Bert Lozada Swim School: Alive and splashing for 70 years

IT HAS been 70 years since the Bert Lozada Swim School (BLSS) began, a staple for those looking for swimming lessons either for themselves or for their children, especially in the summer. As the Philippines’ largest and longest-running swim school, its mission has been simple — to help Filipinos overcome their fear of water.

Started in 1956 by Remberto “Tito Bert” Lozada, whose experience in international swimming competitions motivated him to use what he had learned to teach others, the school has spent the last 70 years championing water safety nationwide. It has taught over one million students in that time, and has produced seven Olympian swimmers.

Bert Lozada’s sons, Anthony and Angelo, now run the business. In a recent virtual interview with BusinessWorld, they said that passion is behind the constant improvement of their programs over the decades.

“When it started, it was a mom-and-pop thing with a few family members teaching at a couple of swimming pools. The curriculum was based on what my dad developed from his experiences coaching abroad,” Anthony Lozada, BLSS president and chief executive officer, told BusinessWorld via video call on April 10.

“At the time, there was no structure, methodology, or pedagogy on how to transfer information to children, given that it’s a free moving environment, not a classroom setting,” he added.

It was Tito Bert’s father, Capt. Catalino Lozada, who sowed the seeds for a swim school in the early 1950s. Each generation of the family got more exposure to international swimming standards, resulting in the necessary modifications and teaching aids.

The brothers underwent a certification course in Australia, where they got the information needed to equip Filipino coaches with the skills to teach basic fundamental swimming, in turn upgrading their own learn-to-swim program.

DROWN-FREE PHILIPPINES
Angelo Lozada, chief operating officer of BLSS, explained that they now boast of “a menu of services for different ability levels,” from children to adults to those with adaptive needs, all based on best practices around the world, available year-round.

“We have 130 regular teachers and coaches around the country. During the summer, where we open up more classes and get to activate working students, we have roughly more than 200 teachers and coaches,” he said.

It is unfortunate that in an archipelagic country, many Filipinos still do not know how to swim. Angelo Lozada posits that a major factor is economics — with people not having the funds to enroll in swimming classes.

“In Australia, if a kid doesn’t know how to swim by the time they’re six years old, that’s considered bad parenting. Here, we noticed a lot of kids don’t learn simply because of lack of money for lessons,” he explained. “Another thing that hinders is the knowledge to teach. That’s the reason we built the Drown-Free Philippines Foundation, to equip people on the barangay level to teach.”

INCLUSIVITY
Now, they are looking to collaborate with more swim providers, to help out more financially challenged Filipinos, especially children.

“It’s doable if we’re able to branch out,” Angelo Lozada said. “We’re already moving forward in terms of reaching different institutions and barangays. We just have to get more sponsors and raise more funds to teach even more kids for free.”

Because Bert Lozada’s dream is to have “a drown-free nation,” his sons are working to bring swimming lessons to indigents, to children from families without access to funds, and to those with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Anthony Lozada, who also handles the national team for para-athletes, told BusinessWorld that they aim to expand their adaptive swimming lessons.

“It’s about inclusivity regardless of demographic. BLSS wants to bring swimming to everyone,” he said.

MAKING GREAT SWIMMERS
BLSS also offers their services to educational institutions, to take over the swimming portions of Physical Education (PE) programs. Those with a fear of water can be more adequately handled by a full-time swim teacher compared to a more general PE teacher, according to the brothers.

It’s also a way to spot talent that can be recruited into more advanced modules, or even a varsity program.

“We’re talking about those who are really comfortable in the water, which you can tell because they move differently. We get to identify usually one or two of those in every 40 students,” said Angelo Lozada.

Once those are spotted, they are encouraged to join intramurals, after which they are brought into a highly competitive program. “A lot of swimmers discovered in our classes now in the national team used to be scared of the water. But with proper guidance and a lesson plan, we were able to tap those hidden talents in them,” he added.

“The motto of our grandfather was: ‘Great swimmers are made, not born.’”

THE FUTURE OF BLSS
Modules used by BLSS now are on par with those of other countries. The brothers likened it to how Jollibee took the fastfood concept from abroad and modified it to the Filipino context — and they continue to improve on it to this day.

“Our students don’t only learn the water safety skill of swimming, but we also impart to them the values of being an athlete and a positive contributor to Philippine society. Many coaches that we recruited are also doing well in jobs abroad,” said Anthony Lozada. “BLSS is a swim school that imparts not just knowledge of how to swim, but also values and the importance of family bonding.”

Right now, they are working on an app which aims to professionalize everything from enrollment to alumni matters. “We want to remind alumni to continue learning to swim, and offer them refresher courses,” said Angelo Lozada.

The brothers assured that “the passion of Tito Bert is alive” through them.

“We have our dad to thank. He really loved teaching,” Anthony Lozada said. “We weren’t able to figure it out before because we were looking at it as a job, but now that we’re in the driver’s seat, the rewards, the fulfillment, are unmatched.”

To inquire about the BLSS Summer Swim Program or their other programs, contact the Bert Lozada Swim School through their social media pages, send an e-mail to blss.inquiry@gmail.com, or call 0917-700-7946. The school has over 40 venues nationwide. — Brontë H. Lacsamana