Step Into Swim, Rowdy Gaines Win NDPA President's Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2022

Media Contact:
Amy Willer
Associate Director, Marketing & Communications
703-838-0083 x 121 | awiller@phta.org  

Step Into Swim, Rowdy Gaines Win NDPA President's Award

(Alexandria, Va.) – The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) is pleased to announce that Vice President of Partnerships & Development Rowdy Gaines and the Step Into Swim program have been awarded the 2022 President’s Award by the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA).

The NDPA President’s Award is an annual recognition awarded to an individual and/or organization that has made an impact in water safety and drowning prevention in the United States. NDPA President Blake Collingsworth presented the award yesterday during the organization’s National Water Safety Conference, held in Fort Worth, Texas, April 11-14.

Gaines, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, has been leading PHTA’s Step Into Swim program since January 2021. Step Into Swim is committed to safe swim education and provides funding for free or low-cost swimming lessons around the country. In 2021, Step Into Swim grants were awarded to 22 facilities in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas – funding 6,297 swimming lessons for children.

In his first year with PHTA and Step Into Swim, Gaines established the Step Into Swim Champions Board, secured prominent donors in both the professional swimming sphere and the swimming pool and hot tub industry, and helped Step Into Swim raise over $800,000.

“I am proud to announce Rowdy Gaines as this year’s President’s Award recipient for the many years of service to so many in water safety and drowning prevention,” says Collingsworth. “I personally believe Gaines has not been recognized nearly enough for the work he has done to promote swimming lessons and his efforts to educate the importance of water safety and drowning prevention.”

“I am incredibly honored to receive the President’s Award from the NDPA,” says Gaines. “I share this with all the amazing families that have lost a loved one to drowning. In my mind, this has always been about teamwork with my fellow PHTA staff members and the volunteers who have made a huge impact on water safety through our Step Into Swim initiative. We will continue to persevere in creating safe environments in and around water for families to enjoy.”

To learn more about Step Into Swim and its life-saving mission, visit stepintoswim.org.

For more information, please contact Amy Willer, PHTA’s Associate Director of Marketing & Communications, at awiller@phta.org or 703-838-0083 x 121.

###

About the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance
The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with nearly 3,500 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $36.5B pool, hot tub and spa industry. PHTA provides education, advocacy, standards development, research, and market growth to increase our members’ professionalism, knowledge and profitability. Additionally, PHTA facilitates the expansion of swimming, water safety and related research and outreach activities aimed at introducing more people to swimming, making swimming environments safer and keeping pools open to serve communities. For more information, visit www.phta.org.

About Step Into Swim

Step Into Swim^TM is an initiative of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance and its foundation committed to safe swim education and drowning prevention. By investing in the next generation of swimmers through learn-to-swim programming, the Step Into Swim initiative instills confidence, empowers long-term participation in water activities, touts the positive benefits of water play, and advocates for safe practices. Since its inception in 2012, Step Into Swim has played a role in reducing drowning fatalities and has gifted swim lessons to more than 285,000 children with support from community organizations, partners, industry advocates, members and more. For more information, visit www.stepintoswim.org.