In 2021, the Josef Wund Foundation launched the Wundine Swimming Academy. It is a modular training and professional development program currently focused on improving the swimming skills of kindergarten and primary school children. Designed as a sustainable initiative with strong local partnerships, the long-term goal of the Wundine Swimming Academy is to promote and preserve swimming as an essential life skill. The project currently consists of two modules: Wundine at School and Wundine on Wheels.
Wundine on Wheels / Mobile Teaching Pool
“Wundine® on Wheels” is the name of the Josef Wund Foundation’s mobile teaching pools. Since September 2022, these mobile pools have enabled more than 2,000 children to take swimming lessons right outside their own schools. Building on its expertise in developing and operating mobile teaching pools—and in response to sustained nationwide demand—the Josef Wund Foundation has built four swimming pools on wheels. The Foundation works closely with the State of Baden-Württemberg, associations, and local partners. With its Mobile Teaching Pool concept for schools and daycare centers, the Josef Wund Foundation was represented at interbad 2024 and the Didacta Education Fair 2025.
Wundine on Wheels Flyer (PDF)
Wundine on Wheels promotional film:
With its Mobile Teaching Pools, the Josef Wund Foundation has created entirely new, modern opportunities for learning to swim in Baden-Württemberg and beyond. The Foundation’s Mobile Teaching Pool was the first of its kind. It was developed and built over two and a half years together with project partner Deutsche Kinder Sport Akademie, and in 2025 the Foundation operates a total of four Mobile Teaching Pools.
The mobile teaching pools travel directly to children who currently have no suitable access to swimming facilities for a variety of reasons. Fully equipped teaching pools are integrated into semi-trailers as part of an upcycling concept and travel year-round to schools and daycare centers, allowing children to learn to swim close to home.
The project is funded and supported by the Josef Wund Foundation. It is implemented together with project partner Deutsche Kinder Sport Akademie, mobility partner Schmalz und Schön, with professional support from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Baden-Württemberg, and in close cooperation with the Baden and Württemberg swimming associations.
Four Mobile Teaching Pools are available for the 2025/2026 deployment schedule. Although planning is largely complete, interested municipalities and educational organizations are welcome to contact the Josef Wund Foundation for more information about the Mobile Teaching Pool and its possible applications:
Wundine at School / Tandem Teaching
The first module of the Wundine Swimming Academy, Tandem Teaching, has been part of the school swimming curriculum since autumn 2021. Between 2021 and 2023, hundreds of children from more than 40 classes in the Hochschwarzwald region made significant progress in learning to swim thanks to additional swimming instructors. Most participating primary schools have continued the concept independently with the swimming instructors from the project initiated and funded by the Josef Wund Foundation. Other locations where the Foundation has introduced and financed Tandem Teaching include Pforzheim (11 classes), schools in Heilbronn, and since 2024 Birkendorf in Baden as well as Göppingen.
Qualified swimming instructors funded by the Josef Wund Foundation work together with the school’s physical education teacher to deliver school swimming lessons through a tandem teaching approach. This allows non-swimmers and swimmers to be taught separately in small groups, providing targeted support according to each child’s needs. With this concept, the Wundine Swimming Academy addresses gaps that others cannot fill and works hand in hand with schools, municipalities, sports clubs, swimming associations, and the Ministry of Education of Baden-Württemberg. Christoph Palm, former Lord Mayor and Managing Director of the Josef Wund Foundation, emphasizes that learning to swim is about far more than simply staying afloat: “Being able to use the water independently opens up new opportunities in life, while building confidence and safety.” By supporting school swimming programs and fostering sustainable partnerships, the Wundine Swimming Academy aims to make an important contribution towards ensuring that more children become confident and safe swimmers.
