Vikings Will Swim and Flip For Earthquake and Tsunami Relief

CLEVELAND, Ohio - For 24-hours, from 12:00 noon on April 21 to 12:00 noon on April 22, members of both Cleveland State swimming and diving teams will be swimming laps and doing flips in the Busbey Natatorium. This will not be some extended period of vigorous training for the Vikings, however, as they have a different purpose in mind: to bring relief to victims of two recent terrible disasters in the Asian-Pacific area.

"The swimmers will be swimming 10,000 meters and the divers will be doing 200 flips during that 24-hour period," head coach Wally Mortonsaid. "The goal is to raise money through donations as well as awareness for these tragedies."

On February 22, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Canterbury region of New Zealand, centering near Christchurch, the second-most populous city in the country, and leaving more than 1500 people injured and 170 dead. The tragedy hit home for two Viking swimmers, as sophomore Alice Sommervilleand freshman Alasdair Shillitoare both from the Christchurch area.

"During the Horizon League swimming and diving championships, Al learned that Christchurch had been hit by an earthquake," Morton said. "Al is from Christchurch, and Alice's parents own a farm outside of the city. [Shillito and Sommerville's] families are okay, but Al's home is now uninhabitable because of the damage. Both knew people who were affected by the disaster."

The tragedy being personal to two of their fellow Vikings was already enough to cause the members of CSU's swimming and diving teams to spring to action, but before any plans were set another tragedy occurred.

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan on Friday, March 11 triggered an extremely destructive tsunami that struck the mainland, resulting in the deaths of 13,392 people, with over 15,000 more still missing and another 5,000 injured. More than 125,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed and, as the disaster occurred on a school day, around 100,000 schoolchildren were displaced from their families according to the international charitable organization Save the Children.

"What really hit me was to see backpacks all lied out to represent the children who were gone because of the tsunami," Morton said. "This was truly a disaster, but, because it happened outside of the United States, I don't know that many people are still talking about it or are even aware that it happened."

The Cleveland State swimming and diving teams hope to change that. Two members of the men's team, Mark de Swardt and Justin Kermack, came up with the idea of hosting a swim-a-thon to help raise money for the victims of these tragedies.

"We actually have three members of our team from the Asian-Pacific area," Morton said. "April Woo, one of our assistant coaches, is from Hawaii. Mark and Justin wanted to do something to show support for those team members, and they suggested the idea of swimming laps to raise money. Our divers then said they could do flips, and the idea ballooned from there.

"We're going to start right at noon on Thursday (April 21) and end at noon on Friday, the 22nd, which, sort of ironically, also happens to be Earth Day."

Due to NCAA restrictions, each Viking swimmer and diver is going to just a set number of laps or flips, and the team is asking for flat donations rather money per lap or flip completed. The swimmers will take a pair of two-hour shifts while the divers will set up a couple periods of time during the 24-hours to complete their flips, ensuring somebody will be in the pool during the entirety of the event.

The event will be open to the public, as Morton plans to show movies on the Busbey Natatoriums' video board throughout the event. Part of the pool will also be set aside for guests, with inner tubes being available for use for a small donation. Morton said the team is also planning to hold other activities, such as raffles, during the event, saying he hopes the entire CSU community will come out and support victims in New Zealand and Japan.

"I've been working with the Red Cross, and I've been informed that 100% of our donations will go to the victims," Morton said. "We're just trying to call attention to the situations in those countries. This is still a catastrophic event, far greater than Katrina.

"Hopefully people will come out and support our swimmers and, more importantly, support the victims of these tragedies."

Donations can be given to any Cleveland State swimming or diving team member or may be sent to the Busbey Natatorium on CSU's campus in care of Coach Morton. Checks should be made out to the Red Cross.

Provided By: Dan Carr, Cleveland State Sport Information Director