With a month dedicated to swimming-safety awareness, one builder decided there should be day to celebrate the joys of water.
In a lightning-quick, 10-day campaign, David Penton headed the charge to start International Swim Day. With help from industry collaborators, he set up a GoFundMe page to raise monies needed for a marketing campaign and new website for the day, which is meant to occur annually on the first day of summer, June 21.
As the CEO of Fluid Dynamics Pool and Spa in Fullerton, Calif. explained in one of his first communications to colleagues: “Today happens to be National Corn-On-The-Cob Day … There is no formal holiday dedicated to swimming, though. Yes, there is National Learn to Swim Day, but nothing simply about the joy of swimming.”
He explained to Pool and Spa News that the inspiration came from another sport. “My son and I surf all the time, and about 10 years ago, the surfing community launched International Surfing Day,” he said. “I was just reading something about that and said, ‘Hey, when’s International Swim Day?’”
While International Learn to Swim Day serves a crucial purpose, Penton hopes to annually commemorate the ways in which swimming adds enjoyment to life, whether in a pool, lake or other venue. The GoFundMe page has nearly met its goal of $5,000. Donations went toward initiating social media campaigns, creating videos, securing a website url (swimday.org) and, in the future, developing the site.
Swimmers were asked to participate in the day by posting pictures and videos of themselves and loved ones swimming. Prominent swimming enthusiasts took notice. Olympic Gold Medalist Kaitlin Sandeno engaged with the campaign, promoting the day to her Instagram followers. In response, several other Olympic athletes followed the campaign. Additionally, Wallace J. Nichols, author of Blue Mind dedicated one day of his Blue Mind challenge to International Swim Day, and shared stories about swimming.
Penton reported that the campaign reached just under 58,000 viewers on Facebook, and more than 42,000 Instagram accounts. He and the team estimate that more than 100,000 people were exposed to the campaign.
In the future, Penton hopes to make an appearance on shows such as Good Morning America to create awareness.
Donations over the $5,000 budgeted for marketing will be given to the National Drowning Prevention Alliance.
In future iterations, when Penton and the team have had more time to plan and organize, they expect to promote not only the fun of swimming, but also the health benefits and swimming safety. They hope the effort crosses industries, having already collaborated with a prominent SCUBA organization.
In addition, Penton hopes the day helps increase pool ownership. “Swimmers buy swimming pools,” he said. “If you don’t know how to swim, you’re probably not going to buy a swimming pool.”
