I loooooove swimming, and like to write about it too…
30 Dec
It’s been a year for national Black swimming news. Not all of it has been good news, either. The top story was a huge throwback to the 1950s. Not all of the good news has been widely reported, but I think they are of note. With no further ado, here are the top 5 black swim stories of 2009:
1. The Philadelphia Swim Club incident
It is unfortunate that this was the biggest black swimming story of the year. When the Creative Steps day camp signed up for swim lessons at the Valley Club, they had no idea what was in store for them. The black children in the day camp were subjected to racist remarks before being asked not to return. When it all hit the fan, the Valley Club asked them to return, which they didn’t. Tyler Perry sent the whole day camp to Disney World to undo the sting of the whole incident, and the day camp found an alternative facility for their swim lessons.
2. Cullen Jones’ Make a Splash Initiative
Cullen Jones toured the country this summer to spread the news about the Make a Splash Foundation. He told his story of nearly drowning at the age of 5, and then got in the pool and helped teach youngsters to swim. He was featured on HBO’s Real Sports, as well as other National News outlets.
3. USA Swimming Foundation funded 12 Make a Splash partners
Here’s National news that hit close to home for me. The swim team my children were once a part of have benefited from this funding. It is refreshing to see how committed USA Swimming is to the goal of reducing the drowning rate.
The House of Representatives passed a resolution that recognized Make a Splash, and other learn to swim programs, and it encouraged organizations to fund learn to swim programs. The resolution acknowledges the National drowning rate, and addresses historical barriers to swimming proficiency blacks have had.
5. Cullen Jones breaks American record in the 50 free
Cullen did more this summer than teach kids to swim. He also competed on the National and International stage. In the process, he made an American record in the 50 free: 21:41. I had to search for the video of his record-breaking swim, but I found it.
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