At BEST, our mission is to reduce the rate of drowning among children and teens by teaching fundamental, lifesaving water safety skills and by providing access to all levels of the sport of swimming.

Our Story
For more than 10 years, BEST has served as the leader in aquatic education in the Boston community.  We believe that swimming is not only a sport - it’s a lifesaving skill. BEST is a non-profit organization built on the principle idea that every child deserves access to high quality swim education regardless of their family’s economic means. Our mission is to reduce the rate of drowning among children and teens by teaching fundamental, lifesaving water safety skills and providing access to all levels of the sport of swimming.  Through our unique approach to swim education, we have taught hundreds of swimmers and given them the skills necessary to thrive both in and outside of the pool. Our philosophy is quite simple: access + education = opportunity. We are building stronger communities one swimmer at a time. We are BEST.

Tackling the problem - together.
Lack of swim education is not just a local issue, but a national one as well.  Let’s tackle this together.

Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning.  Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger.

Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States.

African American children drown 5.5 times the rate of other children.

Nearly 64% of African American children and 45% of Hispanic children have low or no swimming ability.

Drowning was the leading cause of unintentional injury death among Massachusetts children 0-14 years in 2011.