Our Story

Africa's Largest Swim School Since 1993

Driven by a single mission — to eliminate child drowning through world-class aquatic education.

A Legacy of Safety

Founded in 1993 by Lizette and Arrie Botha

Kiddies Aqua Swimming Academy™ (KASA) began with a vision to provide a structured, safe, and highly effective environment for children to learn vital water survival skills.

Today, under the leadership of Managing Director Arrie Botha, we have grown into Africa's largest swim school network — 16 branches in South Africa and Namibia, teaching over 10,000 swimmers every single month.

33Years of Excellence

10,000+Swimmers Every Month

50+Qualified Instructors

16Branches — SA & Namibia

22,000+Les Bébés Amphibies International

280,000+Children & Adults Taught

Kiddies Aqua instructor gently guiding a baby through a back-float exercise

Smiling young child holding a pool noodle during a Kiddies Aqua class

Young swimmer practising freestyle towards the camera at a Kiddies Aqua pool

Best of Pretoria Award Winner

Multiple years running

See Us In Action

Three decades of safe, confident swimmers

Our Promise

Turning water lovers into champs

From a baby's first independent float to a teenager's first podium — every KASA child progresses at their own pace, with their own coach, in their own community pool.

Exclusive SA Providers

The Amphibies Method

Switzerland 1967

South Africa 2014

Switzerland → Africa — Jean Fouace (Les Bébés Amphibies International, 1967) × Lizette Botha (Amphibies Babies Africa, 2014)

The Amphibies method began in 1967 in Villars-Sur-Ollon, Switzerland, when French swimming teacher Jean Fouace — internationally known as the "Father of Baby Floating" — discovered that infants have natural reflexes which, trained early, can save their lives in water. Kiddies Aqua is the exclusive African home of that legacy, delivered by Lizette Botha, who was taught the method directly between 1989 and 1991 by Debbie Vorster (Jean's South African license holder) and mentored personally by Jean himself during his repeated visits to South Africa — culminating in their co-founding of Amphibies Babies Africa in 2014.

This isn't just swimming — it's a life-saving skill that gives parents peace of mind from the very first lesson.

Learn About Amphibies

Self-Rescue Focus

Teaching babies to float independently if they fall into water — even fully clothed.

Science-Backed

Developed by Jean Fouace in 1967 and refined through decades of application across thousands of children worldwide.

Africa Exclusive

Kiddies Aqua is the only licensed provider of the Les Bébés Amphibies International method in Africa.

Meet Our Managing Director

Arrie Botha

Co-Owner | Managing Director | Brand Strategist

Co-owner and Managing Director, Arrie is the driving force behind Kiddies Aqua's expansion, strategic growth, and brand development. He brings a 29-year corporate leadership career and a BCom Honours in Marketing Management from the University of Pretoria — introducing the structured systems, professional standards, and long-term growth planning that have grown Kiddies Aqua into Africa's largest swim school network across South Africa and Namibia.

A qualified provincial swimming official and former President of Mpumalanga Swimming, he is also deeply committed to community drowning-prevention work with the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA and the African Children Aquatic Foundation.

Meet Our Head Coach

Lizette Botha

Co-founder of Kiddies Aqua and South Africa's foremost baby floating specialist, Lizette has spent 37 years and over 120,000 hours in the water — ten hours a day, every working day — personally teaching more than 14,000 babies to float independently using the exclusive Amphibies self-rescue method.

Co-founder of Amphibies Babies Africa with Switzerland's Jean Fouace, personal trainer to the infant Royal Twins of Monaco, and the only Amphibies-certified instructor in South Africa.

Read Lizette's Full Story

Strategic Partnership Since 2016

From infancy to Olympic-level training

Our partnership with TuksSwimming at the University of Pretoria — South Africa's largest swimming club — gives our swimmers a direct pathway from their very first lesson all the way to elite, Olympic-level training. Few academies in the country can offer this continuity.

SSA Accredited

Water Safe

Best of Pretoria 2025

On The Pool Deck

Coaching that meets every swimmer where they are

Kiddies Aqua coach in the water with two young learners during a Learn-to-Swim lesson

Kiddies Aqua instructor working with two young swimmers supported by a pool noodle

Earned, Not Given

From confident floaters to gala-ready competitors

Our swimmers progress through structured skill checkpoints — and many go on to claim podium finishes at school galas, inter-schools competitions, and beyond.

Kiddies Aqua achievement medals displayed at a swim school awards moment

What We Stand For

Our Values

Safety First

We maintain a strict 1:3 ratio in our Learn-to-Swim classes — no exceptions.

Excellence

Our instructors undergo rigorous, continuous training to stay at the forefront of aquatic education.

Warmth

We teach through encouragement and positivity, never force. Every child progresses at their own pace.

Proud Partnerships

The institutions standing behind KASA

We are the official Gauteng representative of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA and partner with the world's leading drowning-prevention, federation, and elite-coaching organisations to keep every swimmer safe and progressing.

Affiliations

Princess Charlene SA

Kiddies Aqua is the official Gauteng representative.

ACAF

Supporting water safety in underserved communities across Africa.

Centre for World Peace

Global partner in our shared mission of child welfare and safety.

Swimming SA

Affiliated national federation. We also work alongside Namibia Swimming Federation, the World Swimming Coaches Association and the Tuks Swimming Coaches Association.