Waterville, MAINE - In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, many individuals, teams, and organizations around the country began having meaningful conversations about racial inequality. Included among those participating in these discussions has been the Colby Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving teams. Prior to arriving at school in August, co-captains Steph Fawell and Ryan Bedell conducted zoom meetings with the team, during which they discussed journals and films focused on diversity, inclusion, and equity in general, as well as the history of discrimination and exclusion within swimming and aquatics more specifically. The team was not just determined to learn and educate themselves, but they also sought to take action and truly make a difference.
 
Coach Tom Burton said, "You don't always really understand until you see it in your own neighborhood, your own community, your own backyard. That's why we wanted to focus on swimming, because it is what we are passionate about and what connects all of us on this team." With that, the team planned a fundraiser with Diversity in Aquatics, a non-profit organization with the mission to educate, promote, and support swimming, water safety, and healthy aquatics activities for vulnerable populations. The fundraiser took place in August and was driven by a virtual 5K that all team members participated in on the same day. The fundraiser was incredibly successful and the team raised over $11,000 for Diversity in Aquatics. The money raised went towards a Zoom premium account for the whole organization so they could continue teaching water safety during COVID, a huge delivery of water safety coloring books that they were able to send to underrepresented communities, swim lessons for youths and adults who may not be able to afford them, and expand their outreach to communities they have not been able to reach until now.
 
"We think it's important to set the precedent for teams like ours, where our sport is a life or death skill that is less accessible to people of color, to have difficult and uncomfortable conversations surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion and to make an impact in our community and as a larger collegiate swimming community."

In the last month, the team has continued to work with Diversity in Aquatics, alongside fellow NESCAC swimming and diving teams from Middlebury and Hamilton. The team has launched a second fundraiser this week around the virtual meet taking place on Saturday amongst those same three institutions. This week, the three teams met over zoom and had small group conversations about articles and studies that explained in detail the lack of diversity and history of segregation and discrimination in swimming, especially against Black Americans. Bedell and Fawell shared "the goal of this is also to establish a shared commitment to this issue that expands to other NESCACS over the coming years." They continued, "We think it's important to set the precedent for teams like ours, where our sport is a life or death skill that is less accessible to people of color, to have difficult and uncomfortable conversations surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion and to make an impact in our community and as a larger collegiate swimming community."

"The goal of this is also to establish a shared commitment to this issue that expands to other NESCACS over the coming years."

The work that the team is doing to make a difference goes beyond fundraising, however, as Coach Burton and the team asked the question of "how can we impact our community?" When the conditions allow it, Mule 2 Mule will start, which is a program run by the team providing free swim lessons to any student that does not know how to swim.
 
"Our team agrees that the best way to bring change on a larger scale is to start in an area that impacts your life everyday."

Bedell and Fawell commented, "The Colby Swim and Dive team wants to cultivate a culture that is committed to self-educating on systemic social and economic issues, especially within the realm of water safety." He added, "Our team agrees that the best way to bring change on a larger scale is to start in an area that impacts your life everyday. As swimmers and divers, working with Diversity in Aquatics and with other NESCAC schools has been a fulfilling way for us to take that first step." Through their fundraising activities and their plan to take action, the Colby Swim and Dive team is truly working to make a difference.
 
The virtual meet against Hamilton and Middlebury this weekend will not only be a fundraiser, but also be an opportunity for the team to get a chance to compete. While there will be rankings, Coach Burton emphasized that the opportunity to race is the reason the team puts in the work that they do, and that is where the spirit comes from. The team is looking forward to getting the chance to compete and continue their efforts toward bettering the aquatics community.

Author: Ellie Hedison '21