Every kid in Austin
deserves to be
safe in the water.
We pay for swim lessons for Central Texas children whose families can’t afford them, so that every kid grows up safe and confident in the water.
One scholarship, start to finish
- 8 Lessons of thirty minutes each, taught by professional instructors.
- 4 hrs In the water in a small group, at no cost to the family.
- 100 Children we aim to put through lessons in our first year.
Why this matters
281 Texas children drowned in three years.
Eighteen of them in the five counties around Austin.1 Drowning is the leading cause of death for children aged one to four.3
Swimming is a skill, not a talent. It is taught. And when parents are asked why their child has never had a lesson, the answer at the top of the list is not time and it is not distance — it is cost.2
That is a problem you can solve with money. So that is what we do.
In Texas, the drowning rate peaks at age two.
Children aged one to four drown at nearly twice the rate of any other age group, and within those years the peak is age two.4 Both charts count deaths per 100,000 residents of each age, so a crowded age group and a small one compare like with like.
Drowning deaths per 100,000 residents, by age group
See the numbers
| Age group | Deaths per 100,000 |
|---|---|
| <1 | 1.2 |
| 1–4 | 3.8 |
| 5–14 | 0.6 |
| 15–24 | 1.2 |
| 25–34 | 1.3 |
| 35–44 | 1.3 |
| 45–54 | 1.2 |
| 55–64 | 1.6 |
| 65–74 | 1.8 |
| 75–84 | 2.1 |
| 85+ | 1.9 |
Drowning deaths per 100,000 residents, from birth to age eight
See the numbers
| Age | Deaths per 100,000 |
|---|---|
| 0 | 1.2 |
| 1 | 4.2 |
| 2 | 4.9 |
| 3 | 4.1 |
| 4 | 2.3 |
| 5 | 1.6 |
| 6 | 0.8 |
| 7 | 0.8 |
| 8 | 0.4 |
- Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Child Drownings, 2023–2025.
- Lurie Children’s Hospital and NORC at the University of Chicago, Voices of Child Health in Chicago, 2021. A survey of Chicago parents; read it as the shape of the barrier rather than an Austin measurement.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2024.
- Drowning fatality rates by age, Texas, 2018–2024, as deaths per 100,000 residents. Draft figures from an unpublished 2026 report on drowning in Texas, based on Texas Department of State Health Services mortality data, shared with the Foundation in September 2026. We will update the figures and this reference when the report is published.
How it works
How a scholarship works.
-
A gift comes in
Sponsors underwrite our events, so what people give goes to lessons. Any amount helps; gifts pool together to cover children.
-
A child gets eight lessons
Taught by professional instructors at Waterloo Swimming, in small groups, at no cost to the family.
-
Their family pays nothing
The Foundation pays the swim school directly, so lessons are simply free for the family.
Who we are
Three national champions who swam for Texas.
As student athletes at the University of Texas we found success in and out of the pool, on teams that won national championships in four straight years.
Now we are helping Central Texas kids learn water safety, so that more of them get to enjoy the sport that gave us so much.
- 2015–18 Four consecutive years in which the founders were part of NCAA national championship teams at Texas
- 4th Year of the tailgate that funds this work, held before every Texas home football game
The community behind it
Texas Swim & Dive shows up.
Every home football weekend, alumni, families and friends gather in the Olympian Circle outside the Texas Swimming Center. Eight Austin businesses underwrite the food and drink. What guests give goes to lessons.
Newsletter
Hear how it goes.
An occasional email: when the first lessons start, how the tailgate went, and what gifts have paid for. Never sold or shared, and one line to leave.
Our sponsors
Put a child in the water.
Give what you like, or tell us how you would like to help. Every gift goes to lessons.