2026 USSSA National Conference
October 19 – 21, 2026
Welcome to the schedule for the USSSA National Conference!
We’re excited for the upcoming 2026 National Conference and can’t wait to bring our community together again!
See our full agenda here! Subject to updates.
Sunday October 18th, 2026 (Pre-Conference)
An opportunity for USSSA board members and Champion sponsors to connect. This invite-only lunch offers a space for meaningful dialogue, strategic discussion, and relationship building ahead of the conference kickoff.
Dive deeper into early childhood swim instruction with this hands-on workshop designed exclusively for USSSA members. Held in person, this session focuses on proven methods for teaching infants and toddlers, fostering comfort, confidence, and safety in the water. Additional Cost of $159- select this add-on to your Conference Registration!
(Not attending conference? – Contact D’Nette to get pricing for this Workshop.)
Ever wish you could tell the companies you work with exactly what you need? Now you can.
This exclusive think tank brings together our Champion and Supporter level sponsors and a small group of swim school owners for an open, honest conversation about what’s working, what’s needed, and where the industry is headed. As an owner, your voice directly influences the products, services, and solutions available to your school. Sponsors come ready to listen. You come ready to be heard.
Seating for swim school owners is limited. Want a seat at the table? Contact our Event Planner, Samantha to reserve your spot.
Skip the rush and check in early!
Kick off the conference with an evening of networking, cocktails, and great conversation alongside fellow USSSA members and exhibitors. Relax, reconnect, and celebrate the start of an exciting week together in a fun and welcoming atmosphere.
Current and former Board Members are invited to join us for a special reception. Attendance is by invitation only.
Location: Board President’s Suite, Room number TBD
Monday October 19th, 2026
Check in and get ready to dive in! Pick up your badge and conference materials, meet the USSSA team, and get your questions answered before the sessions begin.
Kick off your conference experience by connecting with fellow new member school owners in an engaging, supportive environment. This breakfast is a great opportunity to meet USSSA leaders, ask questions, and start building relationships that will support your growth in the association.
Who’s Invited:
New Members, Non-Members,
Mentors and Mentees
Location – TBD
From leading a $5 billion company to losing everything—bankruptcy, federal investigations, and public fallout—this is a story of hitting rock bottom and choosing to rise anyway. Through resilience, belief, and the strength of family and friendships, a new path emerged—proving that your lowest moment doesn’t define your future. Because no matter how far you fall, you can rise again.
Transform the way you generate ideas with this interactive and energizing session focused on creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. Participants will discover practical techniques to spark innovative thinking, overcome creative roadblocks, and generate ideas more efficiently.
Through engaging activities and proven strategies, attendees will learn how to tap into their creative potential using tools such as mind mapping, brainstorming exercises, and “what if” scenarios. The session also explores ways to foster a culture of creativity, improve team morale, reduce workplace stress, and manage common productivity challenges.
Whether you’re looking to solve problems faster, inspire fresh thinking, or create a more innovative work environment, this session will provide actionable takeaways you can immediately put into practice.
Keynote Speaker: Christine Cashen
Recharge, reconnect, and explore! During the Networking Break, visit the Exhibit Hall to discover swim school-focused products and services, chat with industry partners, and connect with fellow USSSA members.
Coffee Sponsored by CES
AI is changing the way swim schools operate, communicate, train teams, and serve families—but many organizations are still trying to figure out where to start. In this engaging and practical session, sales and leadership expert Kelly Crandall will break down AI in plain English and show how swim schools can use it to improve productivity, consistency, communication, and decision-making without losing the human touch. Attendees will learn the difference between generative AI, AI assistants, and automation, explore real-world business applications, and understand the leadership strategies needed to adopt AI responsibly and effectively. Whether you’re an owner, operator, manager, or team member, you’ll leave with actionable ideas and a clearer path forward for your organization.
Courtesy of Champion Sponsor SplashAbout
Keynote Speaker: Kelly Crandall
Enjoy lunch while exploring innovative swim school solutions. Join fellow USSSA members in the Exhibit Hall for a casual meal and valuable conversations with our industry partners.
An exclusive gathering for USSSA committee members. Join fellow invitees for a collaborative lunch to share insights, discuss initiatives, and strengthen committee connections. Special thanks to Champion Level EOS Expert Implementer Mary Reilly-Magee for sponsoring this luncheon.
What if one of the biggest drivers of swim school growth isn’t just your marketing budget—but the strength of the relationships you build?
In today’s market, families are looking for more than swim lessons. They’re looking for trust, connection, and a community that feels invested in their child’s success. The swim schools that stand out aren’t always the loudest—they’re the ones that become a meaningful part of the communities they serve, turning first-time swimmers into lifelong advocates.
In just 13 months, our franchise grew from zero to 220 students by prioritizing relationship-building, community presence, and authentic connections. But growth is only half the battle; the real magic happens when you keep those families coming back and empower your existing clientele to drive your expansion. This session will explore how strong community relationships support growth, boost retention, and maximize customer lifetime value. Through shared experiences and real-world examples, we’ll discuss ways swim schools can deepen local connections, keep current families deeply engaged, and turn existing clientele into a powerful engine for word-of-mouth advocacy.
Speaker: Elif Mokran
Dive into a high-energy, interactive, In-pool Baby Swim Workshop designed for beginning to experienced baby swim instructors. Elevate your Class Management and teaching impact by blending skills and activities into safer, more effective, and energized lessons—using a fun, circuit-style class flow that keeps swimmers and parents engaged and moving with plenty of ways to use props for effective age-appropriate learning.
This session focuses on the core of the lesson, as related to back floating, submersions, and options for safer recoveries. You’ll experience how to pull it all together as we break down sharing age-appropriate water safety strategies, creative pool props, and practical techniques you can use immediately. Learn how to maintain momentum with smooth, purposeful transitions that maximize class and learning time.
Presented by: Debbie Sayers, DolFUN Dynamics | Kelli Stryker, Baby Swim Instructor Training Team
This interactive session reframes industry benchmarks as decision-making tools, not static reports. Using real-world swim school calculators, we’ll help you see how your pricing, enrollment, staffing ratios, and capacity stack up – and where you have opportunities to improve – against industry standards and your own goals. Instead of comparing yourself to averages, you’ll learn how to run “what-if” scenarios that reveal where small operational changes can unlock meaningful gains in profitability and sustainability. Walk away with a clearer picture of where your business is resilient, where it’s vulnerable, and which levers actually move the needle.
Speaker: Sara Vitale, Jackrabbit
Turn sensory understanding into practical action in this hands-on, in-water session. Participants will learn how to use purposeful movement, sensory input, and sequencing to help Sensory Seekers and Sensory Avoiders become regulated, engaged, and ready to learn.
Through demonstration and practice, instructors will learn to recognize dysregulation, select appropriate movement strategies, and adjust pacing, transitions, and activities based on a swimmer’s response. Participants will leave with practical techniques that can be immediately incorporated into swim lessons to improve participation, skill development, and overall swim success.
This session complements the classroom session on Tuesday, Oct. 20 as part of a two-part learning experience, but participants are welcome to attend either session independently.
Recharge, reconnect, and explore! During the Networking Break, visit the Exhibit Hall to discover swim school-focused products and services, chat with industry partners, and connect with fellow USSSA members.
Driving new memberships in today’s digital world can feel overwhelming — but it doesn’t have to be. In this session, attendees will learn how to build a practical 90-day marketing plan designed specifically for swim schools. From establishing a system to measure marketing success to selecting the right advertising channels for your market and budget, this presentation will provide actionable strategies that can be implemented immediately. Attendees will also explore emerging video advertising opportunities, learn how to attract high-intent families, and walk away with a clear framework for turning marketing efforts into measurable growth.
Speaker: Tiffany Lok, Founder of UnLoked Digital
Discover how understanding self-efficacy can help instructors build more confident, motivated, and resilient swimmers. This session explores simple ways to use positive language, specific feedback, modeling, and the 70/30 principle to better meet each child where they are. Attendees will leave with practical tools for pacing lessons, navigating challenging skills, and helping students build the confidence to tackle hard things—both in the pool and beyond.
Speakers: Emilee Workman & Allyson Potter
AI is no longer just a future trend—it’s a practical business tool that can help swim school operators save time, improve communication, strengthen customer engagement, and support business growth. In this hands-on workshop, Kelly Crandall will explore practical AI tools and real-world use cases specifically relevant to swim school operations, sales, and team productivity. Attendees will learn how AI can assist with lead follow-up, customer communication, staff training, marketing content, meeting summaries, workflow automation, and more—while also understanding the guardrails needed for secure and effective use. This session is designed for operators and leaders who want actionable ideas, recommended tools, and simple ways to begin implementing AI immediately within their organizations.
Keynote Speaker Kelly Crandall
Four USSSA Sponsors will take the stage for a series of fast-paced, informative sessions featuring ideas and solutions designed specifically for today’s swim school professionals. Here’s what you can expect:
FINIS
Building Swimmers and Customers Who Stay
Explore how intentional, high-quality swim gear can support swimmer progression, strengthen the customer experience, and help turn a single enrollment into a lasting relationship. FINIS will share how purpose-driven design and premium products can increase parent satisfaction, encourage referrals, and contribute to the long-term growth of your swim school.
3rd Level Consulting/Swim Consultant
The Winning Playbook: Systems for Success
Learn how to move beyond daily firefighting and build a swim school that doesn’t depend on you for every decision. This practical session will explore repeatable processes, staff empowerment, leadership development, and decision-making frameworks that help eliminate bottlenecks and support sustainable growth—even when you’re not in the building.
Paddock Pool Equipment Company
Teaching Kids to Swim Should Not Risk Their Long-Term Health
Indoor air quality is just as important as water quality when creating a healthy swim school environment. Discover how trichloramines form, the risks they pose to swimmers and staff, and the damage they can cause to aquatic facilities. Paddock will also share practical approaches to improving air and water quality for a safer, healthier, and more sustainable facility.
Counsilman-Hunsaker
Pool Design: How Engineering Impacts your Day-to-Day
Go behind the scenes of aquatic facility design and discover how decisions involving pool dimensions, attraction layouts, and mechanical equipment directly affect staffing, budgets, maintenance, and long-term operations. Designed for aquatics recreation professionals, this session will help you understand the engineer’s perspective, evaluate the operational impact of key design choices, and become a stronger voice throughout the planning process. You’ll leave with practical strategies for collaborating effectively with architects and engineers to create facilities that are safe, efficient, sustainable, and built for successful daily operation.
Unwind and connect as the day winds down. Join fellow USSSA members and industry partners for drinks, and great conversation in the Exhibit Hall. A perfect opportunity to network in a relaxed setting!
New to the USSSA National Conference? Join us for a sweet and welcoming opportunity to meet fellow first-time attendees, connect with association members, and start building new relationships—all while *enjoying some ice cream!
*Non-Dairy Options available
Sunflower Room
Tuesday October 20th, 2026
Calling all small swim school owners! Join us for a relaxed BYO Coffee Meet Up and connect with others who understand the ins and outs of running a swim school.
Bring your coffee, breakfast, or whatever gets your morning started, and come ready for casual conversation, shared experiences, helpful ideas, and new connections.
No formal agenda—just a chance to meet fellow swim school owners, talk business, exchange tips, and learn from one another.
We’d love to see you there! ☕🏊
Location: Veranda Room
Today’s workforce expects employers to recruit differently — and many organizations are unknowingly losing candidates before they ever apply. In this session, Chris Czarnik will help attendees evaluate their current recruiting efforts through the eyes of today’s job seeker and identify what may be turning quality applicants away.
Participants will learn how to:
- Audit their current hiring and recruiting process from a candidate’s perspective
- Rewrite job ads using strategies employed by large, successful employers
- Identify where their opportunities are being lost in the hiring funnel
- Build an ideal candidate persona based on feedback from recently hired employees
- Ask the right questions to understand how top candidates are finding and choosing employers
This session provides practical, immediately usable strategies to help organizations attract stronger applicants in an increasingly competitive labor market.
Keynote Speaker: Chris Czarnik
Recharge, reconnect, and explore! During the Networking Break, visit the Exhibit Hall to discover swim school-focused products and services, chat with industry partners, and connect with fellow USSSA members.
Coffee Courtesy of Champion Sponsor Flashpool Productions
USSSA Annual Meeting |presented by the Board of Directors
Panelists
Ailene Tisser, Swim Angelfish
Shannon Schafer, Inclusion Sports Performance Training
Additional Panelist TBA
You didn’t start a swim school to spend every day putting out fires, answering the same questions, and carrying the weight of every decision on your shoulders. Yet that’s exactly where many owners find themselves.
In this engaging and practical session, learn how to transform your swim school from an owner-dependent operation into a systems-driven organization. You’ll discover how to create repeatable processes, develop leaders, empower staff, and build decision-making frameworks that maintain quality without requiring your constant oversight.
Walk away with proven strategies to eliminate bottlenecks, strengthen your team, and create a swim school that continues to grow—even when you’re not in the building.
Speaker: Leighann Day
One negative review or social media post can shape how your community sees your swim school—but a strong reputation can make all the difference. Discover how to build trust before challenges arise, turn difficult situations into opportunities, and confidently manage reviews, PR issues, and community perception. You’ll leave with practical strategies to strengthen your brand and protect the reputation you’ve worked so hard to build.
Speaker: Liane Caruso
Connect, explore, and discover! This break invites you back into the exhibit hall for another chance to meet with exhibitors, ask questions, and get hands-on with the latest tools and resources for your swim school. Don’t miss this opportunity to continue conversations, make new contacts, and see what’s next in aquatic education.
Hiring employees is only half the battle — keeping them engaged and growing is what creates long-term success. This Lunch and Learn session focuses on practical retention strategies that help organizations create stronger employee connections, clearer development paths, and future leadership pipelines.
Attendees will learn how to:
- Improve onboarding and employee engagement
- Create mentor and growth programs
- Build clear employee development pathways
- Develop future supervisors and leaders from within
Lunch served at 12:15 PM, Courtesy of Champion Sponsor Mary Reilly-Magee, Expert EOS Implementer
Session will begin at 12:45 PM
Keynote Speaker: Chris Czarnik
“If you don’t have a seat at the table – you’re on the menu.” The implication is that if you are not in the room, seated at the table, when policy makers are deciding what issues to support – then they will have you for the meal.
You will be presented with the 7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates to be an even more influential advocate. Preparing you for success.
Highlights of the USSSA advocacy assessment will be shared with the audience.
Speaker: Roger Rickard
What looks like “behavior” may actually be a swimmer’s sensory system trying to achieve regulation. In this interactive classroom session, participants will learn to recognize Sensory Seekers, Sensory Avoiders, and signs of dysregulation through common behaviors, movement patterns, and real-life video examples.
We’ll explore how movement and sensory input influence regulation, attention, and motor learning, helping instructors better understand what a swimmer’s behavior may be communicating. Participants will also learn supportive, family-centered ways to gather helpful information from parents—without labeling or diagnosing—to build trust and identify strategies that promote success.
This session complements the in-water practical session on Monday, Oct. 19 as part of a two-part learning experience, but participants are welcome to attend either session independently.
Connect, explore, and discover! This break invites you back into the exhibit hall for another chance to meet with exhibitors, ask questions, and get hands-on with the latest tools and resources for your swim school. Don’t miss this opportunity to continue conversations, make new contacts, and see what’s next in aquatic education.
Join us for a Case Study Workshop where participants will dive into real-world scenarios to sharpen their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Working in small groups, attendees will analyze a case, identify key challenges, and develop practical recommendations before presenting their findings for a group discussion. This session is designed to encourage collaboration, spark new perspectives, and provide hands-on experience applying concepts to real situations. Bring your curiosity and be ready to dive into the discussion!
Celebrate an incredible year with us at the USSSA “Lights, Camera, Magic!” Awards Banquet & Reception!
Start the fun early with our 360 Photo Booth, sponsored by iClassPro! The booth will be open to all conference attendees from 4:00–5:30 PM, then available exclusively to Awards Banquet ticket holders from 5:30–6:45 PM.
At 6:45 PM, we’ll kick off the Awards Banquet and celebrate the outstanding people and achievements within our USSSA community.
And when the awards wrap up, the night isn’t over! Orlando Dueling Pianos will take the stage for our banquet guests with a high-energy, interactive, all-request show packed with live music, comedy, and audience participation.
Come ready to celebrate, connect, strike a pose, and sing along for an unforgettable night!
Step into the spotlight for an unforgettable evening celebrating the stars of the swim school industry! Inspired by Old Hollywood and red-carpet glamour, the USSSA Awards Banquet will honor the outstanding individuals and organizations making waves in our industry.
And when the awards wrap up, the night isn’t over! Orlando Dueling Pianos will take the stage for a high-energy, interactive show filled with live music, comedy, requests, and audience participation.
Exclusive to attendees with an Awards Banquet ticket. Come ready to celebrate, connect, and sing along for a show-stopping evening!
Wednesday October 21st, 2026
Panelist: Miren Oca, Ocaquatics Swim School
Rose Cholewinski, SwimAmerica – Davis
Nim Shapira, FINTASTIC Swim Academy
and TBA
Pull up a chair and join the conversation! These fast-paced, small-group discussions are your chance to swap ideas, share successes, troubleshoot challenges, and learn from peers facing the same day-to-day realities. Rotate through multiple topics, gather fresh perspectives, and leave with practical ideas you can put into action right away.
Location: International Foyer
Sam’s message centers around leadership with empathy, goodwill, and human connection. His talk, “Be Someone’s Taco,” explores emotional resilience and leading with love and compassion.
Endnote Speaker: Sam Demma
Time: 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm EST
Fee: $100.00
If theme parks aren’t on your agenda, this is the perfect opportunity to experience a different side of Central Florida.
Add the post-conference outing to your registration and discover the charm of Winter Park, one of Florida’s most picturesque hidden gems. Just minutes from Orlando, Winter Park offers beautiful lakes, historic neighborhoods, unique boutiques, outdoor cafés, and a relaxed atmosphere far removed from the theme park crowds.
Your afternoon begins with Winter Park’s historic Scenic Boat Tour, a one-hour, 12-mile cruise through three pristine lakes and connecting canals. Along the way, you’ll enjoy views of stunning waterfront homes, learn about the area’s rich history, and hear entertaining stories from your guide.
After the tour, spend time exploring Park Avenue, known for its local shops, restaurants, and inviting small-town charm.
The final conference session ends at 1:30 PM, and the bus departs at 2:00 PM. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot when registering!
*must have 40 registered attendees for this program to be offered.
