Thursday, September 9, 2021
Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club Gives Advice on How to Conquer a Swim-a-Thon
Swim-a-Thons are a great way for USA Swimming member clubs to earn additional funds for their upcoming swim seasons. Take it from the Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club (SMAC), who exceeded their fundraising goal earlier this year. In a total of 17 pools with around 500 swimmers, SMAC was able to use multiple resources to help implement a successful Swim-a-Thon. Erika Jackman, Fundraising Director at SMAC, gave her advice on how to implement a successful event.
First, SMAC’s Swim-a-Thon success relied heavily on preparation.
The Swim-a-Thon committee met regularly beforehand to figure out a strategy on how to inform members and get their involvement. They decided to reach and promote the event to everyone on the club in multiple ways. This included:
“It is really easy and convenient to use,” Jackman said. “It is also super helpful if you don’t want to do in-person stuff. It is such a great way to give back to your club. Anyone (the families on the club) can login and create a fundraising page.”
Third, SMAC got buy-in from everyone on the club.
Due to not having a lot of swim meets, parents wanted to get involved. They were able to provide volunteer opportunities on deck so parents could watch the event while helping.
“Parents weren’t typically allowed on deck, so they were excited to get on deck and be part of the event,” Jackman said.
Athlete buy-in depended heavily on the prizes they could potentially win. All prizes were promoted in advance both digitally and in-person. SMAC pushed prizes on social media each week so the athletes were reminded what was becoming available. The top-three athlete fundraisers got the biggest prizes each week. Some of the prizes included a SMAC hoodie, Hydro Flask, swimmer photo shoot and an Apple watch.
COVID-19 provided a few hiccups for all members, one of which being the level of comfort members had when fundraising in person. Therefore, SMAC provided both online and in-person options for members to utilize. Online fundraising offered the safety of social distancing while still working towards a team goal.
Fourth, to have the best participation among members, the Swim-a-Thon needed to be convenient and fun.
In order to allow for the most participation, SMAC decided to run the Swim-a-Thon during swim practice times. This allowed for athletes to come at regularly scheduled times and not have to work around a new schedule, which could provide additional conflicts.
SMAC also made fun a priority during the event. There was music, good food and cookies for the athletes to enjoy before, during and after their swims. In addition, everyone who participated got a little rubber ducky – one of the biggest hits from the event!
“We made the Swim-a-Thon more of a community building event. Our older kids typically lap counted for our younger swimmers and a lot of people got to know each other better,” Jackman said.
When asking Jackman if she has any advice for other USA Swimming member clubs who might be nervous about hosting their own Swim-a-Thon, she had some great advice.
“If you are nervous about reaching everyone, TeamUnify is a great resource if you don’t want to do in-person stuff. Also, email and social media are super helpful. If you are nervous about getting people excited, don’t be! It’s super fun and the kids will love it – it’s more fun than a swim meet because there’s food, music and cookies.”
With the uphill battle many USA Swimming member clubs have had throughout the past year and a half, now is the perfect time to help give back.
“SMAC did a great job of keeping the club operational over the last year and a half. It took a lot of people being flexible and creative to keep the club going,” Jackman said. “People just wanted to give back to the organization.”
To learn more on how your club can get started with a Swim-a-Thon, please visit: https://www.usaswimming.org/foundation#swim-a-thon.
First, SMAC’s Swim-a-Thon success relied heavily on preparation.
The Swim-a-Thon committee met regularly beforehand to figure out a strategy on how to inform members and get their involvement. They decided to reach and promote the event to everyone on the club in multiple ways. This included:
- Sending an overview email to parents.
- Posting on Facebook and Instagram to reach athletes and additional parents.
- Promoting the list of prizes which would be available each week.
- Holding a Swim-a-Thon launch for members. At the launch, the committee provided:
- A promo bag with the Swim-a-Thon informational packets inside.
- Swim-a-Thon t-shirts for coaches.
- In-person conversations about the event to discuss what athletes and parents could do to participate, goal fundraising amount and what the funds would be used for.
- Providing extra Swim-a-Thon caps, bag tags, and stickers to coaches so they could distribute among their swimmers accordingly.
“It is really easy and convenient to use,” Jackman said. “It is also super helpful if you don’t want to do in-person stuff. It is such a great way to give back to your club. Anyone (the families on the club) can login and create a fundraising page.”
Third, SMAC got buy-in from everyone on the club.
Due to not having a lot of swim meets, parents wanted to get involved. They were able to provide volunteer opportunities on deck so parents could watch the event while helping.
“Parents weren’t typically allowed on deck, so they were excited to get on deck and be part of the event,” Jackman said.
Athlete buy-in depended heavily on the prizes they could potentially win. All prizes were promoted in advance both digitally and in-person. SMAC pushed prizes on social media each week so the athletes were reminded what was becoming available. The top-three athlete fundraisers got the biggest prizes each week. Some of the prizes included a SMAC hoodie, Hydro Flask, swimmer photo shoot and an Apple watch.
COVID-19 provided a few hiccups for all members, one of which being the level of comfort members had when fundraising in person. Therefore, SMAC provided both online and in-person options for members to utilize. Online fundraising offered the safety of social distancing while still working towards a team goal.
Fourth, to have the best participation among members, the Swim-a-Thon needed to be convenient and fun.
In order to allow for the most participation, SMAC decided to run the Swim-a-Thon during swim practice times. This allowed for athletes to come at regularly scheduled times and not have to work around a new schedule, which could provide additional conflicts.
SMAC also made fun a priority during the event. There was music, good food and cookies for the athletes to enjoy before, during and after their swims. In addition, everyone who participated got a little rubber ducky – one of the biggest hits from the event!
“We made the Swim-a-Thon more of a community building event. Our older kids typically lap counted for our younger swimmers and a lot of people got to know each other better,” Jackman said.
When asking Jackman if she has any advice for other USA Swimming member clubs who might be nervous about hosting their own Swim-a-Thon, she had some great advice.
“If you are nervous about reaching everyone, TeamUnify is a great resource if you don’t want to do in-person stuff. Also, email and social media are super helpful. If you are nervous about getting people excited, don’t be! It’s super fun and the kids will love it – it’s more fun than a swim meet because there’s food, music and cookies.”
With the uphill battle many USA Swimming member clubs have had throughout the past year and a half, now is the perfect time to help give back.
“SMAC did a great job of keeping the club operational over the last year and a half. It took a lot of people being flexible and creative to keep the club going,” Jackman said. “People just wanted to give back to the organization.”
To learn more on how your club can get started with a Swim-a-Thon, please visit: https://www.usaswimming.org/foundation#swim-a-thon.