Crawfish Aquatics Rocks the Pool!  
April 21, 2012  Lafayette Pool

Crawfish Aquatics Swim-A-Thon will take place Saturday, April 21 with a morning full of activities. This fundraiser is one of our most important sources of income for those items outside our normal operating expenses. Success of the Swim-A-Thon allows us to make capital improvements, purchase equipment, assist in team travel trips, educate the coaching staff and make improvements to the age group swimming programs.

Sample Letters to Potential Sponsors
Goal Laps for Each Group

Pledge Sheet  (pledge sheet also included in SAT packets distributed to each family)

Timeline Overview for April 21-

WHITE, RED, BLUE- Swimmer check in at 6:45AM- These groups will swim a structured practice to reach their goal laps!

YELLOW, GREEN, SWIM SCHOOL Swimmer Check-in will begin 8:30-8:45AM.  The official swim will be from 9:00-11:00AM (swimmers have 2 hours to complete their goal laps).  

Following the swim we will serve lunch and PLAY!!  The outdoor pool will be opened for free play. If siblings want to swim after Swim A Thon, A PARENT MUST BE SWIM WITH THEM! WE WILL NOT HAVE LIFEGUARDS ON DUTY . Swim A Thon will end at 1:00 PM

Lunch-  Crawfish will provide lunch (hot dogs and pizza) and drinks.

Dessert Items Requested-  we are asking families to bring a dessert item or snack item.

Parent Volunteers/Event Support-
-On the day of the event, we will need assistance from parents in counting your swimmers laps and with food set up and serving (for lap counting- just check in at your childs’ lane/pool prior to the swim-  not needed for White, Red, or Blue groups; for food serving see Coach Thomas once the swimming begins).
-We will also need two volunteers during the swim to accept swimmers lap count sheets, make raffle tickets for those meeting their group goal laps and accept/record donations/pledges turned in that day until 11:00 AM

Swim-A-Thon Funds Received to date:
-Please hold on to ALL DONATIONS collected by your swimmer and turn in to CA at one time (either at the Swim A Thon or by the deadline of May 10).

Swim-A-Thon Dates:
May 10 (Thursday)-  Deadline for submitting funds toward award totals.
May 14 (Monday)- Deadline to turn in money

-Division with highest fund total will be announced (winners of pool party, May 25^th)

-Individual, Family Prize Winners and Wall of Fame announced
May 25 (Friday)- Outdoor Pool Party for winning age group (raising most funds),4:30-6:00PM

Crawfish Aquatics Rocks The Pool-  Prize List

Prizes will be awarded to swimmers based on the amount of money that they raise.

In order to qualify for prizes, money must be turned in by Monday, May 10.   Funds will be collected following that date and will be applied to a swimmer or family’s account, however they will not be applied toward an individual or age group’s total for prize calculations.

Prize Levels
Amateur-  $200-$299                “Crawfish Aquatics Rocks The Pool” event swim cap
Rock Star- $300 - $499              “Crawfish Aquatics Rocks The Pool” event t-shirt
Grammy Winner- $500-$799      Personalized towel, event swim cap, event t-shirt
Hall of Fame- $800+                 Practice Suit from Natal Swim Shop, towel, event swim cap, event t-shirt

Top Fundraisers 
Individual-    8G IPod Touch (or an Apple Store/Best Buy gift card of equal value if swimmer chooses)

Family (2+)- Amazon or Best Buy gift card
Ultimate Rock Star-  Individuals raising $5000+ will receive 1 year of swimming dues FREE

Age Groups/Divisions Competition
There will be a competition between each Division on the team (based on the average amount of money collected per participating swimmer in each Division).  The Division that raises the most money will have an outdoor pool and Hippo Slide party on Friday, May 25^th.  The winning age group will be announced on Monday, May 14^th.

The Division competition will be as follows:

-Swim School/ Green Group

-Yellow Group

-White, Red, Blue Groups

Crawfish Aquatics Swim-A-Thon Wall of Fame
The Swim-a-Thon Wall of Fame was created in 2006 to recognize our top fundraisers for this event and can be viewed on the team website, Swim A Thon section (under Resources).

Each year a banner will be posted following the event to highlight those families that raise funds qualifying for the Wall of Fame in Lafayette.  The banner will hang at the Baton Rouge Pool on the record board end pool wall, until the next Swim-A-Thon event the following year.

Qualifications
Bronze Level-  families raising $600-$899
Silver Level-  families raising $900-$1199
Gold Level-  families raising $1200+

USA Swimming Sponsored Prizes
USA Swimming sponsored prizes area also distributed for swimmers who raise over $500 each; prizes vary based on total amount raised.

What is a Swim-a-Thon?

Swim-a-thon is a fundraiser used by year-round swim clubs all over the United States to raise money for their respective club.  To raise money for Swim-a-Thon, swimmers receive pledges and donations from family members, friends, neighbors, and local businesses.  Crawfish Aquatics keeps 95% of all funds raised with the remaining 5% going to USA Swimming, the governing body for swimming in the United States.  Swim-a-Thon is a registered program of USA Swimming.

During Swim-a-Thon, swimmers are allowed to swim a maximum of 200 laps or for a period of 2 hours whichever comes first.  Each group on our team will have different goals set by their coaches.  

This is a family event.  Parents of the younger swimmers help count laps and keep track of times.  We hope that everyone is able to get the whole family involved.   The older swimmers’ involvement may also include helping count laps and encouraging the younger swimmers. 

More Than A Fundraiser
Swim-A-Thon is a fun team event!  After the swims, we have a lunch cookout for swimmers and their families.  The outdoor pool will be open with facilitated games and competitions, the Hippo Water Slide will be up and swimmers will get the chance to play some games and have social time outside of a swim practice.

Why does Crawfish Aquatics participate in Swim-a-thon?
Crawfish Aquatics conducts a number of fundraising efforts such as hosting meets, our ongoing business sponsorship program, and special events such as Swim-a-Thon. Funds raised from the SAT are used to make capital improvements to the facility and pools (previous funds have gone to the payment of outdoor pool, the purchase of new indoor pool heater and other facility upgrades not included in our annual operating budget), purchase of equipment, travel trips, and special events like the Aaron Peirsol and Josh Davis Olympic Clinics. 

How is the money raised?
Families receive information packets that include an envelope to keep track of all funds raised, sample letters to mail to potential sponsors, deadline information, and prize information.  Some of your sponsors may pledge a dollar amount per lap your child swims at the Swim-A-Thon; you would then report back to them following the event to collect the funds.  Other sponsors may provide a direct sponsorship amount based on your goal laps at the time a pledge is made.  Funds can be turned in to the Crawfish Aquatics Info Booth prior to the Swim-A-Thon, the day of the event, and until approximately 3 weeks following the event. Prizes will be determined based on the funds turned in by due date, however you may turn in funds after this date.