This year’s Golden Goggles, which will be held on November 19 and rebroadcast on November 24 on the Olympic Channel, will be a virtual event this year, but you can still feel a part of the action by bidding on one of the unique items up for auction by the USA Swimming Foundation.
The online auction opened yesterday, Monday, November 16th, and will close at noon Eastern on Wednesday, November 25th. All proceeds support the USA Swimming Foundation‘s mission to save lives and build champions, so you really can’t go wrong trying to snag some of the swag that covers an array of interests and budgets.
To help you decide, here are my top 5 Golden Goggles Online Auction picks.
#1 Ryan Murphy Autographed Fan Package
Bid at time of publishing – $125
There are few swimmers more red hot at the moment than backstroker Ryan Murphy, with the Olympic gold medalist’s LA Current racing its way into the International Swimming League (ISL) final. Murphy is a big reason why having won multiple skins events in addition to consistently pulling major points in the individual events.
Package includes the following signed items, which is a major steal with the bid as it is right now:
• Murphy Speedo USA Swim cap
• Goldfish/Ryan Murphy T-shirt
• Speedo T-shirt with Ryan’s logo
• Speedo tech suits
#2 2016 Olympic Team Signed Myrtha Pool Panel
Bid at time of publishing – $350
A little more expensive, but still in the realm of holiday gift-buying budgets, your favorite swim fanatic can literally own a piece of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials with this particular item.
Signed by 2016 Olympic swimmers to the tune of Nathan Adrian, Anthony Ervin, Kelsi Dahlia, Katie Ledecky, Missy Franklin, Simone Manual, Elizabeth Beisel, Maya DiRado and more, this pool panel is an autograph book and physical piece of history combined.
#3 Muhammed Ali Autographed Boxing Glove
Bid at time of publishing – $1,175
For a rarity outside of the world of swimming, any sports memorabilia collector needs to seriously consider getting in on the Muhammed Ali signed Everlast boxing glove. This priceless glove is inscribed ‘Muhammed Ali AKA Cassius Clay, which represents one of the late inspiring athlete’s most sought after signatures.
The glove is enclosed in its own custom-designed plexiglass boxing glove case; all you have to do is put it on your shelf and proceed to be motivated every day you look at it.
#4 2016 Olympic Trials Men’s 200 Meter Butterfly Finals Jigsaw Puzzle
Bid at time of publishing – $30
If you had the chance to kill the ‘I need a stocking stuffer’ and ‘we’re so bored of quarantine’ birds with one stone, wouldn’t you take it? Take two minutes to offer up a bid on this affordable, yet time-consuming jigsaw puzzle featuring the 2016 Olympic Trials men’s 200m fly final.
Michael Phelps? Tom Shields? Chase Kalisz, anyone? These men can be put together piece-by-piece by your family as a swim-theme bonding activity while sipping cocoa and watching chestnuts roast on the open fire this December.
#5 VIP Olympic Trials Experience
Bid at time of publishing – $3,000
Many swimmers consider the U.S. Olympic Trials to be even more stressful than the Olympic Games themselves, which means you need a seat at this exhilarating event that only happens once a year. As an attendee in Omaha in 2016, I can attest that seeing athletes in their raw, emotional states vying for the coveted two spots on the Olympic roster is something a spectator can only truly grasp by being in the arena itself.
But this online auction package takes things to the next level entirely by granting the winning bidder the VIP treatment, including a special tour of the venue, access to the USA Swimming House, and the opportunity to actually swim in the Trials pool itself.
Bid winners also get to see what happens when an athlete makes the Olympic team by going through team processing where they will go home outfitted like an Olympian.
3 nights’ hotel accommodation is also included, which means you won’t have to run the risk of sleeping in your car or at Waffle House in crowded Omaha.
Bonus Option:
SwimSwam Practice + Pancakes: Swim Clinic with 3-time Olympic Medalist Mel Stewart
This is your chance to bring 3-time Olympic Medalist Mel Stewart to your pool for a swim clinic AND your team or group will be featured on SwimSwam.com’s series Practice + Pancakes.
“Gold Medal Mel” Stewart and SwimSwam producers will fly to your swim team and produce a feature story to be distributed on SwimSwam.com in the Practice + Pancakes video series.
The swim clinic portion will be designed with the team coaches to meet the needs of the team. This clinic can also be used as an individual swim clinic and does not have to be for a full team.
This experience must be scheduled by June 30, 2021 and redeemed before Dec. 31, 2021 with blackout dates in place for June, July, and August of 2021. May be subject to COVID-19 restrictions.
I’m guessing Coleman Stewart probably isn’t bidding on lot #1 .
According to the USA Swimming website, Golden Goggles is slated for this Thursday, November 19th at 8PM ET not the 24th
https://www.usaswimming.org/foundation#golden-goggles
The event is Thursday, it will be broadcast next week on the Olympic Channel.
But live-streamed on usaswimming.org on the 19th
I appreciate the optimism of the last 2 words of this piece, but at some point USA Swimming is going to have to realize that without widespread vaccine rollout by next April, there’s no chance in hell that they’re going to be able to run a full 1800+ swimmer event in Omaha.
The good news is that there has only been a handful of new qualifiers since March, essentially netted out to where it’s about flat. That means we’re still on track for about 1,250 qualifiers.
Which doesn’t solve the problem, but it helps.
If we believe the pharma companies and what they’re saying about their vaccines, I would suspect that by June, we could be at a place where it could be flighted and they could pull it off. Wouldn’t be pretty but could be done. Especially if the natural summer drop from people being outside happens like it did this year.
I really hope you’re right. I’m fearful that you’re not, but I really do hope you’re right.
Acknowledging the 90% of Olympics trials qualifiers that have 0% chance of making the 2020(1) Olympics team … You can run a trials with the top 20 ish or so per event that have a legit chance of making the team that a) reduces total #s, b) still operates under legit quality competition scenarios and c) gives a ‘trials’ like experience to those in that threshold to make an amazing squad like the USA swim team…