Team Eugene is excited to announce that we have been invited to attend this year’s Martha McKee Charlotte Open in Charlotte, North Carolina! These swimmers have goals and dreams of competing nationally and earning scholarships to swim in college. This meet will achieve both of those goals, with many college scouts and the fastest swimmers in the country. Not only will the meet play host to some of the fastest young talent in the country, but programs like the University of Florida have also committed to attend. Of course, that would mean competing against Olympians like Katie Ledecky and Caleb Dressel!

As you may imagine, traveling across country to compete comes at a high cost and for some it’s a cost that would prevent them from participating, and thus preventing them from this important step in their journey. Flights can average anywhere between $500-800 per athlete, with the additional expenses of 4-5 nights in a hotel, food, ground transportation, and meet entry fees, families can quickly be looking at a $1,500.00 + price tag for one competition.

These athletes have earned the right to compete at this level. We are asking for help so that we can give them the opportunities they have earned. To ease these costs and support our athletes we will be planning some special fundraising opportunities. We will be partnering with Treeline Crossfit and former Oregon Duck and Olympian Nick Symmons in some fun and exciting fundraising challenges! You will be able to check out the results of the challenge with Nick on his youtube page. https://www.youtube.com/c/NickSymmonds800

Funds raised from these events will go directly to supporting Team Eugene athletes’ travel to chase their dreams. The money donated and our participation in the Charlotte Open will have a long reaching effect for youth athletics in Eugene. Not only will the funds raised have an immediate impact for our current athletes, but our participation in competitions such as this one will inspire the next generations of swimming athletes in Eugene.