In 2018 Race Swami swimmers travelled to meets near and far—from southern Utah to Las Vegas; from the Santa Clara International Swim Center all the way out to Prairie View, Wisconsin. Whatever it was, the Swamis represented Salt Lake City’s west side like never before.
There were a plethora of highlights outside of the pool as well. For instance, Race Swami hosted a 6-week ACT prep course for its high school swimmers, and the results were astounding, as the Swamis scored high! The program also hosted its fourth College and Career Day at the U on the University of Utah campus, and the swimmers were exposed to a number of amazing things throughout the day. The fourth annual Swami Summer Book Club also made out well, and garnered more volunteers than ever to help keep our kids reading during the long summer months.
Race Swami was featured on Utah’s favorite radio station, publicly owned KRCL (90.9 FM), a fellow Salt Lake west side-based organization. The theme was, “difference makers,” and several Swami swimmers were guests on the program.
The Swamis paid personal visits to many supporters, including the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, and Larry H. Miller Charities—where the swimmers were treated to a tour of the new facility headquarters. The kids had a blast!
Best of all were the amazing feats and performances by the kids IN the water! The Age Group team (14 and Under) finished 6th overall, the highest placing ever for this fledgling team! The long course season also proved successful, as the team finished 10th overall at the Utah State Championships. These performances earned Matt Finnigan his second consecutive Utah Coach of the Year award. As Utah Swimming Vice President Lorinne Morris stated, “No program in the state focuses its efforts solely on the marginalized youth like Race Swami, and what Matt and his group have done in developing these kids to the heights they have achieved is quite inspiring and nothing short of awesome. They’re an amazing group of people at Race Swami and we are so fortunate to have this treasure right here in Utah!”