The USMS Swimming Saves Lives Foundation focuses its resources on the vital lifesaving and lifetime benefits of swimming. In addition to drowning prevention, swimming has a positive impact on health conditions like obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which afflict millions of people in the U.S. The Swimming Saves Lives Foundation provides grants to programs that support the lifelong benefits of swimming.

In short, Swimming Saves Lives.

2011 Swimming Saves Lives Update

Support the USMS Swimming Saves Lives Foundation by mailing in a contribution (PDF form)
(Donor benefit levels)

Apply for a USMS Swimming Saves Lives Foundation grant (PDF info/form)

Projects that USMS has supported and continues to support include:

• Swimming Saves Lives Learn to Swim – Each day, nine people drown in the United States. Children at risk of drowning are 50% more likely to drown if they live with a parent or guardian who is fearful of water. USMS programs across the country are making a difference by volunteering their time to teach others to swim. The Swimming Saves Lives Foundation provides support to USMS programs that follow the attached template.
  
  
• Indiana University Counsilman Center for Swimming –The Swimming Saves Lives Foundation has provided an Endless Pool to the Counsilman Center. The pool allows for controlled studies of Masters swimmers in areas such as warm water swimming, cold water swimming, and other forms of medical research. Previous Counsilman Center research has shown there are very few adult groups who maintain an active lifestyle with the regularity that Masters swimmers do, leading to an observation that Masters swimmers may be biologically 10 to 15 years younger than their chronological age. Focus is now being placed upon obvious physiological mechanisms such as cardiopulmonary and cardiovascular well being. Because of the remarkable positive findings, benefits that appear to exist in the central nervous system in terms of the long-term maintenance of higher brain function are also being studied. The funds received from USMS have allowed the Counsilman Center to collect important information from a sample group.

• University of Michigan - A 2010 research project is being conducted with Masters swimmers to determine the types of chronic illnesses people who swim regularly may have and how doctors treat those illnesses. The project is also studying the types of self treatment and exercise-enhancing supplements used by people who swim regularly.
• Exercise is Medicine - Exercise is Medicine is a program promoted by the American College of Sports Medicine. Its vision is to make physical activity and exercise a standard part of a disease prevention and treatment paradigm in the United States. It fulfills this vision by promoting exercise, including swimming.  Its 20,000 members include doctors, therapists and personal trainers. USMS is a preferred partner of the Exercise is Medicine Program.

If you would like to discuss opportunities to contribute to the USMS Swimming Saves Lives Foundation, I invite you to call me directly at 941-556-6270 or contact me via email.

Your support is greatly appreciated,

Swimming for Life,

Rob Butcher
Executive Director
U.S. Masters Swimming
Member since 1996

* United States Masters Swimming is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are deductible.