Bend’s rivers, lakes and outdoor lifestyle have families enrolling children in swim lessons earlier than ever. SafeSplash Bend is helping build water safety, confidence, and lifelong skills beginning at six months.
Living in Bend means spending time around the water. Families float the Deschutes River, paddle nearby lakes, cool off in pools, and plan summer adventures where swimming is almost always part of the experience.
As those moments become a regular part of childhood, more parents are asking an important question before their children are old enough to join a swim team. Are they prepared if something unexpected happens in the water?
Swim lessons have become much more than another extracurricular activity. Many Bend families now view swimming as a life skill that builds confidence, teaches water safety, and prepares children for the outdoor lifestyle that makes Central Oregon unique.
SafeSplash Bend is opening with exactly that purpose in mind. After seeing local families struggle to find consistent swim instruction, local owners Chase and Grant partnered with Bend swim instructor Kristyn Deckard to create a dedicated swim school where children can build essential water safety skills from an early age.
“There are a lot of independent swim instructors here in town, but there’s not a consistent lesson-based building specifically for swim lessons,” said Carissa Nystrom, SafeSplash Bend’s marketing director. “Their hope was bringing something to Bend that we’re lacking that would benefit our town and kids in our community.”
Growing Up Around Water Comes With Extra Responsibility
Few communities embrace outdoor recreation like Bend. Children grow up floating rivers, spending weekends at lakes and enjoying water throughout every season–even in winter through indoor pools and swim lessons.
Kristyn Deckard, co-owner of SafeSplash Bend and a former Division I swimmer and collegiate coach, says living in Central Oregon changes the conversation around swim lessons.
“Our primary focus is water safety,” she said. “We have such a huge community [of water lovers] with the river, the lakes, and everything around here. It’s just as much of a survival skill as it is a safety skill.”
Deckard has spent years coaching swimmers at every level, including collegiate athletes and Team USA junior national programs. Returning home gave her an opportunity to address a need she had heard about repeatedly from local families.
“People were talking about how Bend is really limited with lesson programs,” Deckard said. “It would be great if you could get one started.”
Small Classes Create Bigger Opportunities
SafeSplash serves children beginning at six months old, along with teens and adults. Parent-and-child classes introduce infants to the water while helping parents build healthy habits from the very beginning.
As children grow, instruction continues with one priority before anything else.
“A lot of safety, back floats, front floats, bubbles, getting to a wall, being able to spot a wall,” Deckard said. “We really focus on those things before we even touch the strokes.”
Class sizes never exceed four students, giving instructors additional opportunities to work with each child individually.
“We have a max of four kids in a class because that’s the maximum number those kids are able to retain and learn,” Deckard said. “Instructors have more time to hone in on those individual swimmers and cater to those individual needs.”
Nystrom says smaller groups also create an environment children genuinely enjoy.
“SafeSplash really tries to make it something kids want to go do,” she said. “It feels more like a fun activity, and instructors have a lot of good one-on-one time with the kids.”
The Skills Children Need Before Anything Else
Many parents picture swim lessons as the place where children learn freestyle, backstroke and other techniques. Deckard says those skills come later. The first priority is helping children respond safely if they unexpectedly end up in the water.
“If their kid goes underwater, what do they do? If they fall in, how do they get back out?” she said. “The leading cause of death for kids ages one through four is drowning.”
Instruction begins with skills children can use in real-life situations, then progresses into stronger swimming technique and endurance as their confidence grows.
SafeSplash also recognizes children learn in different ways. Some become comfortable through a slower, reassuring approach, while others respond better to greater structure and energy. Families can even switch instructors if another teaching style creates a better connection, giving each child an opportunity to learn in an environment where they can succeed.
“We want parents to communicate with us,” Deckard said. “We want them to enjoy their time in the water, while they are actively learning life-saving skills.”
Built By People Who Call Bend Home
SafeSplash may be part of a national brand, yet its Bend location was created by local women raising their own families in Central Oregon. They know how often children here spend time around rivers, lakes and pools, and how difficult it can be for parents to find consistent swim instruction.
Nystrom hopes families see the new school as more than another business opening in Bend.
“SafeSplash gives us the foundation, but we can take it and focus it on what our community needs,” she said. “We’re locals in this with you.”
As enrollment begins and opening day approaches, the team hopes more children enter the water with skills their families can trust. A lesson may begin with bubbles, floating or finding the wall, yet each one prepares a child for summers on the river, weekends at the lake, and unexpected moments when knowing what to do can make all the difference.
