Bubble's Story

Children have a swimming friend in Bubble

Once upon a time.... on a boat trip I heard a very noisey splashing coming from the sea...

It was a dolphin and it was swimming right alongside us and she was on her own. These where the beautiful clear waters of the Pacific Ocean she was racing through... "Wow! - what a fantastic swimmer she is" I thought to myself. As we slowed down and came to a stop, the dolphin lifted herself partly out of the water, looked me straight in the eyes and said... "Hello, what's your name?" 

Well, as you can imagine - I nearly fell overboard with shock. "Did you just say hello to me just then, or have I had too many Weetabix this morning?"  "Yes, it was I" replied the Dolphin. "Well, my name is Tony, have you got a name?" I asked politely, "No, we don't have names out here, but I would love to have a one" she replied".

After talking all evening to the dolphin, she confessed to me that... "she was all alone in the Pacific as she was seperated from her family (during a really bad hurricane) when she was very young". "Well, as you are an amazing swimmer, why don't you come back with us to Splash swimming pool at Stockton in England, and you could teach people how to swim?" I replied... "I'd love to" she said, but I think I would like to have a name when we get there? I agreed.

When we got back to England, the dolphin was allowed to live at Splash in Stockton, but we had a problem!... She still had no name.  So we decided to run a competition and with the help of two schoolgirls (Laura Douglas, and Sophie Plunkett)... she was given the name Bubble the Dolphin as a result. Laura and Sophie both won bicycles for helping to choose the name of 'Bubble'. 

Since then, Bubble has made lots of friends in Tees Valley and is helping lots of children who are learning to swim. If you would like to see or meet Bubble, she appears from time to time at any one of your Active Life Centres swimming pools at Splash, Thornaby Pool or even Billingham Forum where she keeps in touch with her best friend I.C. the Bear, who came from the North Pole and teaches people how to skate and he loves to be hugged!

Special Note
Tony McGuigan, Marketing Manager at Tees Active said: “I hope as Bubble becomes better known across the Tees Valley it will encourage more and more children to come swimming. We hope Bubble will be visiting schools, going to birthday parties at the pools if she’s invited and offering children swimming vouchers to visit their local pools.

“Swimming is a healthy and fun activity for children and we hope Bubble will make it even better.”