Swim Across America
Once again the Gators will be hosting an Endurance Challenge to support Swim Across America (SAA). SAA is a non-profit organization that joins U.S. Olympic swimmers, teams, and individuals across the country to raise money for cancer research. All funds raised in each location stay local. SAA Denver funds benefit two research projects at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's Hospital Colorado, the acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) research project and the tumor research project. The Gators have chosen to support SAA as a way to serve and give back to others in our community.
To learn more about SAA and our team’s participation in the fight against pediatric cancer you can go to the Gator’s SAA website:
If you would like to participate you have two options. You can either choose to make a donation to our team, or you can create your own page to send out to friends and family so they may donate under your swimmer’s name. To create your own page click the “Register” button and then “Join a Team” and type Governor’s Ranch Gators. You might see one of the steps is “make a payment”, but there is no cost to register or fundraise. Once you have your own page you can use it to send emails to friends and family to let them know that you are participating in SAA to raise money for Colorado Children’s Hospital cancer research.
The goal is for each of us to raise at least $100, but each swimmer may set his/her own goal. A swimmer may wish to set a goal for how many laps he/she wants to complete during the Endurance Challenge and request donations based on the number of laps completed. For example someone may pledge 25¢ for each lap. Others may prefer to give a fixed donation amount.
The Endurance Challenge event will take place on July 6 during our normal practice time. Swimmers will swim as many laps as they are able during the given time. A team breakfast will follow the swims. Everyone who participates will receive temporary tattoos and a swim cap from SAA. There are also additional prizes for reaching donation goals of $50, $75 and $100. Those who raise $1000 will achieve Wavemaker status through SAA.
In addition, we will have jars out during practice for a penny war contest between the practice groups within our team. The practice group that collects the most pennies will receive a game day instead of regular practice. For this contest, pennies and bills are worth positive points and silver coins are negative points that you can put into the other teams’ jars. This is a fun way for the swimmers to contribute to the fundraising, in addition to the Endurance Challenge.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Coach Meagan or Jr. Coach Grace. As always, participation in fundraising is voluntary. Every team member can participate in the Endurance Challenge and breakfast, regardless of whether they join the SAA event. Thank you for your consideration!