Following the Black Line: fund raising and promoting a swim club

The sport of swimming is not for everyone; it takes commitment, discipline, extreme fitness and the sheer will to get up at 4.30am for training, especially on cold mornings!

Our involvement in the sport was quite accidental. Our son Tom was born premature and was expected to have delays in his physical development, as a consequence. One of the midwives, at the hospital where he was born, suggested we get him in to the water as soon as possible, to strengthen his muscles.

Tom was introduced to the water at 5 months. He loved it from the start! he joined other babies for baby and parent classes. Initially, his dad would take him along, and I would get some 'me time' for a little while on a Saturday morning.

This became a regular ritual, as Tom moved through the different stages, enjoying the water more and more. By the age of 4, he spoke about being 'The Milo Man' when he grew up. He had seen an advertising poster at the local pool, that showed Australian butterflyer, Jeff Hugall, as the face of Milo.

Shortly after, he got to see Hugall swim at Challenge Stadium at the Australian Championships. We now laugh back at this small 4 year old boy who cried and said, "When will it be my turn to swim here?"

By the age of 7, it was apparent Tom had a lot of promise as a swimmer, and was very much in love with the sport. He had seen the South Lake Dolphins Swim Club training at the pool, when he was there for his lessons. The coach of the Dolphins had noticed him too, and invited him to join the club.

In his first season, he qualified to swim at the 8's and unders at the WA State Championships, and his best stroke was butterfly, just like his hero.

This was all very new to us. Neither of us are swimmers, and neither of us knew just how much our lives were about to change.

We had already been involved in teeball and junior football, but the training load of swimming is so much more.

There's a common misconception in the community that swimming is a sport for selfish individuals. When trying to promote the sport to parents, you often hear, "I would prefer my son/daughter to play a team sport". No other sport has given us the sense of 'team', more than swimming.

Being involved in a swim club has been an eye opener. Only a swimming family really knows just how tiring, involved and rewarding the sport is. Without supportive families and volunteers, swimming would not survive.

It takes a lot of money to keep the club running. I have always been impressed by how our club goes about this, and the effort the parents, swimmers and friends put in.

Our club is one of the most successful clubs in Perth. They have managed to attract, maintain and nurture many promising junior swimmers. I feel the success of the club is based on its belief that it is a club, a team, and not just a group of individuals.

There are regular camps, country meets, movie nights, picnics, ten pin bowling nights and discos, to help form a bond. It may surprise some to know that most swimmers will swim their best times when they are part of a relay team, showing just how much they are commited to their club and team.

Keith talked about fund raising and volunteers in our class this morning. So much of what he said, felt so close to home. Trying to secure extra money, for swimmers to go to Nationals etc, is an ongoing mission.

Some of our fundraising activities have included; raffle ticket selling, quiz nights, car rallies, sausage sizzles, poker games, selling chocolates, movie nights, prize money from participating in certain events, securing sponsorship support from local businesses and even hosting our own swimming events.

Our current project is to raise money to send a group of 20 swimmers to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra for an intensive sports training camp. All those going had to have met, or be close to national qualifying times, meaning they can compete in the Australian Championships, with the hope of being in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games or World Swimming Championships one day. I'm proud to say that Tom is part of this group

The main method of fundraising has been raffle ticket selling. Swimmers have been given books to sell in the community, but the most successful sales have been from setting up a table and display at local shopping centres.

Using the young swimmers, themselves, has proved to be very effective. The adults have had no luck selling any, but shoppers have been very generous to the young ones, standing proudly in their club's uniform. The kids have been running a tally to see who has sold the most, setting up a little competion amongst themselves, helping to motivate them to sell more.

The display and raffle has also been incredibly effective in promoting the club to other junior swimmers. At a recent 3 day stint at the Gateway Shopping Centre, the club ran out of information brochures on the very first day. I believe they have successfully recruited more swimmers, which has been a great bonus.

Belonging to a swim club like South Lake Dolphins is like being part of a family. There's a massive amount of encouragement and support, and you feel like you are part of something worthwhile. This is why so many parents are prepared to put up their hands to help out, and why so many have remained in the club, when their children have stopped following the black line and have moved on.