SWIMWEST FITCHBURG STAFF

All members of the SwimWest team are carefully chosen based on a variety of attributes, including friendliness, dedication, enthusiasm, patience, and capability. Each individual brings a unique but complementary style of interaction and education to parents, children, or training, while maintaining the standards and quality of our swimming lessons. All members of the staff belong to the United States Swim School Association (USSSA), a professional organization of swimming teachers and business owners in the United States and abroad. SwimWest is proud to be the only swim school in the Madison and Fitchburg area approved and certified by this elite organization. No other swim school in the area has this honor! SwimWest Swim School is also a member of the World Aquatic Babies Congress and regularly participates in research and events to further educate our staff about our students.

All SwimWest instructors are certified by the USSSA in infant/child aquatics and maintain their skills and teaching knowledge at annual and local conferences. Each staff member is currently certified in CPR and First Aid; many are certified through the American Red Cross as Water Safety Instructors and Lifeguards.

At SwimWest Swim School we believe that it is important for our staff to be trained in the latest teaching and life-saving techniques regularly so we can maintain our high standards. Our teaching staff is known for their patience and affection for children. Our instructors form emotional bonds with their students, which play an important role in your child's swimming classes.

Each SwimWest Swim School instructor is carefully selected by their maturity and compassion for children. Whether they are dealing with a child’s first experience with the water or teaching them advanced stroke technique, our instructors have the passion and the patience to make each trip to the pool a rewarding one.

The most important aspect of our teaching process is our disciplined but loving dedication to getting children comfortable with the water. We are thoughtful and observant of each child's behavioral and developmental patterns, and will respond to their fears and concerns with love, humor, and discipline. This will guide them through the necessary

steps to become independent, competent swimmers.

This firm, loving approach is the hallmark of SwimWest Swim School.

Each staff member, from the voice on the phone that schedules your swim lessons, to the lifeguard that watches your child, to the teacher that brings the gift of swimming, is committed to making your time at SwimWest an enjoyable and satisfying experience.


ARIKA ~ Facility Director (Left) Arika grew up in Madison and Waunakee. She graduated from Edgewood Catholic High School in 1995, and began her customer service career directly out of high school. Arika joined the SwimWest front desk team at the Madison location in August, 2000 and accepted the position of Facility Director at Fitchburg in February, 2006. Arika lives in Madison with her dog, Sadie. She loves watching movies and reality shows on TV, shopping, listening to her favorite music, going to concerts, spending time with friends, and playing ball with Sadie. CAITLIN ~ Aquatic Director (Right) Caitlin grew up in Iowa and Wisconsin. She attended Madison Memorial High School, and then moved onto UW-LaCrosse where she graduated with a degree in Recreation Management. She started with SwimWest in September, 1999 as a swim instructor, and has filled such positions as front desk, camp counselor for Swim&Gym, lifeguard, Deck Manager, and is now the Aquatic Director at Fitchburg. Caitlin is the only Aquatic Director in Wisconsin to be honored with the WISC-TV Channel 3 Top Notch Teacher Award. Caitlin lives in Madison with her fiance and is busy planning a summer 2009 wedding! She enjoys water skiing, reading, hanging out with friends, and shopping at Target.

	KAREN KITTELSON ~ Owner SwimWest School of Instruction, Inc. was founded by Karen Kittelson in 1990. She started in hotel pools and health clubs, and quickly grew her business to where she could open her own facility on Madison’s west side in 1995. In 2006, she expanded SwimWest to a second location . . .SwimWest Fitchburg. She is a graduate of University of Minnesota with a major in Sports Management and Exercise Physiology. As her business has grown, she has been awarded over 15 teaching awards through the United States Swim School Association (USSSA), and has maintained her certification as an American Red Cross Certified Instructor for CPR/First Aid, Oxygen Administration, Blood borne Pathogens, Pool Lifeguarding, Beachfront Lifeguarding, and Water Safety Instruction. Karen is also a Certified Pool Operator, Certified Arthritic Water Aerobics Instructor, and has Infant/Toddler Swim Instruction Certification through the USSSA. Karen has served on the Board of Directors for the USSSA, and is an active member of SafeKids Coalition, Safer Three Water Safety programs, and Swim Australia. In the last 10 years she has become an international speaker on topics such as swim school management, how to be an Elite swim instructor, customer service, and crisis management. Karen lives in Middleton with her son, Ted, and her dog, Tanner. When she's not playing with Ted and Tanner, you'll find Karen enjoying the area lakes, traveling, hiking, four-wheeling and spending time with her friends.

	MATT VANHAREN ~ Owner Matt joined the SwimWest team 1996 doing general maintenance for the facility. He soon found that he enjoyed working with pools and became a Certified Pool Operator. When SwimWest expanded, Matt became part owner of SwimWest Fitchburg, LLC. He has attended many national conferences to learn the business, along with traveling internationally to Australia to study swim school management. Matt lives in Middleton, has three children, and works for Hammersley Construction. He enjoys traveling and riding on his motorcycle.