Club Swim at Pitt: Journey to Nationals and 2023-24 Season

About Club Swim at Pitt:

Previously named “The Panther Swim Club”, Club Swim at Pitt was founded in 2011 at the University of Pittsburgh by a group of students who wanted to create a competitive and fun team for students to continue swimming in college. 12 years later, our 2022-2023 team consists of just about 130 swimmers of all different skill level that share the same goal as our founders - to be on a fun college team and compete in swimming. Our team participates in two invitational meets per semester, one home and one away, where each swimmer gets to pick what events they would like to swim. We also send swimmers every year to the College Club Swimming National Championships. Throughout the year, we have typical team bonding events like pasta parties, fun practices after meets, and formal events. Our team welcomes anyone, from those who have never swam before and just want to swim a few laps to those who have been swimming competitively their whole lives. This aspect of our team is so unique and really makes us feel like a family - everyone supports and helps each other as we continue to all grow together.

Our Project:

We are asking for your support to help our team continue to grow. Each year, we travel to two invitational meets, this year we attended Eastern Regionals at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD in the fall and Penn State Winter Splash at Penn State University in State College, PA in late January. These meets require our team to pay for van rentals, hotel accommodations, and team meet entry fees. Each year, we also send a number of swimmers to the National Competition, and are excited to be sending qualified swimmers again to this meet, this year at the Ohio State University. This tends to be an expensive trip since it’s a multi-day meet and the costs of vans and/or flights, hotels, and meet entries per swimmer for about 25-30 swimmers.

As a Club Sport on Pitt’s campus, we are an independent organization responsible for the majority of our own funding. Throughout the year, we set up a variety of fundraisers, both on and off campus. For example, this year we implemented a Krispy Kreme Digital Dozens fundraiser, set up a concession stand at our home meet, and had a night at Rita’s! However, being such a large team and doing all that we can to keep our member’s dues as low as possible, we do tend to spend a little (lot) more than what we raise during these fundraisers, which is why we are asking for your continued support! All of the funds we raise will go directly towards supporting our dedicated swimmers, whether that be lessening the financial burdens that occur with nationals, or contributing to our dues and meet expenses for next season! We are so grateful for your overwhelming generosity to keep this team alive year after year!

How You Can Help:

There are so many ways that you can help our team reach our goal! Some of these things include, but are not limited to: making a donation (any amount you can give will make a difference), spreading the word about our team, sharing the campaign with your family and friends (and even coworkers) on social media, and (possibly the most important) cheering us on at our swim meets throughout the season! 

We are absolutely humbled by the support we receive every year and are incredibly thankful for all of you. Without this continued support, we wouldn’t have been able to grow to the size of a team that we are. Thank you for allowing us to all do what we love in the water! 

Meet Information:

Away Invitationals: 

We kick off each semester with a fun trip to another university to participate in their swim meet. In the fall, we typically aim for this meet to be in the beginning of October and in the past have attended meets at The Ohio State University and the University of Maryland. These tend to be big meets with hundreds of swimmers, and also give us a first chance to qualify for nationals, or to assess where we are as swimmers and as a team to improve! In the spring, we typically attend the invitational meet at Penn State University. This meet is a perfect opportunity for team bonding as we all get to catch up and reunite after winter break. Trips to these venues allow for great team bonding opportunities during the trips there and supporting each other during the meets, and with more funds we are able to bring as many people as possible! 

The costs of these trips include van rentals and transportation fees for 80+ swimmers, meet entry fees, and hotel room accommodations for one night. 

Nationals: 

The College Club Swimming National Championship will be held in April this year at The Ohio State University. This is a wonderful opportunity for our swimmers to meet and compete with 1800+ collegiate swimmers from 115 different schools from all over the country! In previous seasons, we’ve had multiple swimmers make it back for finals, meaning they placed within the Top 20! This year, the meet will be hosted at The McCoy Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio, which is considered to be one of the finest competition pools in the nation. The College Club Swimming National Championship has been hosted here before, as well as the NCAA Division I Championship and the TYR Pro Series. It’s a true privilege to swim in a meet and at a facility with this reputation, and with your support, we are excited to send as many swimmers as possible to represent Pitt! 

The costs associated with this meet include transportation to the University, the hotel, and the Aquatic Pavilion, hotel reservations for around 30 swimmers, and meet entry fees per swimmer.

Thanks a bunch for helping our campaign go swimmingly! 

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Contributions received for this project shall be used in accordance with the purpose described herein, the terms in the FAQs and applicable law. For questions that cannot be answered in the FAQs, please call 412-648-4658 or email engage@pitt.edu.