For every UTAH STATE MEET, Race Swami has unveiled a new officially-licensed Race Swami original. During our first short course meet in March 2011, for instance, a deep green "Swami Green" was unleashed. It's now known as our "Old School Classic Green." The front of this shirt was adorned with the Swami Fleur de Lis logo, with the back of the shirt depicting Race Swami's now familiar mission to "Make a Difference" in the communities of Salt Lake City's west side.
Over the years, we have had many memorable state shirts that have followed, all with intricate, Latino-influenced artwork created by our head coach, Matt Finnigan, who spent years working as an art director for design and advertising agencies before getting back into coaching. "Mexican folk art intrigues the heck out of me, so I try to bring a little bit of that to each design," Finnigan says.
All the State Shirt designs have been produced with local community awareness in mind. Whether it's to make a difference, or conjure up the proclamation, "¡Si Se Puede!," ("Yes We Can!"), the messages are always a reflection of the attributes that our west side communities are proud of.
Thankfully, all newcomers (and fans) of the program are still able to purchase one—or all—of these shirts, since every design is still in print.
"I love attending all the swim meets," Swami parent Claudia Corona exclaims, as she wears her Swami Mami black tee with pride. "It's just another opportunity for all of us to come together, cheering for our Swami kids, and wearing one of the many beautiful Swami shirts on that given day. Even though they are all different colors and designs—and they are all beautiful in their own way—we still look like one team with one ideal—that we are family and very, very proud!"