5 Ways to Give Back to the Swim Community
![Swim Lesson-3](https://vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Swim-Lesson-3.jpg)
By Ailish Dougherty, Swimming World College Intern.
As many of us know, swimming is an all-encompassing lifestyle. Whether you started swimming at 5 years old or at 15, swim culture becomes central to your life – the friends you make, the practices you survive, the traditions you share, and the lessons you learn shape you as an individual in more ways than can be counted.
So the question becomes, how can college swimmers (AND swammers) repay the swimming world for all it has given us?
1. Encourage your club friends to continue their swimming careers through college.
![williams-boston-college-backstroke-start](https://vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/williams-boston-college-backstroke-start-700x500.jpg)
Photo Courtesy: Sports Information/Williams College
As college swimmers, we are role models for the younger kids on our club swim teams. Our friends and teammates look up to us, and it is our job to model positivity and commitment to the sport. By coming back and training over breaks and during the summer, we have the opportunity to share with younger generations how much we love college swimming, and inspire them to follow in our footsteps. The more they want to further their careers, the more dedicated they will be to their team and the harder they will work to reach their goals.
2. Use your expertise to increase awareness about the importance of water safety.
![Make A Splash](https://vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Make-a-Splash-e1419951083365-700x500.jpg)
Photo Courtesy: USA Swimming Foundation
Around the world, half a million people drown every year. So many professional swimmers and swimming organizations have begun to address this issue in the past seven years, but it takes participation from everyone to continue spreading the message of water safety. While USA Swimming’s Make a Splash tour, the Michael Phelps Foundation, and Cullen Jones have all advocated for water safety, it is up to us as individuals to encourage safe practices on a smaller scale. We can work as lifeguards to ensure the safety of children in our community, donate to foundations like those mentioned above, and share knowledge with our swim networks.
3. Be passionate about competitive swimming all the time, not just during the Olympics hype.
![michael-phelps-100-fly-prelims-before-start-2016-rio-olympics](https://vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/michael-phelps-100-fly-prelims-before-start-2016-rio-olympics-700x500.jpg)
Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Sometimes, it seems like professional swimming only exists when it is broadcasted on primetime television during the Olympics. However, swimming deserves to have a more dedicated following! Get to know U.S. national teamers and follow their progress during the year. Watch and analyze the big meets– national and international. Stay updated on the performances of the other teams in your league, and the NCAA as a whole. Read publications like this one. Share articles with your non-swimmer friends. Get your college friends to come to swim meets and cheer! Swimmers are entitled to recognition and appreciation of their amazing achievements, and that can only happen if we educate everyone on what we love about the sport!
4. Teach children how to swim.
![Hibiscus_Sports_Complex_swimming_lessons](https://vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Hibiscus_Sports_Complex_swimming_lessons-700x500.jpg)
Photo Courtesy: Mike Curtain Photography
The most rewarding thing you can possibly experience as a seasoned swimmer is watching a young swimmer learn rotary breathing, master butterfly, be able to tread water for a minute, or even just float on their back safely. Teaching children a skill that they might never have learned without your help is an amazing feeling. It is our responsibility as knowledgeable athletes to help young children be safe in the water, and it is our duty to foster a love for the feel of the water and a passion for the sport of swimming in future generations. Seeing your student’s confidence skyrocket when a new technique finally clicks makes every sacrifice worth it. Swim lessons, whether they are private or group lessons, also provide a great opportunity for meaningful community outreach and can prompt parents to encourage their kids to join a swim team.
5. Become a coach.
![teri-mckeever-amy-bilquist-](https://vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/teri-mckeever-amy-bilquist-2016-ncaa-womens-swimming-0022-700x500.jpg)
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
This is the ultimate manifestation of love for the sport of swimming and how it develops and shapes young children into strong, dedicated, tenacious men and women. A coach has the power to influence their swimmers’ lives, not just their technique or times, in highly meaningful ways. It is the perfect way to stay in touch with the sport and way of life that you hold dear, and to inspire others to get as much out of it as you do.
Whether you are a swimmer or a swammer, all of these ideas empower you to honor the swimming culture and community and to give back to your peers and future generations of swimmers.
All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.
We have something else. It is like a “pay-it forward-project”. At a recent swim meet, there was a girl that only started to swim 6 months ago. (We did this before and it worked so well). Anyway, our daughter was winning medals and there were heats and finals. She is new to swimming so every time she won her heat, she thought she got a medal. In the mean time she did not place in the top 3 whereas our daughter did. So Monica, saw this and she said she wants to give her gold relay medal to her friend. As parents and her coaches we decided to rather inspire her friend so here is what we did. We said we will give her the medal on the condition that she goes out there, train hard, listen to coach and do her best to get her own medals. It is like her quest. We do not care which medal it is or which swim meet. Well, this girl left here and coach reported back that he has a “new kid” at the pool. Mission accomplished. Swim to inspire, paying it forward. Our girl is 9-years-old and she inspired a fellow 10-year-old swimmer. They talk to each other on Whatsapp every day. Friendships made, memories shared. We are waiting for the medal photo….pay it forward even at age group level. We also support Gold in September childhood cancer awareness through swimming. Doing good, can never be wrong
Sydney Ann Tobias