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18th Annual Swim Across America Fairfield
County is June 29th – NEW this year is a Kids’ Splash and
High School Cup Challenge
Swimmers, Land and Water Volunteers Make
Waves to Fight Cancer
Swim Across America - Fairfield County is
holding its 18th annual open water swim on Saturday,
June 29, 2024, and has some exciting additions this year
- including a NEW Kids’ Splash for children up to 11
years old (children younger than 6 should be accompanied
by a parent or guardian), and a High School Cup Challenge for
all Fairfield County area high school swim, dive and water
polo teams to compete against each other. These are part of
the open water swim that includes three swim lengths for
ages 12-84: a half-mile swim, a 1.5-mile swim and a 3-mile
swim. Hundreds of swimmers, land and water volunteers
participate each year and support the swim’s local
beneficiary, Alliance
for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT), which is
headquartered where the swim is held on the border of
Stamford and Greenwich, Connecticut. Swimmers, boaters,
kayakers, paddle boarders and land volunteers are all
encouraged to register for one of the most inspirational
events of the year! To register as a swimmer or a volunteer,
visit swimacrossamerica.org/fc.
“We are very excited to expand our event to
include younger swimmers in the community with the addition
of the Kids’ Splash and High Schol Cup Challenge to our
annual open water swim,” said Nancy Carr, event director of
Swim Across America - Fairfield County. “The fun Kids’
‘Splash’ offers younger swimmers and non-swimmers and their
parents an opportunity to participate in addition to being
there to cheer on family and friends who also swim or
volunteer. We’ll have a giant floatie in the cove for the
younger swimmers to swim or splash out to. Parents and
caregivers are welcome to join. Each participant will
receive a Swim Across America t-shirt and towel. It’s going
to be so fun!”
Also new this year is a High School Cup
Challenge for all Fairfield County high school swim, dive
and water polo teams to compete against each other in
fundraising. Spearheaded by Marjorie Trifone, Darien High
School’s swim and dive coach and longtime Swim Across
America - Fairfield County participant, the challenge
encourages high school teams to join and fundraise together
and offers bonuses for school teams that raise the most for
cancer research. The first three teams to reach $3,000 in
their fundraising get a $2,500 bonus thanks to a generous
benefactor. The top fundraising high school team wins the
High School Cup trophy to display at their school!
“High school students have historically been
a big part of our swim event,” noted Nancy Carr. “In fact,
one of our largest teams, Team Julian, is made up of current
and past local area students. We also have our Junior
Advisory Board with a dozen area high school students and we
wanted to do something special for their dedication and hard
work. The High School Cup Challenge is a way to reward the
teens for their fundraising for an important cause. We hope
the reward of the trophy they get to keep in their school
trophy case and the bragging rights to being the champion
will encourage more teams to get involved and inspire more
students to come back year-after-year.”
Why does Swim Across America Fairfield County
swim to raise money in the fight against cancer? Cancer
sadly touches everyone — whether it is a loved one or a
friend, everyone knows someone who has been impacted by
cancer. In 2024, For the first time ever, the United States
is expected to surpass
more than 2 million new cases of cancer and 611,720 cancer
deaths. These staggering statistics offer compelling
proof of the need to continue devising new approaches to
treatment. In fact, there are more than 18 million Americans
with a history of invasive cancer who are alive today, who
were diagnosed many years ago or now have no current
evidence of the disease, thanks to new treatments. Whether
it is through swimming, volunteering, donating or cheering
on loved ones and friends, Swim Across America - Fairfield
County welcomes anyone and everyone who wants to be a part
of the fight against cancer.
“The Swim Across America - Fairfield County
open water swim is truly one of the most inspiring events
our community will ever experience,” said Nancy Carr. “The
gathering of so many families and so many individuals who
are honoring those who have been touched by cancer is
incredible — whether they are currently battling it out, are
survivors or have lost someone. To hear the stories and to
learn about those whom cancer has touched and to experience
that love is just incredible. The feeling of wanting to make
a difference and to do something for those who have
experienced cancer is huge.”
Currently, Swim Across America – Fairfield
County is helping to fund two ACGT research fellows: Juan
Fueyo, MD, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
Center for brain cancer, and Brian Brown, PhD, at the
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai for lung and ovarian
cancers. A third researcher and new ACGT research fellow, E.
Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, at the Brigham and Women’s
Hospital, who is working on glioblastoma, will be added with
the funding from the 2024 swim.
“We are very excited to be supporting these
three amazing cancer scientists, including the newest ACGT
research fellow Dr. Chiocca from the Brigham and Women’s
Hospital,” noted Nancy Carr. “ACGT and Swim Across America
funding will help Dr. Chiocca conduct a clinical trial using
an oncolytic virus therapy for glioblastoma.”
Swim Across America is a national
organization and offers open water and pool swims in 24
communities, from Boston Harbor to under the Golden Gate
Bridge, but its roots are firmly anchored along the shores
of Connecticut. Darien, Connecticut, resident Matt
Vossler founded Swim Across America in 1987 with the
first swimming event in Long Island Sound after supporting
his college roommate and cancer survivor Jeff Keith with a
run across America.
Throughout its 37 years, Swim Across America
has raised more than $100 million in the fight against
cancer. More than 150 Olympians support Swim Across America,
including Michael Phelps, Craig Beardsley (who was inducted
into the International Swimmer’s Hall of Fame in 2022),
Donna de Varona (a Greenwich resident and honorary Fairfield
County co-chair), Rowdy Gaines, Janel Jorgensen McArdle (who
grew up in Ridgefield, Connecticut), Bobby Hackett, Ryan
Lochte, Glenn Mills, Cristina Teuscher (who participates in
the Fairfield County event), Missy Franklin, and many more.
Swim Across America’s funding of clinical
trials on a national level has helped contribute to four FDA
approved life-saving immunotherapy cancer treatments: Yervoy,
Opdivo, Tecentriq and Keytruda. Recently, the
very exciting news about a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan
Kettering was published in The
New England Journal of Medicine that showed a 100
percent success rate in treating patients in a phase 2
clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer with dostarlimab,
an immunotherapy treatment. The clinical trial at Memorial
Sloan Kettering was funded by early-stage grant funding from
Swim Across America.
To learn more about Swim Across America
Fairfield County or to register to swim, volunteer or
donate, visit swimacrossamerica.org/fc.
About Swim Across America
Swim Across America, Inc.
(SAA) is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer
research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related
events. With the help of hundreds of volunteers nationwide
and past and current Olympians, Swim Across America is
helping find a cure for cancer through athleticism,
community outreach and direct service. To learn more visit swimacrossamerica.org/fc or
follow on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @SAAFairfieldCo
or email nancycarr@swimacrossamerica.org.
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