About Us

My name is Elise Thomson. I started Aqua Swimming and Training in 2003 after the birth of my daughter who was a micro preemie who weighed 1 pound 4 ounces. I wanted to give back to the community for all the wonderful support that I had been shown. I chose to do swimming lessons because of my love for swimming and the fact Queen Anne County alone has over 660 miles of waterfront. I have always been an avid swimmer and feel water is so healing. I love children and people, so it was a perfect way for me to reach out to the community. My background over the years has been in recreation. I worked with the YMCA for many years and was the Assistant Director of Talbot County Parks and Recreation. While with Talbot County I was involved with building two swimming pools, writing a drwon proof program and writing a swim program for the county. I later went on to becoming the Director of Aquatics at Chesapeake College where I was able to use my skills in running their programs and building their swim program. I was also able to assist coaching their swim team. My biggest accomplishment in the swimming world has been the ability to work with all types of special needs children and adults. This has become a passion for me. There were so few quality programs in Queen Anne County in 2003 that I started teaching in backyard pools using the American Red Cross Program. I have had many amazing people help me along the way through this journey. I now use the Club One facility and my own backyard pool.

Teresa Crider joined me in 2014 and has been my head instructor and manager. Teresa comes from a swimming background. She is amazing with children. She worked for ten years with Special Olympics. She comes with the same love and zeal for the children and sport as I have. We teach the children in a kind, loving, and patient way. We want our love of swimming to be instilled in them.