SwIM Tucson 2018

After a successful debut in Tucson in 2017, the Swimming With Inspiration and Motivation event returned to the Old Pueblo in 2018, this time at the Oro Valley Aquatic Center. More than 50 children were in attendance, thanks to the help of staff at Imago Dei Middle School, Boys & Girls Clubs and GAP Ministries. As was the case in 2017, the children were selected based on their family’s socioeconomic background and were given a free introductory 40-minute swim lesson. For many of these children, the swim lesson was their first formal introduction to being safer in the water.

The special guest in 2018 was three-time Brazilian Olympian Nicolas Nilo Oliveira. It was a homecoming of sorts for Oliveira, as he attended the University of Arizona, helping the Wildcats win the NCAA men’s Division I swimming and diving team championship in 2008. Oliveira shared his very personal story of working through grief to achieve his dream of moving from Brazil to the United States to earn a degree and be an elite swimmer, a story that captivated those in attendance.

The current members of the Arizona men’s and women’s swim team served as teachers in the water, as well as local age group and Masters swimmers. Through a partnership with Speedo, the Town of Oro Valley supplied goggles at no charge to the participants. Special caps were made with the “SwIM” logo on them, which the swimmers were also able to take home.

At the end of the lesson, each child could take a swim test in which they could win a special towel. If they could swim 25 yards of freestyle or backstroke unassisted, they would earn the towel. Nearly everyone tried, and all but two passed the test!

The families attending the event do not pay to participate in this event, so we rely on corporate and public donations to provide the resources needed to run the event. To learn how you can contribute to the Greeley or Tucson swim events, send an email to Geoff Glaser.

Dolphins of the Desert Swimming Academy is now a Local Partner with the USA Swimming Foundation! 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 date, more than 5 million children have received the lifesaving gift of swim lessons through the USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash Local Partner network, comprised of more than 850 qualified lesson providers across the nation. To learn more, visit www.usaswimmingfoundation.org.

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