Morehouse to Host Second Annual HBCU Celebration Swim Meet
Diversity in Aquatics will host the second annual HBCU Celebration Swim Meet this week in Atlanta in connection with the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
The event, which debuted in 2022, will focus on ways to extend swimming access to students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The meet will include a water safety festival and career opportunities. It runs over two days, Dec. 15-16.
“They knew swimming was networking,” said Miriam Lynch, executive director of Diversity in Aquatics, in a press release. “You know what they say, ‘You need to learn how to golf because most of your business is on the golf course.’ The same thing with swimming — you need to learn how to swim because that’s also where business is conducted, during those summer times at the pool. Water safety was a part of the culture, a part of the lifestyle.”
The event is attached to the Cricket Celebration Bowl, which brings together the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) for a bowl game each December since 2015. That game, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, this year pits Howard against Florida A&M on Saturday.
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Diversity in Aquatics was founded in 2010 with a mission of reducing drowning risk by raising awareness and access to aquatic instruction and facilities. It has grown to include more than 2,000 members.
Among the specific items in the spotlight this weekend is an ongoing campaign to raise funds to refurbish Morehouse’s pool, which houses a club team. USA Swimming and USA Master’s Swimming have both contributed funding as part of its agreement with Diversity in Aquatics. While Howard University’s successful varsity program is the only one remaining at an HBCU, club programs are growing at schools like Delaware State University, Grambling State University, Morehouse, North Carolina Central University and Spelman College, some being restarted to recapture past history and others beginning anew.
“They’re like, a step away. You have something to model on, to say, ‘Hey, this is how we could do it,’” said Doug Carrington, a former swimmer and coach at Florida A&M. “So, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s the new dialogue, what’s the new ideas out there that can keep the juices flowing, that, yeah, maybe some of these schools do bring the kids back so that it’s not just Howard.”