Swim-a-Thon 2021 Info!
Welcome to Swim-A-Thon 2020-2021!
On behalf of the WLBF board and coaching staff, we are excited to announce that our annual Swim-A-Thon fundraiser is now active! This is an essential fundraiser for our club and one that our swimmers look forward to every year. For our new swim parents, please scroll down for an explanation of this fundraiser, as well as some ideas for how your children can raise money.
As a club, we pride ourselves on the quality of our programming and the success of our athletes. Our club currently has two swimmers who have qualified for Olympic Trials, one of whom will be competing for a spot on the Canadian Olympic team in April of this year. We also have multiple swimmers competing at Western Canadian Championships, Provincial Championships and Regionals. The Swim-a-Thon Fundraiser not only helps us to raise funds to better support these swimmers and those following in their footsteps, but also provides an opportunity for us as a club to receive extra funds, training opportunities and unique experiences.
This year, we will be once again using Swimming Canada’s online fundraising program. This means it’s easier to share with friends and family far and wide, who will be able to donate with just a few clicks. It is expected that all swimmers create a profile, and that all competitive swimmers raise a minimum of $50 and all non-competitive swimmers raise a minimum of $25. Parents may need to go in and help swimmers register and set up their profiles.
Our goal this year is to raise $7000. Swimmers will all swim their Swim-a-Thon during practice times the week of March 8-13th and the site for donations will close on Sunday, March 14th. Any swimmers who have pledges per lap will need to make sure they have their donations in before the close.
The fundraising website can be found here: www.bcswimathon.ca/wlbf Please visit the link, create a profile and share your profile link with friends and family and help us to make this year’s Swim-a-Thon a success!
If you have any questions, please contact Chad (chad@wlbluefins.ca) or Amanda (amanda@wlbluefins.ca) and we would be happy to assist!
Thank you, and happy fundraising!
Swim-a-Thon: How It Works
The Swim-a-Thon is an annual, national fundraiser in which swim clubs from all over Canada participate. Unlike other fundraisers which can have more substantial costs associated with them, our club receives just over 90% of all money raised; money which directly supports our club.
Swimmers will raise money through donations and pledges and in return will swim as much as they can as quickly as they can. During practice the last week of the session, all Blue Fins will swim as many lengths as they can up to a maximum of 5km.
One of the best parts of Swim-a-Thon is that it is synonymous with prizes! Most swimmers who raise any amount of money will be awarded a special prize at the end of the year. There will also be weekly challenges with prizes for the top participants. And - most importantly - the top fundraising group gets not only bragging rights, but an extra special prize from their coaches! In years past, this has included a pizza party, their coach having to swim the Swim-a-Thon with them, and fun days (not always for the coaches!).
Fundraising Ideas
Ask everyone for donations!
The bonus of having our fundraiser supported online means kids can ask for donations safely and easily, and family and friends are able to support your swimmer with a few easy clicks. Have your swimmer make a video to post on social media, create posters for office lunchrooms, write letters to family friends. The more personalized the better!
Ask for sponsorships!
Beyond asking for a lump sum, a great way to raise money is for your swimmer to ask to be sponsored by lap or length of the pool they complete. People often underestimate just how much swimmers can do! A buck a lap can add up quite quickly, and it helps keep swimmers motivated to push a little harder when it comes time for them to swim. Swimmers are also encouraged to come up with challenges which they can receive sponsors for (ie. for every length of butterfly, get double the dollars).
Special Opportunity for 10&Unders
If your swimmer happens to be 10 years old or younger, this year we have a special opportunity! We currently do not have a club record for 8 & under and 9-10 year old boys or girls for the 1500m Freestyle (that would be 60 lengths of the pool). Coaches will be running stop watches and whoever is able to complete all 60 lengths in the fastest amount of time will get a club record! This is a very exciting and rare chance for our younger swimmers, and a great chance for them to leverage some extra donations.