It started with a simple problem.
There wasn’t enough room.
What we were seeing seemed pretty straightforward:
There simply wasn’t enough aquatic space for all the people trying to use it.
Learn-to-swim. Competitive swimming. Water polo. Diving. Fitness. Therapy. Public-safety training. Community programs. Just to name a few.
So we started talking to people.
Coaches. Clubs. Families. Community organizations. Water-safety advocates. First responders.
People who understood the problem because they were living it, too.
Different people. Different needs. Same problem.
There simply wasn't enough aquatic space.
And somewhere along the way, those conversations brought us back to our own why.
Why we got our kids in the water in the first place.
Jason Lezak at The Knolls Pool
Because these sports can do so much more than teach a kid how to swim. They build
Confidence. Independence. Discipline. Resilience. Friendships. A sense of belonging.
They give kids a place to discover what they’re capable of.
And before any of that can happen,
Every child deserves the chance to be safe and confident around water.
We started out thinking the problem was
simply a shortage of pool space.
We realized it was bigger than that.
That shortage meant the community was missing out on everything those spaces make possible.
That realization became the
Colorado Aquatics Foundation.
Safer Around Water. Greater Access to Aquatics. Stronger Communities.
Our mission is to improve water safety and drowning prevention, expand aquatic access, support the advancement of aquatic sports, and strengthen sustainable aquatic infrastructure for Colorado communities.
Water Safety & Drowning Prevention
We support and advocate for water-safety education and drowning-prevention efforts that help children, families and communities develop the knowledge and skills to be safer around water.
Aquatic Access & Programming
We work to expand opportunities for people of different ages, abilities and backgrounds to participate in swimming, recreation, training and other aquatic activities.
Aquatic Infrastructure
We help advance projects and partnerships that can expand the aquatic capacity communities need to support programming and opportunity for generations.
Bringing People, Ideas and Opportunities Together.
Colorado Aquatics Foundation works to connect community needs with aquatic expertise, organizations, potential users, supporters and infrastructure opportunities.
Our approach includes
Community Engagement
Listening to the organizations and people who use, operate and depend on aquatic facilities and programming.
Partnership Development
Building relationships across aquatics, water safety, education, recreation, health, community organizations, and the public and private sectors.
Research & Planning
Learning from successful aquatic facilities, operators and programs to help inform sustainable approaches to facility operations, programming and community use.
Advocacy
Helping elevate the importance of water safety, aquatic access and sustainable aquatic infrastructure.
Project Development
Advancing projects and partnerships that can turn community needs and aquatic opportunities into tangible assets.
The Colorado Aquatic Center
Years of listening, learning and building relationships have helped shape a vision for what more aquatic capacity could make possible in Colorado.
A place with room for all of it. A place for everyone to call home.
Conceptual building rendering; pool photo shows a comparable facility outside Colorado
This Vision Takes People Willing to Bring It to Life.
Colorado Aquatics Foundation is led by a Board of Directors with experience in executive leadership, finance, land development and real estate management, alongside deep roots in aquatics.
Board of Directors
Jerrod Brown
President
Jerrod brings a background in land development and more than a decade of involvement in Colorado aquatics as a swim parent and USA Swimming official. His experience spans the community, competitive and development sides of the work that led to Colorado Aquatics Foundation.
Matt Flavin
Vice President / Treasurer
Matt is an energy-sector executive, former U.S. Naval Officer and longtime swim parent. He brings executive leadership, financial perspective and organizational experience to the Foundation's board.
Anna Boyd
Director / Board Secretary
Anna brings experience as a swim coach, swim parent and real estate management professional, combining firsthand knowledge of aquatic programming with professional experience in property management and operations.
Advisory Committee
Tom Byorick
Head Coach / Owner, Aces Swim Club
Brett Kelley
Age Group Coach, Aces Swim Club
Joel Shinofield
Managing Director of Sport Development, USA Swimming
And maybe some part of this story is yours, too.
Maybe you’ve watched a child find confidence in the water. Maybe a team became a second family. Maybe you know what it means to have a place where you belong. Or what it feels like when there simply isn’t room.
Those are the stories that keep bringing people to this work.
Ours started with our kids.
Today, we’re working to make sure more people get that same chance.
That chance is still out of reach for too many.
Here’s where you come in.
There are many ways to be part of what comes next.