Olympic swimmer Kira Toussaint teams up with startup Fibby to assist parents in teaching essential water skills to young children
European and world champion Kira Toussaint is proud to announce her ambassadorship with Fibby, a swimming aid with learning app that allows parents to teach children (2+) essential water skills through play.
I think it's important that children as young as two years old can learn to become self-reliant in the water in a fun way. Even before the age of two, my parents playfully taught me the joy of swimming. Now, I’m joining swimming start-up Fibby as an ambassador because I wish all families could experience these wonderful moments together with Fibby. But also for children in emerging countries where swimming lessons are not as common as where I grew up. In collaboration with the Dutch Don't Drown Foundation, Fibby will reduce the high number of drownings - the most common cause of death among children after malaria and malnutrition - by starting water safety projects globally.Kira Toussaint, Dutch Olympic swimmer and Fibby ambassador
With Kira as an ambassador, we are taking the next big step in our mission making water safer and more enjoyable for everyone. Last summer, Fibby became available after parents from 52 different countries enabled the first production round of our certified swimming invention via crowdfunding. Since then, families from all over the world have discovered the water through play with their Fibby. Next month, we will start a new water safety project in Indonesia in collaboration with the Dutch Don’t Drown Foundation who developed our learn-through-play water safety method.Hugo van der Spek, founder Fibby.org
Swimming invention Fibby is a certified 'tilting’ swimming aid with learning app which guides parents and children to develop essential water skills playfully together. The patented swimming aid places children from 2 years in a natural swimming position, stimulating instinctive water treading and keeping balance in the water. With the accompanying learning app, parents can use instructional videos to make their children more self-reliant: getting out of the water after an accidental fall. First with, but eventually without Fibby. The core of the teaching methodology, developed with Dutch Don't Drown Foundation, is play, making it easy and fun for children to develop. Fibby itself was sculpted attractively for children by artist Martijn Wegman, whose work is included in the collection of MoMa New York City.
Kira Toussaint is a competitive swimmer who represents the Netherlands internationally. She is World Champion, 10x European Champion and Olympic 100m backstroke finalist at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Her mother, Jolanda, is an Olympic gold medalist in the 200 meter backstroke and took bronze in the 100 meter backstroke, both in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
About Fibby
Fibby ist ein Schwimmhilfsmittel mit Lern-App, das Eltern Unterstützung bietet, um mit ihren Kindern ab 2 Jahren spielerisch Wasserkompetenzen zu entwickeln. Das zertifizierte Schwimmhilfsmittel schwimmt wie ein Rucksack hinter dem Kind, während Fibbys Kippmechanismus Kinder in die richtige Schwimmhaltung bringt. Mit Fibbys "Learn-through-Play"-Methode, entwickelt in Zusammenarbeit mit der Dutch Don't Drown Foundation und Calo Windesheim, lernen Kinder essentielle Fähigkeiten, um sich nach einem Sturz ins Wasser selbst zu retten. Letztendlich auch ohne Fibby, Jahre bevor der Schwimmunterricht beginnt. Im Jahr 2021 erblickte das niederländische Schwimm-Startup erstmals das Licht der Welt durch eine erfolgreiche Crowdfunding-Kampagne, an der Eltern aus 52 Ländern teilnahmen. Inzwischen entdecken tausende Kinder weltweit das Wasser durch Spielen. Zusammen mit ihren Eltern, während des Unterrichts in Schwimmbädern, Ferienparks oder in einem der Fibby-Schwimmclubs (zertifiziert als Jugend-Sportinnovator). In aufstrebenden Ländern setzt sich Fibby gemeinsam mit der Dutch Don't Drown Foundation und Calo Windesheim dafür ein, Ertrinken, die dritthäufigste Todesursache bei Kindern nach Malaria und Unterernährung, zu reduzieren: Ertrinken.