SwimToday Campaign Adds Counsilman-Hunsaker & USA Swimming Foundation as New Partners

Source: USA Swimming

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Jumping in to support the “#funnestsport there is,” Counsilman-Hunsaker and the USA Swimming Foundation join the SwimToday campaign alongside an elite group of industry-leading partners with the common goal to encourage children to join team swimming.

While nearly 80 percent of parents overlook swimming when choosing organized sports activities for their children after they learn to swim, once parents and children experience team swimming, they “get it.” In fact, swimming surpassed other sports for teamwork, fun, ease of learning, parent enjoyment, social skills, coolness and opportunities for a financial future.[1]

Now, 13 organizations, along with 12-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres, have partnered to support SwimToday. Partners include:

Gold Partners:

• Arena
• Speedo
• TYR
• USA Swimming

Silver Partners:

• American Swimming Coaches Association
• Colle+McVoy
• Colorado Time Systems
• Counsilman-Hunsaker (new)
• National Swimming Pool Foundation
• Swimming World Magazine
• TeamUnify
• USA Swimming Foundation (new)
• U.S. Masters Swimming

“The SwimToday campaign is a great way for us to get more involved in promoting the industry that is so dear to us,” said Scott Hester, President at Counsilman-Hunsaker. “Through our five decades of work in aquatic facility design and operations we feel we can all make a difference to grow the sport of swimming.”

“The USA Swimming Foundation’s mission is to ‘save lives and build champions – in the pool and in life’ so we are excited to do our part to keep children involved in the sport after they learn to swim,” said Debbie Hesse, USA Swimming Foundation Executive Director. “The transition from Make a Splash learn to swim programs to SwimToday is another way we work collaboratively with USA Swimming.”

SwimToday started in 2012 as a USA Swimming initiative, before officially launching as a joint industry campaign for the first time in 2014 with a series of lighthearted and fun ads demonstrating the fun side of team swimming. The campaign features a “funnest sport there is” tagline and #funnestsport hashtag.

Highlights of the 2014 campaign include:

• 30,000 searches for swim teams at SwimToday.org (May – December; in addition to searches at USASwimming.org)
• 100+ news stories placed including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Adweek and more
• Nearly $4 million in donated media time for the Public Service Announcement
• 4 different PSAs aired on USA Swimming broadcasts on NBC
• 1,500 swim teams received promotional kits to use locally

For more information about the campaign, please visit SwimToday.org.

[1] 2014 State of the Competitive & Fitness Swimming Industry Report, Sports Marketing Surveys

About SwimToday
SwimToday is a first-of-its-kind marketing collaboration within the swimming industry. It is a joint, industry effort created to promote and grow participation in the sport of swimming. The web site is SwimToday.org. The campaign is led by USA Swimming, Arena USA, Speedo USA and TYR Sport, with additional support from the following aquatic organizations: American Swimming Coaches Association, National Swimming Pool Foundation, U.S. Masters Swimming, Colorado Time Systems, Swimming World Magazine and TeamUnify. Creative support is provided by Colle+McVoy, a Minneapolis-based advertising agency.

About Counsilman-Hunsaker
Since 1970, Counsilman-Hunsaker has been a lifelong devotee of a single pursuit: Aquatics for Life. The talent and natural curiosity of its integrated team of designers, engineers and operational specialists is what gives Counsilman-Hunsaker the momentum to create aquatic experiences that transform people and communities. From existing facility evaluations to comprehensive concept development; from project visioning through design, engineering, construction administration and facility operations; Counsilman-Hunsaker’s services are completely customized and configured in a variety of ways to precisely fit the needs, desires and objectives of the aquatics community. With experience spanning around the world, Counsilman-Hunsaker’s impact can be found in world-class competition venues, universities and educational institutions, community park and recreation aquatics centers, resorts, water parks, and therapy and wellness facilities.  For more information, visit www.counsilmanhunsaker.com/about-us/waterside/

About the USA Swimming Foundation
The USA Swimming Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming.  Established in 2004, the Foundation works to strengthen the sport by saving lives and building champions— in the pool and in life. Whether we’re equipping our children with the life-saving skill of learn-to-swim through our Make a Splash initiative, or providing financial support to our heroes on the U.S. National Team, the USA Swimming Foundation aims to provide the wonderful experience of swimming to kids at all levels across the country. To learn more, visit www.usaswimmingfoundation.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.