National Lifeguard

Our story began in the Summer of 1994 when an 18-year-old Tiernan Murphy taught 50 kids to swim in his parents’ backyard pool. A certified swimming instructor, Tiernan had taught swimming lessons at the City of Brampton since age 15, but that summer his Mom encouraged him to start teaching in their backyard and Making Waves Swim School was born!

It wasn’t a sophisticated business – the first MWSS families communicated through Tiernan’s home phone and dropped lesson payments in his parents’ mailbox. However, it gave us the freedom to focus on what mattered most – our student’s progress in the pool.

Twenty-five years later, we have four locations in Brampton, Milton, Mississauga and Vaughan and teach over 7,000 students per week in learn-to-swim programs.

Our award-winning water safety programs have produced thousands of confident swimmers, while staying true to the care, enthusiasm and passion Tiernan put into that first summer.

Making Waves Swim School remains family-owned and operated and we’re proudly Canadian!

Our Core Values:

Our core values were and still are the heart of our business. They’ve helped us keep a close culture and connectedness as we’ve grown to over 200 employees!

Our first core value, Safety First, comes down to our most primary obligation and the purpose of our business. That is, to provide a safe swim and work environment for our students, parents and our staff.

Kids Have Fun, Parents See Progress was an essential part of the way Tiernan taught that first summer and it’s truly shaped how our programs have evolved since then. It comes down to finding a balance between the happiness and success of both the parent and the child.

Many of our reviews mention how clean our facility is and that we take great care to ensure it’s Always Clean no matter the location. It’s part of having a high standard of excellence in the water and out.

Cheer for Each Other is about celebrating successes in both our students and staff. Recognition helps motivate and inspire and happens all the time at Making Waves!

We believe everyone can learn to swim and learn to love the water and we’ll do Whatever It Takes to make sure that our students see progress and that they enjoy their lessons. It’s all part of providing world class customer service!

Our Commitment to Safety

We are as committed to safety as we are to the success of each and every one of our clients. We believe that swimming is a lifelong, and potentially lifesaving, skill that everybody should learn. As Carolyn Bennett, Former Minister of Public Health & Safety once said:

“Learning what to do when you fall into water is as important as learning how to read and write.”