Western Women’s Swimming and Diving Team hosts fundraiser car wash

By Katelyn Kulow

Members of Western Colorado’s Women’s Swim and Dive team scrubbed dirty cars at the roundabout between the Pinnacle dorms and the Mountaineer Fieldhouse on Saturday, Sept. 18. “The dirtier the better!” Coach Vickie, the head coach of the swim team, shouted over the frantically working team members.

The team washed everything from trucks to sedans to a boat for their fall fundraiser.  The team plans on using the money raised to fund a training trip over Christmas break to Arizona. 

“Move ‘em up, move ‘em up!” Senior captain Megan Walton shouted. Hands flew off cars as the team members watched the cars zoom forward and immediately started to rinse the next one in line. The line ebbed and flowed. For the first thirty minutes no one showed, but the swim team was not worried. 

Instead, they focused on advertising. Posters with brightly arranged letters were put up around campus.  The team posted short videos and pictures across a variety of social media platforms, including the @westernswimdive Instagram story. 

In the physical world, the day’s loudest cheering took place on the corner of E Gothic Ave and N. Colorado Street. Team members, Jordan Maruska, Lauren Linneman, and Trinity Claude waved down all the cars they saw passing by and directed them into the round-about. 

At around 1:30 p.m. the flood of cars materialized. Cars lined the curb; sometimes up to six at a time. Hands and arms scrubbed vigorously at the vehicles, but swimmers were smiling ear to ear and so were their customers. The team nailed down a system to get cars in and out of the line as quickly as possible, still squeaky clean, to make an enjoyable ride for drivers. 

“The car wash was amazing, and these young ladies cleaned my car spick and span and I am happy! Thank you!” exclaimed Jack Lucido, a professor of Communication Arts at Western Colorado University. Because Women’s Swimming and Diving is not a fully funded team on campus, they work hard to make money to cover the costs for their own gear, scholarships and more. 

A couple of weekends ago, on Aug. 28, the team worked a Denver Broncos game at Empire Stadium and continue to plan events to fundraise for the team and to build team cohesion. Coach Vickie Fellows exclaimed that she was “thankful for the community and the support.” She, along with the girls, were very excited about the turn out for the car wash.

The Mountaineers will host their first home meet against Adams St. on Dec. 4, which is both Senior Day and the team’s “Pack the House” meet, with other Western athletic teams strongly encouraged to attend. After the holiday break, the Mountaineer team will take on CSU Pueblo at home on Jan. 8, before heading off to RMAC Championships in February, and hopefully D-II National Championships in March for invited athletes.