim, and it partners with middle and high schools to teach essential swim skills and provide life safety certifications, including lifeguarding, CPR, first aid, and water rescue.
SwimRVA is a nonprofit organization with a mission to change lives through aquatics and to build a Drownproof Richmond, with three mission pillars: Swim for Safety, Swim for Health, and Swim for Economic Vitality. Its Autism Swims program is described as being designed in partnership with behavioral experts and experienced aquatic educators. SwimRVA is a training hub certifying lifeguards, instructors (LGIs), and CPOs, and it offers workforce development programs that provide life safety certifications, including lifeguarding, CPR, first aid, and water rescue. The organization notes that it operates one of two water polo teams in Virginia. The leadership team includes Adam Kennedy, Executive Director; Scott Bennett, Director of Communications; Kirk Chamberlain, Director of Facilities; Debbie Kelo, Ph.D., Director of Programs; and Sean Gaffney, Director of Life Safety.
Last updated May 14, 2026.
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