The month of July marked two very special events here at Eaman Park Pool. In addition to our Savory Sunday Cookouts, our Icecream Sundae Day and our Lollipop Giveaway, we also celebrated two events that left us feeling very warm and fuzzy inside– The 2nd Annual Swimmin’ for Eaman Swimathon AND Cooper Sever’s 243 Swim! If you attended one or both events, then you know just how special these events were for our pool community.
2nd Annual Swim-a-thon
From social distancing, to PPE, to furloughs and layoffs, this year’s Swimmin’ for Eaman Swimathon had many obstacles. After lots of brainstorming, the Board divided all swimmers into heats that allowed them to space out, to take their time and to raise money to benefit our pool club in a manner that was healthy, safe and FUN! Participants this year ranged in age from 4 years to Adult and every single swimmer far exceeded their own personal goals.
Our top three swimmers were 1) Lifeguard Cooper Sever, 2) Cooper’s father, Michael Sever, and 3) TidalWave Aquatics competitive swimmer Berkley Kontz. All three swam over 120 laps in 60 minutes!
The EPP Board would like to extend and extra special thank you too all of our swimmers and to all of our members who either gave a monetary donation, sponsored a swimmer OR provided a prize. Once again we were able to give a prize to every single participant! This years prizes included gift cards from ChickfilA, Go Burrito, Amazon, Granite Knitwear, EPP and Coldstone Creamery, a variety of pool toys, Snack Shack bucks and an emergency car kit for our college kids.
This year’s Swimmin’ for Eaman Swimathon raised over $1300 to support ongoing beautification projects here at EPP.
243 Swim to Benefit the Shepherd Center
On the afternoon of July 21st, Lifeguard Cooper Sever embarked on the incredible feat of swimming 30 miles in 24 hours. Cooper conceived of this swim following a family tragedy that left his beloved uncle, former NC State Trooper Chris Wooten. After being injured in the line of duty, Wooten recovered and received life altering treatment from the Shepherd Center located in Atlanta, Georgia. All proceeds from Cooper’s swim will benefit other citizens who would benefit from treatment at the Shepherd Center. To learn more, please visit: https://swimswam.com/nc-swimmer-cooper-sever-to-swim-for-24-hours-in-honor-of-uncle-chris-wooten/
While onlookers watched, Cooper pushed through the night and in his 17th hour he logged his fastest lap time. By July 22nd, the cool air that accompanied the night sky had vanished and was quickly replaced with the hot summer sun. Cooper was exhausted, but his support team was right there to keep pushing him forward. We watched as his family and friends pumped him full of electrolytes and soaked him in an ice bath every couple of hours and even when all the color seemed to flush right out of him we knew he would make it to the end.
By the time Cooper had entered those final few hours, many swimmers from our EPP family had taken to swimming laps in the open section of the pool and cheering for Cooper with every breath. His Uncle watched via Facetime as Cooper finished the last 100 meters. And when Cooper hit the wall on that final lap he was greeted with cheers, high fives, kisses from his family and congratulations all around. Our EPP family was filled with joy and excitement as we rallied around Cooper and celebrated his incredible and selfless accomplishment!
If you see Cooper, or any of the Swimathon participants around the pool, please congratulate them and thank them for all they have done for our pool and our community!