This Swim-A-Thon will provide funds, which will enable the club to maintain its strong swimming program, buy new equipment and help fund home meets. The Skaneateles Lightning currently has 30 swimmers in the program, and has several top-caliber high school swimmers.
The swimmers will swim up to 200 lengths during the fundraiser, earring a specified amount of money per length.
Swim-A-Thons are conducted across the country by many of the more than 2,600 member clubs of USA Swimming. The Skaneateles Lightning will retain 95 percent of the pledges the swimmers will collect and send 5 percent or $12 per participant, whichever is less, to USA Swimming.
Members of the Lightning Swim Team will start asking the community for pledges around Oct. 20, following the team’s fifth home meet on Oct. 18.
The public is invited to come and watch the Lightning’s Halloween meet on Oct. 18. Community swim teams from across New York will be attending. The meet expects to host more than 250 swimmers. Although the meets are not mandatory for Lightning swimmers, they are encouraged and the kids have a lot of fun.
The swim team is a year round competitive swimming program designed to enable swimmers to grow from minimal swimming ability into competitive swimming at the local, state and national levels in accordance with the respective ability and desire of the swimmers. They provide opportunities for physical, social and emotional development and teach the value of goal setting discipline and fitness.
The team is sponsored in part by Skaneateles Splash! Inc. a volunteer run, not-for-profit charitable, organization that is committed to organizing, promoting and overseeing aquatic activities, including water safety and education, recreational and competitive events.
The swim team is sanctioned by USA Swimming, the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. Each swimmer is required to be a member of USA Swimming for a nominal fee. The Lightning swim team teaches the values of sportsmanship and teamwork through swimming.
The team, under the experienced coaching staff of Chad and Jason McMillan, is organized by members’ abilities with the purpose to further interest and educate children in competitive aquatic sports. Both Chad and Jason McMillan swam for the Auburn School District and Y Stingrays. The McMillans still hold swimming records at many local pools.
The swimmers will be asking for your pledges. Please support the Swim-A-Thon with your donations. Donations are accepted in any amount. Checks written to parent company Splash! Inc. are tax deductible.
If you have further questions, please contact Elizabeth Canne at 673-2545 or MFCanne@worldnet.att.net.
