Support area swimmers through Swim-a-Thon

Dive into helping young people who love competitive swimming this spring through a nationally recognized fundraising program called Swim-a-Thon.

Spokane Area Swimming , a nonprofit year-round competitive swimming program, has about 110 swimmers ages 6 through 18 who began collecting pledges this month for swimming as many lengths of their practice pools as they can in a two-hour period during the week of April 8 through 13.

The swimmers get sponsorships from businesses, family, friends and neighbors for swimming their Swim-a-Thon laps. Younger swimmers will be cheered on to swim 100 laps, while older swimmers often complete 200 laps for the fundraiser.

Because one of the team’s main practice facilities, the indoor Shadle Park Pool, is scheduled to close permanently the end of March, this year’s Swim-a-Thon is crucial to help the team pay for using alternative pool sites and to keep the organization thriving and affordable for swimmers.

Swim-a-Thon is a program recognized by USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport of swimming that also provides programs and services for member clubs. Five percent of the money raised in Swim-a-Thon goes to USA Swimming and 95 percent stays locally to support the SAS team.

The group also needs support from area businesses that can provide Swim-a-Thon achievement prizes by April 27.

SAS has been affiliated with the city of Spokane Parks and Recreation Department and the YMCA for more than 20 years. The team has kids who like to swim just for fun, to stay in good shape, to attain college swimming scholarships, as well as some swimmers who have achieved Olympic trial times.