Beatriz Esesarte Pesqueira of Mexico to Recieve Top Award

2013 Virginia Hunt Newman International Award Recipient

St. Petersburg, Florida USA April 1, 2013

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Beatriz Esesarte Pesqueira

Virginia Hunt Newman International Award according to announcement by the World Aquatic Babies & Children Network (WABC) who oversees the nomination and selection. The honor is given by the organization annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to conducting aquatic programs for babies and young children in a kind, loving, caring, and gentle way so they learn to love the water. of Oaxaca, Mexico is the recipient of the 2013according to announcement by the World Aquatic Babies & Children Network (WABC) who oversees the nomination and selection. The honor is given by the organization annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to conducting aquatic programs for babies and young children in a kind, loving, caring, and gentle way so they learn to love the water.

Beatriz is the founder and director of Acuarela Natación Formativa begun in 1988. She has since worked continuously to find better ways to teach to swimming by applying scientific research in psychomotor learning. Over the past 25 years she has developed Acuasomatic Education that combines human evolution and the learning process with the naturally stimulating water environment. Respect for water is necessary to be “waterwise” she says.

Beatriz developed a specialized learning pool for different age groups and physical conditions. The design enables her to control the level of stimulation that is part of learning to swim by providing different depth platforms that enable anyone, despite their height or age, to explore initially the water from the upright position, which is the better way to empower the trust and confidence of the individual she feels. Once having overcome the initial inhibitions, students can adopt the horizontal position in water as a result of spontaneous experimentation.

The multidisciplinary approach Beatriz uses brings together findings and theories from recognized scientists and experts - Wallon, Winnicott, Spitz, Piaget, Bowlby, Freud, Reich and especially Vitor da Fonseca who came to collaborate with her in 2010 validating her teaching process based on the Psychomotor Human System and the Tritemporality of Human Motricity that involves the sociocultural process as an important element of learning.

The presence of the mother in the baby swim classes is a must Beatriz states because of the seven phylogenetic competences: sustained attention, interaction, affiliation (human interaction with immature beings), gesticulation, and imitation.

Beatriz is a recognized for her success in building her swimming instruction business as well as sharing her philosophy and methods with other swimming professionals as she is frequently a featured speaker at educational conferences on swimming around the world.

The award was first given in 2004 and named after Virginia Hunt Newman a world renowned baby swim teacher from Los Angeles and a pioneer in teaching babies to swim in the 1960s. The award is scheduled to be presented to Beatriz at ceremonies held at the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida USA on 10 May, 2013. ISHOF has hosted the award presentation as part of its annual recognition ceremonies recognizing achievement in aquatic sports and activities.

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Listen to The Conversation with Beatriz recorded April 2013 Login Now

Beatriz is an educator who specializes in the role of aquatics in psychomotor development. She is the founder and general director of Acuarela Natación Formativa in Oaxaca, México (Acuarela). The seed for Acuarela was planted in 1988 when Beatriz rehabilitated an abandoned backyard family pool, founded her swim school, Acuarela, Escuela de Natación, and launched her dream with an initial class of 26 students and 3 employees. Today Acuarela has 3400 students and 90 employees.

Throughout its evolution, Acuarela’s story is one of meeting challenges, confronting obstacles, and nurturing and spreading the enduring belief that water can be a very powerful tool in educational development, helping to create better human beings and societies. In developing Acuarela, she has come to learn and appreciate the wisdom and experience of her pre-Hispanic ancestors of hundreds of years ago, who accorded special honor and respect to the water as a being, and understood the strength, vitality and emotional and physical health that we can derive from natural, confident and wise movement in the water.

The designed a unique pool where babies and young children can naturally adapt to water through their own sensations, feelings, thoughts and movements; generating awareness in the parents of the importance of communication in the present moment with the water and their babies.

Acuarela first gained attention as a result of Beatriz’s social work, in which she invited some of Oaxaca’s homeless and abandoned children – street children -- to experience water and take swim lessons. In just one year, these children reduced by 75% their use of prescription and non-prescription medications to treat various ailments.

She presented at the 2nd World Aquatic Babies Congress (WABC) in Los Angeles, California in 1993, where she spoke about her social commitment to providing access to swim lessons to children from all economic backgrounds, and not only to the privileged members of society.

In 1997 Beatriz was the lead organizer of the 4th World Congress of Baby Aquatic Education attended by 450 professionals from 23 countries, with 26 leaders in the field of baby and child psychomotor development in the aquatics who presented.

Thereafter she has focused on studying and sharing information and knowledge with other professionals as a featured speaker at many conferences and workshops in numerous countries through the reach of the World Aquatic Babies & Children Network including bringing that knowledge to her beloved country and her city of Oaxaca. ▪