In an effort to bridge the gap between swim lessons and team swimming, the USA Swimming Foundation launched the Make a Splash Bridge Contest and awarded five Make A Splash Local Partners a total of $10,000 to help transition children from learn to swim programs to competitive swim teams.
“The USA Swimming Foundation is proud to support programs which help to strengthen the relationship between Learn to Swim providers and USA Swimming teams across the country,” said Debbie Hesse, Executive Director of the USA Swimming Foundation. “We aim to provide the opportunity for every child in America to learn to swim, and in doing so we open the door to a lifetime of opportunities, such as being a part of a USA Swimming team. You never know, we could have a future Olympian on our list of newly registered USA Swimming members!”
Entrants in the program were active Make a Splash Local Partner swim lesson providers and the winners were determined based on the percentage of summer swim lesson participants who graduated to and registered with USA Swimming teams. Award monies will be used for programs to strengthen relationships between the Make a Splash Local Partner swim lesson provider and their area USA Swimming teams.
Make a Splash Bridge Rewards Program Winners:
$5,000 Grand Prize: Northern Nevada Aquatics (Reno, Nev.)
$2,500 Runner-up: St. Bernard Swim Club (St. Bernard, La.)
$1,250 3rd place: Brigantine Aquatic Center (Brigantine, N.J.)
$750 4th place: Pikes Peak Athletics (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
$500 5th place: Sarasota Swim Academy (Sarasota, Fla.)
Children from Make a Splash Local Partner programs who enrolled as new USA Swimming Members will receive a congratulatory certificate, and child-friendly Safe Sport, Deck Pass and Swim United materials. An additional $500 will go towards celebration parties for the USA Swimming team programs with whom children from the top five programs registered.
In addition to the top five programs listed above, the following Make a Splash Local Partners participated in the contest: Johnston YMCA, Katy Aquatics, Pueblo Swim Club, Raritan Valley YMCA, Triangle Aquatic Center, and the University of Montana Grizzly Pool, Detroit Recreation Swim Team, Duanesburg YMCA, Hornell Area Family YMCA, and Tsunami Swimming.
The USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative provides the opportunity for every child in America to learn to swim – regardless of race, gender or financial circumstances. It is the nation’s pre-eminent learn to swim initiative, with more than 800 local partners nationwide that provide swim lessons and educate children and their families on the importance of learning how to swim. Since 2007, over 4 million children have learned the critical life-saving skill of swim lessons from Make a Splash providers. Thus far, the USA Swimming Foundation has provided more than 4 million dollars in grants to local partners for free and low cost swimming lessons nationwide.
About The USA Swimming Foundation
The USA Swimming Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming. Established in 2004, the Foundation works to strengthen the sport by saving lives and building champions— in the pool and in life. Whether we’re equipping our children with the life-saving skill of learn-to-swim through our Make a Splash initiative, or providing financial support to our heroes on the U.S. National Team, the USA Swimming Foundation aims to provide the wonderful experience of swimming to kids at all levels across the country. To learn more, visit www.usaswimmingfoundation.org.
About Make a Splash
The USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative is a national child-focused water safety campaign, which aims to provide the opportunity for every child in America to learn to swim. Through Make a Splash, the USA Swimming Foundation partners with learn-to-swim providers and water safety advocates across the country to provide swimming lessons and educate children and their families on the importance of learning how to swim. The USA Swimming Foundation has invested millions of dollars to provide grants to qualified Local Partner learn-to-swim programs, to spread national awareness, and to bring together strategic partners to end drowning. To learn more, visit www.makeasplash.org.