A new swim school has opened in Airdrie, Alta., and it’s a little unconventional.
“To me, it’s a claim to fame to say we put a pool in a Swiss Chalet,” said owner Nikaela Lutzer, with a laugh.
She opened Lil Bettas Swim School without a permanent home after noticing a need for more access to the life-saving skill, but she quickly discovered there wasn’t enough space at private facilities in the growing community.
Lutzer says she’s heard plenty of jokes from people when they realize her new business is a resurrection of a former Swiss Chalet restaurant.
“Can you still get two for $14.99 dinner specials? Is there chicken served with your swimming lessons?” Lutzer said.
But the road to get to where she is now was no laughing matter.
“I was out of work, I was in the middle of a bad divorce, and I was unable, at the time, to find something that could sustain myself and my two children,” Lutzer said.
“I was about a week away from losing my home,” the single mom said.
It was also during the pandemic when “the rec centres were closed, the hotels were closed. There was nothing available to children.”
But suddenly, Lutzer had a lightbulb moment. The former instructor took a good look at her swim spa in the backyard and said: “I’m going to teach swimming lessons in here.”
She says the response was overwhelming: 175 inquiries after her initial social media post. But it wouldn’t last, as it was quickly shut down by authorities.
“At the time, it was very disappointing.”
But Lutzer now says she appreciates the work those same authorities did to help find a model that did work.
“He said: ‘You could reach out to some hotels.'”
Given it was the pandemic, the hotel pools weren’t being used. Lutzer got lucky renting one for private lessons but as soon as restrictions were lifted, the business needed its pool back for guests.
But all along, the business kept growing and the demand for instructors kept increasing.
“I was able to provide 87 households with income, and that to me was the greatest feeling,” she said with a smile.
Another attempt at a different hotel wasn’t sustainable due to rising rental costs, she said. That’s when she decided to finally build her own space. She noticed an empty restaurant and called up her realtor.
“Can you put a pool in a Swiss Chalet? He paused and said, ‘We can do whatever you need to do.'”
The deal went through and construction began. Transforming the space was no easy task and there were many bumps along the road, not to mention incredible start-up costs — upwards of $1 million.
But the finished product is totally worth it, Lutzer said.
“We intend to do this in more restaurants that are underutilized. We don’t want to keep building; we want to repurpose, and this was 7,000-square-feet that was sitting vacant for two years.”
The swim school offers warmer water, less sensory disruption and one-on-one lessons. That focus was inspired by Lutzer’s own daughter, who has special needs.
“She has Neurofibromatosis Type 1. She has a number of brain tumors and some on her spine.”
Lutzer witnessed first-hand how her daughter found it difficult to learn in a group setting but still wanted her daughter to learn basic survival skills in the water. She knew there were others out there in the same situation.
Like many parents and adults who can’t swim, safety is the number one reason for lessons. That’s why Lil Betta’s is open to everyone of every age.
There are many reasons she did it, but overall Lutzer hopes the business is in the fast lane towards success, teaching more people how to swim.
“We opened a pool, and that’s just not something you say everyday of your life,” she laughed.