Sister duo turns vacant plaza space into swimming school in Paris, Ont.

Two sisters are making waves in Paris, Ont.

“I would say that Julia and I are swimmers as people. It’s not just an activity that we do or a sport that we do. It really is part of who we are,” Jessica Surette said.

Julia, 28, and Jessica Surette, 26, have been swimming for as long as they can remember.

“We have spent a lot of our life in the water and it was around that time where we became lifeguards that our parents asked, ‘What's your next step?’” Jessica said.

So when the time came to choose a career path, their decision was simple.

“Our best skill is swimming, so why don't we do some lessons in our backyard pool,” Jessica said.

A childhood photo of Julia Surette and Jessica Surette in a pool. (Submitted: Julia Surette)

The girls began offering swimming lessons at their Brantford home in 2011 as a way to earn money for their university tuition. The sisters relocated in 2021 to host their lessons at a pool at the Five Oaks Retreat Centre in Paris.

Very quickly, their business took off.

“We had doubled in size. Then in 2022 we increased another 50 per cent. We could definitely tell that it was something that the community members were wanting,” Julia said.

The pair decided it was time to expand.

“We started looking for places to build. We organized it with the landlord and said, ‘We're looking for this amount of square footage, can we make that happen?’” Julia explained.

The duo said their family and the community rallied together to help turn their dream into a reality.

“People came out and were like, absolutely, we support you and here's how we can show that,” Julia said. “Everybody came out of the woodwork to help.”

“Our whole family started to go in on it. So not just us, but my parents, my aunt and uncle, my grandmother and then the community too. Families were saying here is a year’s tuition upfront,” Jessica added.

Over a year later, the girls opened Brave Waves at 1070 Rest Acres Road where they now teach 1,350 students of all ages every week.

Julia Surette and Jessica Surette stand with parents Craig Surette and Nita Surette outside the Brave Waves Swim School in Paris, Ont. on July 21, 2024. (Hannah Schmidt/CTV News)

“It's very inspiring and motivating and you have a responsibility and a duty,” Jessica said. “People believe in this so much that they're willing to do what they can to help make it happen.”

“I think most people are just very happy to have another swim resource in the community. I know that our city is selling out of their lessons,” Julia said.

The new space has allowed the sisters to also expand their programming, including offering more personalized teaching sessions that best suit the needs of each student.

“We’re really proud,” said the girls’ father, Craig Surette. “They've accomplished so much. They worked really hard.”

It’s a journey client Andrea Maloney is happy to have been a part of from day one.

“We started in the backyard of their house and moved to Five Oaks and now we're here and it’s amazing. It has been inspiring. I hope that [my daughter is] inspired by the girls' story,” she said.

The pool on Rest Acres Road is where the Surette sisters plan to stay and continue their legacy, one stroke at a time.

“There’s going to be a lot of people saying, ‘You can't do this, can't do that,’ but if you say, ‘Yes, I can,’ you can create something special,” Julia said.