MASTERY
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“It’s really the best of both worlds,” Hoare noted. “We’re building 
traditional swim skills, but we’re also supporting their physical 
therapy goals in the water.” 

Growth, Confidence, and Connection
Across the six-week sessions, growth often unfolds in powerful 
and deeply personal ways.
“We’ve had multiple examples where this is the first time students 
have ever been swimming,” Hoare shared. “Session one, there’s 
lots of nervousness, but by session six, to a person, it’s like, ‘I wish 
we could keep going.’” 
For some students, early hesitation gives way to joy and 
confidence. 
“We had one student who didn’t get into the water in the first 
session,” Hoare said. “But by session six, they were laughing, 
splashing, singing, even trying to jump off the edge.” 
Other milestones are quieter. For some students, they are putting 
their face in the water, floating, or moving more freely than they 
can on land for the first time.
For one student, the experience was extra special: 
“He jumped with us,” Hoare reflected. “And we know, based on his 
diagnosis, that he’s not going to be able to jump forever. 
So, the fact that we could provide that opportunity, in the safest 
way possible from a clinical lens, is infinitely valuable.” 
Designed for students with complex physical, medical, and 
sensory needs, the Therapeutic Swim Program creates a space 
where students can move, regulate, and participate in ways that 
may not always be possible in traditional settings. In its first year 
as a divisionally coordinated, therapeutic program, the initiative 
brought students together from across families of schools for six-
week blocks of sessions in a warm-water, supported environment. 
“This was a real pilot project year,” shared program lead and 
occupational therapist Travis Hoare. “Next year, we’re looking 
to expand so students can attend for longer and have more 
opportunities to be in the water.”

A Program Designed Around Students
Each session is thoughtfully structured to ensure students feel 
safe, supported, and ready to engage. Students are transported 
from their schools to Aqua Essence, where they are welcomed 
into a calm, inclusive environment.
“This is an invitation-only group,” Hoare explained. “We went 
school by school and identified students who would benefit 
therapeutically from being in the water with clinical support.” 
In the pool, a collaborative team works alongside each student. 
Educational assistants provide one-on-one support, while 
physiotherapists and occupational therapists adapt physical 
therapy goals to the water. Swim instructors and lifeguards 
from Aqua Essence work alongside the clinical team, blending 
therapeutic approaches with foundational swim skills. 
The water is warm and quiet. As students enter the 
pool, movements begin to ease, tension softens, 
and confidence starts to take shape. For many 
students in the Louis Riel School Division’s (LRSD) 
Therapeutic Swim Program, this is more than a 
swim. It is a moment of possibility. 
MORE
THAN A
SWIM

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