The URI Club Swim Team held our first ever Swimathon! Taking place on Wednesday, October 30th in the Tootell Aquatic Center, our team swam as many laps as we could for one hour straight. Beginning the Swimathon at 4 p.m., our team was sure to get in the water right on time and get to swimming. 

Typically, our captains plan specific sets and workouts for us. It was exciting to try out something different and really push ourselves to swim as many laps as we could in the 60 minutes we had. Starting out the hour strong, most of us began with freestyle, one of the more basic and faster strokes. As the Swimathon progressed, we utilized different strokes, along with kickboards and other equipment to divy up the hour of swimming; it proved to be a tiring hour. Each of us were competing with ourselves and one another to swim as many laps as possible. Senior Casey McQuesten, club president, out does himself, swimming the most yardage. He finished the day with 172 laps and 4,300 yards total. Our captain, Parker Hambley, came in a close second at 162 laps, followed by Caroline Bosso and Jocelyn Carvahlo with 155 laps. In total, our team swam 107,775 yards (56 miles!!) which equates to 4,311 laps. 

As a student-led organization, we must seek out ways to fundraise in order to keep our team afloat (lol). Our team Fundraising Chair, Kiley George, initiated the Swimathon. Kiley has participated in many of these types of fundraisers before, and finds that they are an interactive way to raise money for the team. She tells me, “I wanted to do a swimathon because I love the competitiveness the team brings, it’s its own form of race with everyone trying to out swim each other.”  Leading up to Swimathon, we posted flyers to seek out donors. The donors set an amount that they would contribute for each lap, most of which donated about $0.50 per lap. All of the money raised went into our club’s fund and will help pay for our competitions, along with our nationals trip. Not only does the fundraiser prove beneficial for the team financially, but it also creates a sense of camaraderie, bringing a competitive spirit to the team.

Kiley goes on to explain that she wanted the position of Fundraising Chair because she aspires to contribute to the growth of the URI Club Swim Team. When asked about her favorite thing about swimming, she states, “I love the atmosphere of club swimming, it is such a good community and it’s how I met so many of my friends.” I couldn’t agree more. Club sports have provided me with more friendships and opportunities than I could have hoped. It is truly one of the reasons I love URI. Because athletes like Kiley and myself love participating in club sports, we want to take steps to enhance our team and fundraise in hopes to continue the growth of club sports. 

At the end of the Swimathon, my teammates and I were in high spirits. It was encouraging to get a good workout in, while at the same time, raise money for our team. Overall, Swimathon proved to be a huge success as we have raised $2,500 for our team. It was an interactive way to raise money for our team, while bringing the team closer in a competitive and yet lively environment. We hope to carry on this fundraiser in years to come to see to the growth of our sports at URI!