Swim for Smiles Youth Triathlon to benefit N.C. Children’s Hospital
CHAPEL HILL – The Swim for Smiles Foundation, a Chapel Hill-based charity in which youths participate in swim-related sporting events that benefit hospitalized children, has opened registration for a youth triathlon for 7-17 year olds.
May 21, 2007
Swim for Smiles Youth Triathlon to benefit N.C. Children’s Hospital
CHAPEL HILL – The Swim for Smiles Foundation, a Chapel Hill-based charity in which youths participate in swim-related sporting events that benefit hospitalized children, has opened registration for a youth triathlon for 7-17 year olds.
The triathlon, scheduled for 8 a.m. Sunday, June 3, will be held at the Chapel Hill Country Club. It is the first of its kind, says event creator Gary Kayye, who is also the Swim for Smiles Foundation founder. “We have the first youth-only triathlon to be certified in North Carolina by USA Triathlon,” Kayye said.
Swim for Smiles is a two-year-old foundation that has already raised more than $14,000 for local children’s hospitals. Swim for Smiles has three events planned this summer – all aimed at raising money for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“The past two years, we have held a charity dual-swim meet between two summer league swim teams, one from Durham and one from Chapel Hill, and they were not only a lot of fun, but they were successful fundraisers right out of the gate,” said Kayye. “In our second year, we added an event we called a Wacky Relay Day, where kids in the Chapel Hill Summer Swim League swam one Sunday at Koury Natatorium and raised money for kids at the hospitals.”
Now, Swim for Smiles added a third event: the Youth Triathlon, which is open to the first 250 kids who register.
Information about the Swim for Smiles Youth Triathlon may be found at www.swimforsmiles.org under “Events.” That site also includes a link to online registration for the event.
Swim for Smiles began in 2005 when Kayye had a vision to create an exciting, worthwhile charity event that would inspire young swimmers to use their talents to help others. It started as a dual-swim meet between the CCR Sharks swim team (based in Chapel Hill) and the Hope Valley Farms' Flying Fish swim team (based in Durham) to raise money for the North Carolina Children's Hospital.
Kayye’s dream is to eventually take Swim for Smiles national. There are more than 2,800 summer swim leagues in the U.S. Each has an average of 10 teams, with most team rosters listing more than 75 swimmers. Summer swim leagues are known for having both great fun and competition. The Triangle area is no different. In Chapel Hill and Durham alone there are more than 25 summer league teams and a half dozen year-round teams.
Money will be raised through the triathlon registration fee, selling Swim for Smiles T-shirts and Nalgene water bottles, and through private donations.
Please send private donation checks to the Swim for Smiles Foundation, 400 Meadowmont Village Cr., Suite 425, Chapel Hill, NC, 27517.
This year’s corporate event sponsors are Chapel Hill Sportswear, Chapel Hill Home Theatre Design, Chapel Hill Country Club, Endurance Magazine and the Elite Triangle Triathlon Team.
Media contact: Stephanie Crayton, (919) 966-2860 or scrayton@unch.unc.edu
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