Raleigh Swimming Association Raises $13,000 With Polar Plunges

The Raleigh Swimming Association (RSA) recently raised $13,300 for the Special Olympics of North Carolina thanks to more than 50 swimmers who participated in virtual polar plunges over the past few months. 

The RSA has now raised $26,000 total for the Special Olympics of North Carolina after its second year in a row embracing the polar plunge fundraiser and reaching their $13,000 goal. 

“I had worked for the Special Olympics and coached for the Special Olympics when I was younger, so I thought it’d be a neat thing to do,” associate head coach Tyler Shepherd said. “The swimmers really just took it and ran with it.

The RSA ranks first among swim clubs in North Carolina as far as funds raised, nearly doubling the next closest competitor.

“They bought into why it was so important,” Shepherd added. “Not only did the Special Olympics offer both exercise and community during a pandemic when community was kind of lost, but they also provide health screenings and things like that free of charge for athletes.”

There are nearly 40,000 registered Special Olympics athletes in North Carolina, but there are an estimated 200,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities in the state. The aim of the fundraiser is to raise valuable funds and awareness for Special Olympics, hopefully giving more athletes the chance to join the team.

“I think it’s great to support the Special Olympics,” said Murray Buddin, a sixth grader who has raised more than $1,000 over the past two years. “I feel really passionately about helping them.”

Founded in 1959, the RSA is the oldest swim club in the Triangle area. Based out of the William H. Sonner Aquatic Facility in Raleigh, the organization emphasizes community service as part of its program, especially since the RSA was lucky enough to return to its open-air pool early amid the pandemic.

“It was a way for us to give back when we had been so fortunate during that time,” Shepherd said.