Lane 8 organization helping out low-income swimmers in Cincinnati

Cincinnati-area swimming supporters have found a new way to help promote the sport and help out those in need. A campaign called “Lane 8” seeks to provide swimming supplies to low-income swimmers at various Cincinnati pools.

Over the 2014 season, Lane 8 raised $1600 to help buy swimsuits, caps and goggles for the swimmers of Millvale Pool. For 2015, the organization hopes to add a second area pool, Bond Hill. The eventual goal is to sponsor five different pools and fifteen swimmers at each. Swimmers can earn their equipment by regularly attending practice, meets and other functions during the year.

The group is raising money on CrowdRise, a crowd-funding site. You can find their page, complete with more information, by following this link.

On the page, organizer Adam Monk talks about his experience as both a lifeguard and a swim coach with the Cincinnati Recreation Commission.

“I found the most frustrating part was lacking basic essentials to even complete a full one hour practice,” he says, especially noting how demoralizing it was for his team members to show up to meets and see the opposition in full matching suits and caps, when many of his swimmers struggled just to buy swimwear at all.

The name Lane 8 is meant to signify the underdog, the late seed who qualifies for the very last lane but still fights the odds by competing.

More and more, we’re seeing charitable organizations popping up within swimming to help those less privileged. For a sport that does come with some equipment costs, groups like Lane 8 offer an intriguing look at how to promote the sport to potential swimmers who might otherwise be locked out by the sport’s financial barriers to entry.