The JAX50 Sprint Dual Challenge is more than a dash for cash.
It is a chance for ordinary swimmers from eight years-old and up to compete at the same meet, in the same event, with twelve of the top swimmers in the sport, every one of them racing for the chance to swim in one of the two empty lanes against Olympians, national and NCAA champions, American and world record holders in swimming's premier test of speed - The 50 freestyle.
But this event is more than just a chance to race an Olympian. It is an opportunity to help many underprivileged families benefit from potentially life-saving swimming instruction.
This one weekend swimming event is unlike any other event in the sport. Once racing is over, the twelve guest swimmers will host a clinic and share their own stories of adversity, challenges, and eventual success.
" The athletes and sponsors who come together for a weekend to support important causes like drowning prevention are a true inspiration. Last year, when I was battling for my life against two aggressive cancers, the JAX50 challenge gave me the hope and determination to keep fighting. It was incredible to know that so many people were supporting my fight to live, and it lit up my bleak hospital room. I am forever indebted to this amazing initiative, and I want to express my thanks to all who have participated and/or will participate this year. "
- Seun Adebiyi
After a great first edition, the JAX 50 Sprint Dual Challenge returns to the Uible pool at the The Bolles School in Jacksonville, FL for what will be another great event. With the same format, the JAX 50 2011 will again bring a dozen of the world's best swimmers to the Uible Pool to compete in just one event: the 50 yard freestyle. They will also host a clinic the day after the competition which swimmers will be able to sign up for.
So why are these pro swimmers coming to Jacksonville? The primary reasons is so that they can help Planet Swim Foundation's project to potentially save lives in the Jacksonville metro area by teaching swimming to local underprivileged children who wouldnt otherwise receive instruction in life saving skills.
Starting on April 15th, 2011, The Bolles Sharks Swim club will host a two-day qualifying meet with most of the Olympic distances, where the top 2 female and male athletes competing in the 50m freestyle will earn a spot in the main event on the evening on April 16th. In the main event, 8 female and 8 male swimmers will race the 50 Freestyle in a round-robin kind of format. Six swimmers of each gender are being selected from among the top sprinters in the world. The 2 other athletes from each gender will be loca l swimmers coming from the qualifying meet. On Sunday, April 17th, Planet Swim Foundation and The Bolles Sharks Swim Team will host an Olympic Experience Clinic where the children participating in the meet will have the opportunity to learn from their idols in and out of the water.
Timed Finals Entry Fee:
Individual events: $3.00 per event
Facility Charge: $7.50 per swimmer
Deck Entry: Deck entries will be accepted to fill heats only. No new heats will be created. Each deck entry will cost $10.00. All deck entries must be accepted by the Administrative Referee 30 minutes prior to the start of the meet. A swimmer may not drop an event to deck enter another event, and the entry limit of 3 events per day remains.
Entry Deadline:
All entries must be submitted by Friday, April 8, 2011.
Enclose checks and make payable to The Bolles School Sharks.
Finals:
Top 2 overall times in the 50m Freestyle from the Timed Finals session from each gender will earn a spot into the final round. Finals will swim in brackets with 2 swimmers per heat. Brackets will be randomly sorted. There will be 3 rounds of 4 heats for each gender.
Timed Finals Scoring:
Individual points will be earned for an 8 lane pool: 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Awards:
High point Trophies will be awarded for the top 3 swimmers in every age group. Money prize will be awarded to the Top 8 swimmers who qualify into the 50 freestyle finals. (Amateur athletes may not accept prize money.)
A recently formed organization located in Jacksonville - FL, Planet Swim Foundation aims to promote the sport of swimming through
education and safety by preventing drowning in communities with limited physical and financial access to both pools and water safety instruction.
Our goal is to raise funds to help underprivileged families benefit from potentially life-saving swim instruction.
In the summer of 2010, in partnership with Planet Swim LLC, Planet Swim Foundation became a project in action.Through Planet Swim LLC
and very limited funds, the Metro Kids Konnection Foundation sent 27 of their children for an 8 week swim lesson program. Since he project proved
to be a success, Planet Swim Foundation has decided to take the small summer project into a year-round drowning prevention program.
Through the Drowning Prevention Program, Planet Swim Foundation does not just want to teach swimming: we want to share our passion
for all things aquatics in a safe and fun environment to help our community become a leading example when preventing drowning at all levels. Our goal
is to teach 200 kids for the first year and increase the number of kids being taught by 100 kids every year we run the program.
While the overall goal is for every kid to have the opportunity to learn to swim, the main objective in providing a swim lesson program is to make a
substantial contribution towards preventing drowning in our community emphasising:
I.The development of water confidence;
II.Personal survival skills;
III.Life-saving skills;
IV.The development of basic stroke techniques.
Our goal is to raise enough funds to sponsor a year-round swim lesson program and teach 600 children from the Jacksonville Metro Area by the end of 2011.
To Learn more about Planet Swim Foundation, visit us at www.planetswimfoundation.org.
Planet Swim Foundation has created a variety of sponsorship opportunities to benefit every party involved and the ultimate success of the event rests in the support of our local community and businesses. The events at the Jax50 2010 touched the lives of hundreds of participants, spectators, sponsors and volunteers with the long term results having the potential to save lives across the nation and even the world with possible bone marrow matches. This year the Jax50 2011 will reach even more participants, spectators, sponsors and volunteers and has the potential to save lives here in our own community by teaching local children who wouldnt otherwise receive instruction in life saving skills.
We offer a wide range of sponsorship packages to maximize your brand exposure.
For more information about The JAX50 Sprint Dual Challenge sponsorship opportunities, contact Gustavo Calado at 904-370-9819 or by email at gmc_planetswimfoundation.org.
WHAT A WEEKEND OF EXCITEMENT!! It all started with beginning of the two day meet on Friday night. We had many fast swims which culminated with the JAX50 Dinner with the Stars at the Marriott of Jacksonville. The dinner was a chance for the people to mingle with the Stars and get to know them on a one on one basis.
Saturday morning was the final session of the swim meet which only included 50's of each stroke. The two top swimmers for the men and women in the 50 free were to advance to the JAX50 Main event that evening. On the men's side, Pavel Babeav (Swim Florida) and Joe Pascale (Curl-Burke) advanced to the finals with swift times of 23.16 and 23.96. On the women's side, Natalia Favoreto (ECU) and Kaitlyn Dressel (YFFC) both advanced through the prelimanary rounds with times of 26.97 and 27.30.
The JAX50 main event was a great success with many fast swims with many meet records broken. To find out the the results and video coverage please see Swimming World's coverage.
SWIMMING WORLD COVERAGE
Finally the weekend was capped off with a 4 hour Clinic with the Stars. The Clinic included a Q and A session and a technique based instruction. It was a great way for the swimmers to learn from the best swimmers in the business.
A Special Thanks to all the swimmer, coaches, parents, volunteers, and sponsors who helped make this event a total success. We would also like to thank all the Swimming Stars who came to Jacksonville to make this weekend memorable. We could not have done this without all the support!!!!
Men's Winner: Adam Brown (AUBURN) - 19.16 (Ties Meet Record with George Bovell)
Women's Winner: Lara Jackson (ARIZONA) - 21.89 (JAX50 Record)
Click here for complete meet results.
The JAX 50 2010 was a huge success in getting the swimming community to help one of their own,former Nigerian swimmer and Bolles graduate Seun Adebiyi, whose fight against two rare forms of cancer had inspired many people around the country. Seun, who missed the 2004 Olympics by a tenth of a second, was in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant to survive. The JAX 50 2010 was not only a swim meet where people had the chance to watch, race and learn from a few of the best swimmers in the world including Olympic medalists Ryan Lochte, Cullen Jones, Matt Grevers, George Bovell, Kara Lynn Joyce, Christine Magnuson, Amanda Weir among others, but also served as a venue for registering people as potential bone marrow donors.
With unwavering support The JAX 50 2010 was able to sign up 66 people as potential bone marrow donors and raised $2,400 to go towards bone marrow donor tests. That represents fantastic success considering that an event such as this had never before been attempted. An even bigger success, however, was the audience we reached beyond the hundreds of spectators, athletes, and volunteers who directly took part in the events first edition.
Every major media outlet on the First Coast covered the JAX 50 2010. That represents incredible interest in the event especially when one takes into account that it took place on the same weekend that Tiger Woods returned to golf at the Masters, both the University of Florida and Florida State University were holding their inter-squad football games, and the Springing in the Blues festival was being held in Jacksonville Beach. The fact that the JAX 50 2010 received multiple days of coverage by NBC, ABS, CBS, FOX, Channel 4 News, and the Florida Times-Union on a weekend demanding so much of a news organizations resources speaks to the uniqueness of the event, the spirit of its underlying cause, and the commitment of those who bonded together to make the 1st JAX 50 so spectacular.
Coverage even extended beyond the local media market. ESPN 360 sent a crew out to film the JAX 50 and the racing was broadcast live on Swimming World Magazines website, which alone reached over 100,000 viewers and 120,000 hits on the events website. All of this coverage combined means that the potential audience exposure of the 1st JAX 50 Sprint Dual Challenge reached into the millions! That is a rarity for an inaugural event such as this and speaks to the fantastic future we can look forward to as more people will want to take part in it.
The most important thing to come out of the 1st JAX 50, though, was the knowledge that people are willing to bond together to help those in need. Seun Adebiyis personal struggle with cancer served as a call to arms in the swimming community, our local community, and beyond. For the 2nd Annual JAX 50 we hope to be able to provide an even better experience to those involved and raise enough money to fund a year-round drowning prevention program in the local community.
JAX50 2010 Results JAX50 2010 Videos
Click on the link below to download the Results of the 2010 JAX50. Click on the link below to watch the JAX50 2010 Races.
JAX50 2010 Results
Mayor Payton Welcomes the JAX50 2011 Participants
Please fill out the form below with any questions you might have and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
