Courtesy: Donna Hale
Every day I hear about more cuts to athletic programs, the elimination of swimming and diving, and the outright closure of colleges. Some were floundering already, but this pandemic just pushed too many over the edge. And it may not be over yet. It is heartbreaking.
There is no doubt that the cancellation of many summer leagues where many kids first develop their love for life in the fast lane, the lack of open pools where clubs can train, and the limited to nonexistent long course season could change the future of the sport we love for a very long time.
Swimmers, swim parents and alumni, it’s time to take a stand against this assault on our sport.
We all know that swimming is seen as a non-revenue sport, unlike football. And it is horrible what this pandemic has done to education and sports. First, we need to acknowledge that athletic directors face hard choices. However, if we want our grandchildren to enjoy this opportunity then now is the time to promote what our sport offers to thousands every year.
First, swimmers are generally excellent students. They raise the GPA of many a sports program. This is definitely related to the incredible work ethic of swimmers. There is no offseason.
Because they must balance many practice hours with academics they develop skills that translate into the workplace. In other words, swimmers make great employees.
There is a culture of giving back that is fostered at a young age. My daughter’s club team taught her the value of service, whether it was helping with Special Olympics, raising money for breast cancer or collecting food for the hungry. Many carry this culture of service into their community as adults. Swimmers are great citizens.
In other words, it is about more than generating revenue. It’s helping enrich the educational experience of our student-athletes. This makes our academic communities richer, deeper and more well rounded.
What can we do?
There are the obvious answers such as fundraising from the alumni, building in when needed contributions from parents, but that won’t be enough. We need the swimsuit and gear manufacturers to step up. Yes, colleges and conferences need their financial support – especially those that are struggling. We also need to protect summer, club and high school swimming so the love for this sport is being protected for future generations. And we need our Olympians to speak up and out. Your voices matter. Especially right now.
Let’s challenge higher education athletic departments to stop catching everyone off guard. The latest program cut that I heard about was East Carolina. Surely student-athletes do not deserve to hear about this decision at the start of summer break. Perhaps there needs to be more transparency between ADs, coaches and student-athletes. When a student makes a commitment to swim for a college and university, the responsibility is mutual. Much is required and demanded to be an NCAA swimmer. Honor this commitment with candor and respect.
Donna Hale has been a swim mom for 17 years. Her daughter swims for The University of Lynchburg Hornets.
The main driver of swimming popularity is an event that happens once every 4 years (let’s be honest, I love Worlds but it’s because I swam).
The lockdown doesn’t need to end (going into politics on this website tells me even your close family stopped listening), USA swimming needs to come up with a ‘Match’ like event ie. ‘Duel in The Pool’, where you can get big names to race each other in small groups and mixed events. Drumming up knowledge of the sport is huge. Swimming will never be a major sport, but there is a lack of ANY sport at the moment and taking on that airtime is enough to get some $$$ flowing USAS’ way. … Read more »
“The Assault”?? Wrong term on Memorial Day.
Lets add another layer to the financial aspect here-there are few alumni that (financially) donate back to the sport once they have completed their eligibility and left the institution, even years down the line. This is another area that our sport needs to get better in.
“Swimming is seen as a non-revenue sport” …. it isn’t seen as a non-revenue sport, it IS a non-revenue sport. Swimming is supported by and only happens because of sports like football and basketball that fund the non-revenue sports.
How about an NCAA rule that says you need to give a program a YEAR notice before being Cut and if you cut after sending out acceptances, all your sports are banned from signing letters of intent for a year for early decision candidates.
(Basically no recruiting for a year.)
The NCAA is made up of its member institutions.
Do you think that the member institutions are going to vote to restrict themselves financially by imposing punishments on themselves? I don’t.
You are right. But there does need to be more respect for student athlete
Sure. But this would be a net-loss to student-athletes as a whole too. They’re hurt by a banishment on NLIs and recruiting as well.
This is what I like to call a ‘lose-lose’ situation.
I think the reality is that the minimum sports and scholarships and funding rules have been the most effective in terms of saving programs. If you put all kind of restrictions on “cutting programs,” another unintended consequence is that you scare programs off adding more than the minimum. Too big of a risk for them.
I did swim competitively for over 18 years. Then the university forced my retirement when they cut the program
Try masters. They’d love to have you.
Surely not competing at 3 years old .
4 years of eligibility + 14 Olympic redshirt seasons
Very well written article on a very sad subject matter! My twin daughters signed on a swim scholarship literally 4 days before the “lockdowns” started. Every time I am scrolling and see an article with a title like “another school cuts swimming & diving team” or anything similar, I hold my breath waiting for it to load just praying it isn’t theirs. I agree that we need the suit & equipment companies that we have all poured our paychecks into for so many years and the pro-swimmers to step up!! Even if not financially, they have a loud “voice” and could use it to help keep the sport alive.
You cant raise funds for a team on your own year after year and ADs dont care that swimmers have high GPAs, its all about the money and the swimming community needs to understand that with whats happening now and with why swimming isnt a big successful sport around the world like our biased minds think it should be