Congratulations to Suburban Seahawks Club (SSC) for winning the 2024 USA Swimming Foundation Swim-a-Thon grand prize: a personal on-site visit from a USA Swimming National Team member. Three additional USA Swimming clubs were named Gold Medal winners for their fundraising efforts – Seward Tsunami Swim Club (STSC), Mount Hood Aquatics (MHA), and SwimMAC Carolina (MAC). The four clubs raised over $332,000, with more than $16,600 donated to the USA Swimming Foundation. In recognition of their efforts, they will be individually awarded $200 and a celebratory pizza party, courtesy of the USA Swimming Foundation.

In 2024, more than 360 clubs across the country hosted USA Swimming Foundation Swim-a-Thon contests, with 36 of those participating in the event for the first time. Almost 47,000 individual athletes contributed to teams, raising over $6.1 million for their programs and more than $307,200 being donated back to the USA Swimming Foundation. Based on the number of laps swum, athletes received special prizes from the USA Swimming Foundation, including bag tags, swim caps, hats, and headphones.

Since its inception in 2012, the Swim-a-Thon program has been a constant fundraising arm of many local USA Swimming teams. Over the last decade, there have been 78 clubs who have participated every year, with all clubs nationwide having reported raising over $64 million for their programs. Since 2012, clubs have contributed over $3.6 million to the USA Swimming Foundation’s mission of Saving Lives, Building Champions, and Impacting Communities, which is reinvested back into grassroots communities through programs like Learn-to-Swim grants, Community Impact Grants, Community Swim Teams, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

To earn Gold Medal status, Swim-a-Thon participating clubs must fundraise the most in their size category. Club sizes are 0-75, 76-150, 151-33, and 300+. For the second year in a row, three out of the four Gold Medal clubs are Safe Sport Recognized, demonstrating their program’s commitment to creating healthy and positive environments free from abuse. Additionally, three of the clubs  have earned Gold Medal status within the last three years.

This year, former American record holder Beata Nelson conducted the random grand-prize drawing with the above four teams. Watch the video below:

In the 0-75 participants category, repeat winner STSC (Alaska Swimming) took home the gold. STSC is the home club of Olympian breaststroker Lydia Jacoby, who touched out her competition in Tokyo to claim gold.

“We live in a beautiful Alaskan community that supports and loves our swim club,” STSC coach Leslie Jacoby said. “Seward Tsunami Swim Club would like to extend a massive thank you to our swim club family, both locally and outside of Seward. STSC relies on our yearly Swim-a-Thon fundraiser to earn funds for scholarships, coaches, pool time, and to keep membership fees low. All of the funds earned are used to benefit our swimmers’ experience. Swim-a-Thon allows our swimmers to shine with the support of their families, coaches, and community. Sharing their love for swimming, their team, and coaches with donors gives them pride in how far they have all come as swimmers and individuals.”

For the second year in a row, MHA (Oregon Swimming) led the way in the 76-150 participants category. To help continue a successful Swim-a-Thon tradition throughout the years, MHA provides additional prizes for athletes to win.

“This is exciting news for our swim team again,” MHA staff said. “We put in a tremendous amount of time, hard work, and creativity for the USA Swimming Foundation’s annual Swim-a-Thon fundraiser. From designing our very own incentive prize list of team swim gear to weekly prize drawings to encourage our swimmers’ participation. Our incentive prize list is cumulative, so the swimmer gets every prize level up through their highest-level amount raised. This is a way for our swimmers to get dressed up in team gear, such as swim caps, personalized team sweatshirts, sweatpants, parkas, mesh bags, fins, goggles, etc. We also design a new yearly Swim-a-Thon T-shirt for all our swimmers and coaches, and last year we mailed out a team photo to all the swimmer’s local business sponsors. Our swimmers get excited and look forward for Swim-a-Thon to start every year, and I know that they will be super happy to hear that they get to enjoy another Swim-a-Thon pizza party poolside.”

In the 151-300 participants category, SSC (Middle Atlantic Swimming) bested its competitors to earn the top spot. The club, which has ties to five separate Olympians and one Olympic coach, received a special congratulatory message from Brendan Hansen, USA Swimming National Junior Team Director and former team member.

“It comes as no surprise to me as a Suburban Seahawk Alumni that they would strive to be a top this year’s Swim-a-Thon,” Hansen said. “While on Suburban, the coach staff taught us the importance of community service, team culture, and giving back. All the characteristics are synonymous with the USA Swimming Swim-a-Thon program. Congrats, SSC!”

“The SSC 2024 Swim-a-Thon was a true reflection of our community's spirit,” SCC Executive Director Joanna Murphy said. “We are grateful for our members' generosity and efforts to give back to the club. This event mirrored our banner year, marked by outstanding personal milestones and Olympic Trials contenders, and highlighted the loyal, engaged support that fuels our fundraising for USA Swimming and Suburban.”

SwimMAC (North Carolina Swimming) claimed the title in the 300+ participants category for the second time in three years. The club raised the most amount out of every participating club in the 2024 Swim-a-Thon year. Additionally, SwimMAC had 33 athletes earn 2023-24 Scholastic All-America honors earlier this year, leading all USA Swimming clubs across the country.

"At SwimMAC, we continuously challenge our membership to strive for excellence in and out of the pool,” SwimMAC’s Executive Leadership said. “We're very proud of our student-athletes and the hard work they have put in to earn top rankings across a variety of metrics - from the number of Scholastic All-Americans to team achievements as Virtual Club Champions and LSC Champions. As a youth sports nonprofit, fundraising is key to those successes as it supports our organization's efforts to provide quality coaching, an excellent training environment, and fund financial aid programs for both club swimmers and swim school participants. The annual Swim-a-Thon gives us a perfect opportunity to engage our incredible membership base and raise funds for both our organization and the USA Swimming Foundation. We'd like to thank all of our families who have contributed as well as any employers who have matched their funds. It's largely because of their efforts that we will continue to have a positive impact on the Charlotte community in addition to maintaining our national prominence as a swimming powerhouse!"

2025 Prizes

Qualification	Prize
Swim 100-199 laps	100 Lap Bag Tag
Swim 200+ laps	200 Lap Bag Tag
Fundraise $400-$599.99	Cooling Headband
Fundraise $600-$799.99	Foam Squirt Cannon
Fundraise $800-$1,099.99	Coloring Tote
Fundraise $1,100-$1,399.99	200 Piece Puzzle
Fundraise $1,400+	Barrel Travel Cooler

Did you club complete a Swim-a-Thon and want to be featured? Send us your story and pictures at swimathon@usaswimming.org.

Congratulations to all clubs that participated in the 2024 Swim-a-Thon. Learn more about hosting a 2025 Swim-a-Thon here.