family
10
years
Devan Moonsamy and Quentin van Rooyen have spent 10 years at Sandown Swim School teaching thousands of children to swim, reassuring anxious parents and celebrating every first float and fearless splash. Then Aria arrived. Becoming fathers gave them a whole new perspective on the families they welcome poolside.
of making a splash!
As Sandown Swim School celebrates its 10th anniversary, Devan Moonsamy and Quentin van Rooyen reflect on how becoming parents to two-year-old Aria transformed both their lives and the way they see every family who walks through their doors.
“ The funny thing,” laughs Devan,“ is that we thought we understood what parents were feeling.”
Before Aria
For almost 10 years, Devan and Quentin have welcomed thousands of families through the doors of their Sandton swim school( sandownswimschool. co. za). Every day, they watched nervous mums and dads settle into poolside chairs, cheering on tiny splashes, first floats and that magical moment when fear gave way to confidence. They reassured anxious parents that with patience, encouragement and the right environment, their children would learn one of life’ s most important skills.
Then, on 8 August 2024, everything changed. Their daughter, Aria, was born.“ Suddenly we weren’ t just reassuring other parents any more,” adds Devan.“ We had become those parents.”
It is a perspective that has quietly transformed the way they approach every swimming lesson.
10 years poolside
This September marks an important milestone as Sandown Swim School in Johannesburg celebrates its 10th anniversary. What began with one indoor heated swimming pool has grown into one of Johannesburg’ s established learn-to-swim schools. In 2020, the couple expanded onto the neighbouring property, building a second purpose-built indoor pool to meet the growing demand from families across Gauteng.
Over the past decade, thousands of babies, toddlers, children and adults have learnt to swim there. Yet despite building a successful business around children, nothing prepared them for becoming fathers themselves.
76 www. babysandbeyond. co. za