Valiojäätelö, the Ice Cream brand of Nestlé Finland, has entered into a co-operation contract with the Finnish Association for Swimming Instruction and Life Saving (SUH) and with Finnish Swimming Association.

The Finnish Association for Swimming Instruction and Life Saving is an educational and information organization established in the year 1956. It has 12 member associations and aims at improving the swimming skills of Finns and at reducing the number of fatal drowning accidents with the aid of education and instruction. The Finnish Swimming Association is the central organization for swimming sport, which is celebrating its 100-years anniversary with the theme “Swimming skills – the instructions for life”.

According to Nordic standards the swimming skills are defined as follows: “a person is able to swim, if after falling into water so that the head goes under water and coming back above water, he/she can without a break swim 200 m of which 50 m on his/her back”. The latest research (2003) states that 66 % of adult Finns are able to swim. There is more and more demand for swimming instruction activities of swimming clubs, because the communal swimming training has be decreased.

Valiojäätelö icon, The Penguin, wants to support the Finnish children to learn to swim. Swimming is fun, but also very vital ability, which might save lives. The swimming and life saving abilities will be learned most easily as a child and at the same time they contributes the integral development of a child. From year to year swimming as a hobby collects people, because it is useful and offers an interesting and versatile hobby-world. The swimming training of clubs is very popular. It has grown steadily in the 21st century. In 2004 there were already over 40.000 young participants.

The Penguin symbolizes very well the joy of swimming and Valiojäätelö wants to be along with delivering experiences for children – both useful and joyful.