Help UCLA Club Swimming Get to Nationals (2019)!

Overview:

Formed in 2007, UCLA Club Swimming has given students the opportunity to swim competitively in college without the rigors of being a Division-1 athlete. We welcome students of all ability and we have about 90 swimmers registered with the club. This year, we’ve also experienced one of the highest levels of practice attendance we’ve ever had with between 30 and 40 swimmers in the water at each practice!

The club, originally called UCLA Swim Club, used to focus on being a club sport that allowed students to find a community based on their love for swimming. Swim meets and competition were the secondary focus. Over the past 3 years, the has begun to focus more on the competition side of the sport, eventually re-branding itself as UCLA Club Swimming. This gives others a sense of our competitive side.

As part of our competitive shift, our swimmers compete in the Collegiate Club Swimming & Diving National Championships. This year it is being held at the Ohio State University. It is our most important meet each year. However, the travel and lodging costs are a huge financial burden on many of our swimmers.

The cost per swimmer last year was $640, and with your generous support we were able to send 13 athletes to compete. However, many of our swimmers that qualified and wanted to go were unable to since they and their families were already paying for tuition, housing, and books. Why would they spend that much money when they could put it towards those more important items?

What We Are Asking For:

This year, the estimated cost per swimmer is $662, which is still too expensive for many of our swimmers. We need YOU, the donor, to help us reach our goal of $4000. We would put 70% of the donations towards the cost of Nationals for each swimmer. You could help reduce the cost per swimmer by more than $200. Only with your help can we succeed!

While not all our swimmers will be attending nationals, this fundraiser will still benefit the entire team.

Timing Equipment and Security:

The remaining 20% of money raised would go towards purchasing a club laptop on which to run our home meets and an equipment shed to better secure our belongings. A club laptop is a necessary component to running a swim meet smoothly as all the timing software is run through a laptop. The software only works on specific operating systems, so a club laptop would ensure we would have the means to run our meets even if no one on our team had the correct computer. The laptop we have researched costs $379.99.

Lastly, the team currently practices with kick boards and pull buoys, however, they are stored in a cart that is susceptible to theft. We work with limited equipment and when it gets stolen, we have to replace it, a cost that we cannot afford to regularly pay when we also want to provide meets and other activities for our swimmers. The shed we have researched costs $449.00.