SELA Aquatics
SELA Aquatics provides full-service pool management, lifeguard staffing, American Red Cross training, and NAUI SCUBA certification to country clubs, racquet clubs, and aquatics facilities across Southeast Louisiana. It also serves individual consumers with public training classes.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNew Orleans, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What SELA Aquatics does
Southeast Louisiana Aquatics, operating as SELA Aquatics, is a private, founder-led provider of aquatic safety services, training, and pool management headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. The company serves primarily private country clubs, racquet clubs, and aquatics facilities across Southeast Louisiana (including New Orleans, Metairie, Baton Rouge, Thibodaux, Houma, Lafayette, and Ruston), delivering full-service pool management — lifeguard staffing, hiring, scheduling, chemical maintenance, safety auditing, and programming — as well as American Red Cross lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor certification, learn-to-swim classes, and a SCUBA division (SELA SCUBA) offering NAUI certifications and group dive travel.
SELA operates technology-enabled workflows built around a custom in-house team management system (shift trades, time-off tracking), real-time operational dashboards that surface pool statistics to client clubs, and automated chemical monitoring with exception reporting to management. The company holds official American Red Cross course provider status and is a designated NAUI Platinum Pro Dive Center; staff carry LGIT, WSIT, CPO, and NAUI SCUBA Instructor credentials, and lifeguards on managed pools are skills-audited several times per week.
The business generates revenue from three streams: (1) managed-services contracts for pool operations with B2B clients, (2) pay-as-you-go professional services revenue from public training and certification courses, and (3) SCUBA training, dive travel, and gear sales through the SELA SCUBA sub-brand and online store. GTM is hybrid: sales-led direct outreach to club management and facility operators for pool management, paired with self-serve consumer registration for individual training and SCUBA courses. Leadership is concentrated in the founder (Rob Dowie, President & CEO) and two recently promoted VPs (Robyn Barthel and Hunter Hawkins), with no external funding, no disclosed revenue, and no parent company.
SELA Aquatics firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SELA Aquatics
- Legal name
- Southeast Louisiana Aquatics
- Website
- https://selaaquatics.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- SELA Aquatics provides full-service pool management, lifeguard staffing, American Red Cross training, and NAUI SCUBA certification to country clubs, racquet clubs, and aquatics facilities across Southeast Louisiana. It also serves individual consumers with public training classes.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SELA Aquatics industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Aquatic Safety and Pool Management Services
- NAICS
- Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water Safety, Lifeguarding & Training Services (Staffing, Certification) (THAAABAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Aquatics Programs (Pools, Swim Lessons, Lifeguarding) (EDALAIAF), Lifeguard, Water Rescue & Aquatic Safety Training (EDAOAMAJ)
Keywords
Where SELA Aquatics is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New Orleans
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
SELA Aquatics business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Pool Management Services: Full-service pool management for clubs and facilities including lifeguard staffing, hiring, training, scheduling, auditing, and chemical maintenance. Revenue is generated through service contracts with aquatics facilities and country clubs.
- Training and Certification Courses: American Red Cross Lifeguard certification, Water Safety Instructor certification, and other training courses offered to the public. Classes are held at their training sites in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and can be hosted at client facilities.
- SCUBA Training and Dive Travel: NAUI SCUBA certification courses ranging from Open Water Diver to Divemaster, plus group dive travel trips to destinations like Cozumel, Philippines, Fiji, Roatan, and the Keys. Also includes gear and products sales through their online store.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Public training courses available for registration |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
SELA Aquatics product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Southeast Louisiana Aquatics (SELA) provides full-service pool management for clubs and aquatics facilities — including lifeguard staffing, hiring, training, scheduling, auditing, chemical maintenance, and programming — and delivers American Red Cross certified lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor training, swim lessons, and NAUI SCUBA certification and dive travel to individuals across Southeast Louisiana.
Product overview
SELA Aquatics is a service-based aquatic safety and training organization operating as a single unified brand with specialized divisions. The core offerings include pool management services (staffing, hiring, training, scheduling, and auditing of lifeguards), American Red Cross lifeguard certification and Water Safety Instructor training, and the SELA SCUBA sub-brand providing NAUI SCUBA certification and dive travel. Supporting offerings include swim lesson programs and an in-house employee management system. The company also operates SELA Training as its public-facing training registration portal.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SELA SCUBA: A division of SELA Aquatics specializing in recreational SCUBA training and group dive travel. Offers NAUI SCUBA certification courses ranging from entry-level Open Water Diver to continuing education including Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, and Divemaster. Operates training locations in New Orleans (UNO Aquatic Center) and Baton Rouge (Mirabeau Park Aquatic Club), and organizes group dive trips to destinations including Cozumel, Philippines, Fiji, and Florida.
Products and services
- Pool Management Services Full-service outsourced pool management for country clubs, racquet clubs, and aquatics facilities, including hiring, training, scheduling, and auditing of lifeguards, chemical management, and competitive swimming programming. Target customers are club GMs, COOs, and boards in Southeast Louisiana.
- Lifeguard Certification Training American Red Cross certified lifeguard training, certification, and recertification courses open to the public and to employees, taught at SELA training sites in New Orleans and Baton Rouge and available on-site at client facilities.
- Water Safety Instructor (WSI) Certification American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor certification that qualifies participants to teach swimming and water safety courses to learners of all ages and abilities.
- Swim Lesson Program Company-wide learn-to-swim classes overseen by professional staff, available to families and individuals of all ages and skill levels across SELA's regions.
- SELA SCUBA Certification NAUI SCUBA certification courses ranging from Open Water Diver through Divemaster, offered to individuals at SELA's New Orleans and Baton Rouge training sites and at client locations.
- Dive Travel Services Group dive travel experiences organized by SELA SCUBA for students, certified divers, and accompanying non-divers to international and domestic dive destinations.
Companies that use SELA Aquatics
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
SELA Aquatics technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
SELA Aquatics partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- American Red CrosscoreSELA is an official provider of American Red Cross courses. Staff members serve on the Board of Directors for the Southeast Louisiana Chapter of the American Red Cross and have assisted with quality assurance investigations and served as Instructor Training Educators on their national staff. Rob Dowie has traveled as an examiner with the Red Cross Aquatic Examiner Service (AES).
- NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors)coreSELA Aquatics is a NAUI Platinum Pro Dive Center. Staff members are active NAUI SCUBA Instructors. They offer NAUI SCUBA certifications recognized and respected worldwide, ranging from entry-level Open Water Diver to Divemaster.
- UNO Aquatic CenterminorTraining site partner for SCUBA classes in New Orleans - an indoor heated pool facility used for SCUBA certification courses.
- Mirabeau Park Aquatic ClubminorTraining site partner for SCUBA classes in Baton Rouge - an outdoor heated pool facility used for SCUBA certification courses.
- Association of Aquatics Professionals (AOAP)minorIndustry membership organization for aquatics professionals. Rob Dowie is listed as a member of the Association of Aquatics Professionals.
- Audubon Aquarium of the AmericasminorRobyn Barthel volunteers as a diver at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, demonstrating community involvement in the aquatics field.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SELA Aquatics competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- SafeSplash Swim School: National franchised swim school focused on year-round lessons for all ages and abilities. Comparable consumer swim-instruction product, materially larger footprint than SELA.
- Big Blue Swim School: Franchised learn-to-swim concept operating dozens of locations across the U.S. Comparable consumer-facing swim instruction product to SELA's swim lesson program, but with a corporate/franchise structure that SELA lacks.
- British Swim School: Franchised swim-lesson provider with hundreds of U.S. locations offering survival and learn-to-swim classes for all ages. Comparable to SELA's swim-lesson program but at significantly greater geographic scale via franchising.
- PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors): Largest global SCUBA certification agency, comparable to NAUI as the certifying body behind SELA SCUBA's training. Indirect peer through the dive-certification ecosystem SELA SCUBA operates in.
- Emler Swim School: Multi-location swim school in Texas offering group and private lessons for children. Comparable swim-instruction offering, though larger and more regionally concentrated than SELA's swim lessons.
Others
- Leslie's Pool Supplies: Largest U.S. specialty retailer of pool supplies, chemicals, and equipment, plus pro service offerings. Adjacent to SELA via pool chemicals/operations rather than direct staffing or training competition.
Direct peers
- Pool Management Inc. Regional pool management firm offering lifeguard staffing, chemical maintenance, and seasonal operations for clubs and community pools. Operates in the same managed-services category as SELA's Pool Management Division.
- American Pool Enterprises: One of the largest commercial pool management and lifeguard staffing companies in the U.S., serving country clubs, HOAs, and municipal pools. Directly comparable to SELA's B2B pool-management contracts at country and racquet clubs.
- Ellis & Associates: Aquatic risk management and lifeguard certification firm offering the International Lifeguard Training Program, audits, and pool-safety consulting. Closely comparable to SELA's Red Cross lifeguard training, audits, and facility safety oversight.
- StarGuard Elite: Lifeguard certification and aquatic safety staffing provider for pools, waterparks, and resorts. Comparable to SELA's lifeguard training and pool-staffing service line.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SELA Aquatics social profiles
Digital presenceSELA Aquatics compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
SELA Aquatics financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SELA Aquatics leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
SELA Aquatics subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
SELA Aquatics funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SELA Aquatics M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SELA Aquatics
What does SELA Aquatics do?
Southeast Louisiana Aquatics (SELA) provides full-service pool management for clubs and aquatics facilities — including lifeguard staffing, hiring, training, scheduling, auditing, chemical maintenance, and programming — and delivers American Red Cross certified lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor training, swim lessons, and NAUI SCUBA certification and dive travel to individuals across Southeast Louisiana.
Is SELA Aquatics a public or private company?
SELA Aquatics is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was SELA Aquatics founded?
SELA Aquatics was founded in 2010. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is SELA Aquatics based?
SELA Aquatics is headquartered in New Orleans, United States, in the North America region.
How does SELA Aquatics make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Pool Management Services are the primary driver. The others are training and Certification Courses and SCUBA Training and Dive Travel.
Who are SELA Aquatics's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are SafeSplash Swim School, Big Blue Swim School, British Swim School, PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and Emler Swim School. Leslie's Pool Supplies is listed as an others. Direct peers are Pool Management Inc., American Pool Enterprises, Ellis & Associates and StarGuard Elite.
Does SELA Aquatics have an API?
No public API is recorded for SELA Aquatics.
What industry is SELA Aquatics in?
SELA Aquatics's product category is Aquatic Safety and Pool Management Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAAABAL, Water Safety, Lifeguarding & Training Services (Staffing, Certification), with a secondary code of EDALAIAF, Aquatics Programs (Pools, Swim Lessons, Lifeguarding). Its NAICS code is 611620 and its SIC code is 7900.