At USA Swimming’s annual #SwimBiz conference Southeastern Swim Club, Kihei Swim Club, Pikes Peak Athletics, King Marlin Swim Club, Sunkist Swim Team and Pelican Athletic Club were each awarded for their outstanding marketing in six different categories.
The swim teams were honored with the following awards:
Best in Social Media
Southeastern Swim Club was awarded Best in Social Media after building their first-ever Facebook page at last year’s #SwimBiz conference and employed a team-building hashtag in #TheGrind16. They now have over 300 followers on Facebook.
Best in Sponsorship
Pikes Peak Athletics was dubbed Best in Sponsorship after the team signed a $10,000 apparel sponsorship with a local real estate company, Hoff & Leigh. As part of their membership, each team member receives head-to-toe gear with that sponsor.
Best in Fundraising
This was awarded to Kihei Swim Club after the team created a golf tournament and secured local sponsorships from Mercedes-Benz, cruise lines, airlines and doubled its net funding.
Best in Multicultural
King Marlin Swim Club was honored with this award after the team built local outreach programs such as the Native American Cultural Swim Meet and Clinic, Swim clinics for socio-economically deprived school districts and a swim lessons for African-Americans in the Upward Bound program.
SwimToday Award
Cultivated after USA Swimming’s SwimToday program to grow participation in the sport this award went to the Sunkist Swim Team when the team created a whole series of digital sharables, including splash cards, infographics and increased use of #SWIMYAH!
Marketing Club of the Year
The Marketing Club of the Year award was presented to the clubs who were showed marketing excellence in all categories. This award was broken down by team size.
· 1-150 swimmers: Pelican Athletic Club Competitive Swimming
· 151-300 swimmers: Sunkist Swim Team
· 301+ swimmers: Southeastern Swim Club
“These six clubs have done an excellent job creating a name for themselves through their marketing efforts. We want these teams to inspire other swim teams to follow or invent their own marketing campaigns and make swimming a better experience overall for new and existing members.”
— USA Swimming Chief Marketing Officer Matt Farrell
In addition to the Marketing Awards, the annual #SwimBiz conference partnered with The Fitter &Faster Swim Tour to create the Shark and Minnows Tank. With a play off the show Shark Tank, clubs pitched their best ideas to grow the sport in an Olympic Year to three marketing expertise judges. Out of six finalist, three clubs were awarded up to $3,000 for their pitches: Hurricane Aquatics, Pony Express Swim Team and King Marlin Swim Club.
Hurricane Aquatics took home $3,000 as the Fitter & Faster Sharks and Minnows Tank Grand Prize winner with their Category Five Racing Series that invites summer campers and pre-competitive stroke school participants to compete in four mini swim meets.
Pony Express Swim Team and King Marlin Swim Club were chosen as consolation prize winners and took home $1,000 each.
Pony Express Swim Team was chosen for their Brazilian Olympic Fever Party pitch. The Stingrays will utilize their close relationship with the summer recreational leagues to invite their swimmers to join in an Olympic themed party during the summer that includes, fun swim relay events, Brazilian games, drawings for fun prizes and watching the swimming portion of the Olympic Games. This will be their introduction to new swimmers to join the Pony Express Swim Team.
King Marlin Swim Club won the prize money for their introduction to the sport using purple swim caps. Swimmers on the King Marlin Swim Team will be encouraged to invite someone new onto the swim team and use purple swim caps as an incentive. When a new swimmer joins the team, the KMSC swimmer who invited them will receive a special purple swim cap.
To find out more about the #SwimBiz Marketing Awards and Fitter & Faster Sharks and Minnows Tank visit www.usaswimming.org.
About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.
Swimming News is a press release provided by USA Swimming.