The Sun City Stingrays Charter Club is primarily a swim club and not a competitive swim team. Recently, the club challenged their members to collectively swim 250 miles from May 22 to August 1.
Nancy Cihlar, Club Vice-President said, “The club exceeded their goal. We achieved 291 miles. That is over half a million yards.”
How did the challenge come about?
Cihlar said, “We wanted to encourage our members. We could work on a goal collectively. Members would just record their information.”
Bill Schaupp took all the information from the board and analyzed it at the end of the challenge. Schaupp said, “We had 31 members participate and in total 10263 laps were recorded in 396 visits.”
Schaupp contributed to the goal by swimming 932 laps. Cihlar visited the pool 34 times with 1044 laps to her credit.
Irene Camp, president of the Swim Club, said, “It took on a life of its own. Fifty percent of our members participated. The Club had their picnic on Saturday, August 19 at the FountainView Pavilion. We wrapped up our 250-mile challenge with some awards and a new challenge revealed.”
What is the new challenge?
Camp said, “Our next challenge will be a virtual ‘Swim the Fox.’ We have established 14 checkpoints.”
The Fox River spans 202 miles from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin to Ottawa, Illinois. the Fox River unites many of the western Chicago suburbs. There’s a south-flowing stretch that winds through Algonquin, Dundee, Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, and Aurora.
Cihlar said, “We added a little fun by awarding extra points if you have your picture taken at one of the checkpoints.”
Camp said, “We will have a raffle at each meeting for each mile checkpoint. You can complete the journey once or multiple times. The laps are recorded on a chart that is located in the pool area.”
Ever wondered whether you could swim a distance? The club is open to all residents at any skill level. Their website states, “Those who are accomplished swimmers, wish to ‘brush up’ on their strokes, or just want to learn are all welcome. Run by a volunteer coach, Saturday morning workouts consist of an hour of stroke improvement and endurance. For beginners, one lane is designated for those who wish to go at their own pace. Following the swim workout, on some days at 10 a.m., there is strength building or water yoga.”
To join the fun and keep in shape, please contact Irene Camp at 847-337-5477 or Nancy Cihlar at 630-254-5418.
