Learning to Swim

Being Neighbourly x Alison Tam, Alison Tam Swimming

Author/ Being Neighbourly
30 July 2025

Like many of the best things in life, Alison Tam Swimming (ATS) is the result of serendipity. Tam, a Hong Kong Eurasian whose mother is English and father Chinese and who grew up in Hong Kong and the UK, had just sold a previous jewelry-making business and was taking a career break as she was newly pregnant.

According to her, a friend then asked her to teach him how to swim. “I found it gave me great satisfaction to help him learn and it inspired me to want to learn how to be a better teacher. From there, I made a few Facebook posts oﬀering to teach as a private teacher.” Tam is the founder and Admin of the ‘Mid Levels West/Sai Ying Pun Community’ Facebook group, for which she is equally known in Central & Western district.

This was 10 years ago, her daughter is now nine and a half, and though Tam says she never intended it to become a business, she says it felt great to be able to help someone and was thirsty for knowledge to be the best teacher she could be and that the frequent and unprompted feedback from parents buoys her up.

“Parents regularly email to share how pleased they are with their children’s new confidence in the water. We love hearing these testimonies, which are heartwarming and help keep the team motivated knowing that we are making a diﬀerence,” she says, adding that her mission when she started out was to teach in a way that helped people to learn to enjoy the water —and how to swim.

Staying true to this original mandate, ATS offers Learn to Swim group classes for children and adults; as well as Water Confidence classes for babies and toddlers under the age of three. During school holidays, parents can book a set of intensive lessons on a weekly basis for their kids aged three and above.

“The best time to learn how to swim is when you can be consistent and patient with it. It’s a skill that takes years of practice, not just a few weeks or days,” she shares, adding that you can start water training from birth at home in a clean environment. “In our baby class, we take students from four months old, but a caregiver has to be in the water with them. These classes are more about teaching the adult how to teach the infant to be comfortable in water,” she says.

While Tam admits that it can be easier for children to learn to swim, simply because they usually have less emotional or physical baggage, she says that with dedication, adults that learn can become proficient.

“Older people may learn a skill that takes a young child weeks in just one or two lessons,” she underlines, adding that the oldest student she has had was an over 80-year old grandma who had never had the chance to learn how to swim. “She attended our Adult Basics class with her daughter and had a lot of fear, but was thrilled to be able to just float in the water.”

“Members of my team must share the same teaching philosophy —believing in a fun and positive reinforcement approach,” she emphasizes, adding that safety is their number one priority and that she and her trainers frequently go through First Aid and CPR training.

“We regularly hold staﬀ training and take external courses to ensure we’re up to date with new guidelines on child safety and how to be a Swim Safe school; as well as to keep updated with new teaching methods and drills.”

Tam says that it is the instructor’s role to be able to identify and accommodate diﬀerent student learning styles, and that they regularly discuss student progress as a team, so that peers can make suggestions about alternative teaching methods when certain students aren’t progressing in the way their particular instructor would like.

Tam shares that the main challenge, as one might imagine in Hong Kong, has been finding suitable venues to teach their students to the best of everyone’s ability.

“Swimming is a very popular activity in Hong Kong and everyone is competing for pool space at the same time,” she says. “We have been lucky to have been invited to provide services at a few private venues, and recently expanded our services across the harbour to the Kowloon Cricket Club, where we’re excited to be creating a swimming community!”

Other locations include a variety of schools, private clubs and residential pools.

What’s the best work advice you have received?

“The two best pieces of business advice I’ve heard is, ‘to just get started’, and ‘to have fun while doing it’, says Alison Tam, Founder of Alison Tam Swimming.

“I can’t remember where I first heard these bits of advice, but I know a lot of people dispense this wisdom. And, it’s true: you don’t know what will unfold until you get started, so you might as well have fun in the meantime!”

Alison Tam Swimming
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