Michael Phelps Swimming launched in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Michael Phelps Swimming in association with Gameday Arts launched their swim excellence programs in Bengaluru on Tuesday, 29th September, 2015 with India becoming the first International venture for the programme. As a step to encourage and educate young swimmers on the right swimming technique to enable them to build a strong foundation for their Swim Skills, Hilary Phelps, the eldest sister of the legendary Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps, was present for an engaging and enthusiastic session with young children and Gameday Arts trainers from the city.

Michael Phelps Swimming program specifically designed for children, focuses on growing the sport of swimming along with promoting healthy and active lives The aim of the programme is to provide swimmers of all skill levels with the most proven technique to learn swimming - the same method that helped Michael Phelps himself hold the record for the most number of individual Olympic gold medals, (18) becoming the greatest individual Olympian swimmer of all time.

It is this belief that drew the support of the CEO of Gameday Arts, Jai Gill. "This is a wonderful opportunity for young swimmers to learn to swim exactly the way Michael Phelps was taught. With the program, we aim to provide young swimmers an opportunity to become world-class athletes by teaching the fundamentals of the sport with a proven and successful method. With the swim clinics being set up in the city, we are confident that our programs will emphasize the importance of life skills learnt from swimming. Our ultimate aim is to enhance the swimming experience for young children to be able to develop the next generation of swimmers from Bengaluru.

With her strong knowledge of the sport and close personal insights into the development of a swimming champion, Hilary Phelps, the creative director of Michael Phelps Swim School, interacted with the children and answer all their questions on what Michael had to do to become a record breaking Olympic swimmer. "This country has so much potential to excel in every sport in existence and swimming is no different. The reason we chose Bangalore as the venue for our swim clinics is because of its rich history of nurturing young swimming talent and a vibrant swimming culture. We want to give Indians the opportunity to learn to swim and later become a competitive force in the sport of swimming. We (Michael Phelps Swim School) are very excited to work together to bring our program to India, especially Bangalore."

Being a triathlete and fitness enthusiast herself, she drew upon her own experiences when advising the children and their parents about the steps they needed to accomplish to not only have a good and healthy life but also to encourage their children in the sport of swimming. The children were extremely responsive to her and listened in rapture as she recounted tales of her brother and her splashing about in their local pool when they were children. "Swim coaches and trainers are highly important in a child's development from when he enters a swimming pool for the first time. With a coach-swimmer ratio of 6:1, we aim to provide hands-on teaching for all our students to inculcate the value of water safety and the importance of basic swimming technique - the Phelps way of swimming."Concluded, Hilary.

Michael Phelps Swimming will host swim clinics at Zuri, Whitefield, Royal Orchid Hotel and across schools in the city that have strong infrastructures for Swim Programs.