$17K raised for purchase of timing system for BC swim team
After a whirlwind fundraising campaign, members of the Bethlehem Central High School Swimming and Diving team will be greeted by a new addition to their pool at their first home meet in January: a new electronic scoreboard and timekeeping system.
The BC Swimming and Diving Booster Club raised more than $17,000 in a matter of weeks to purchase the used system at no cost to the district, fulfilling a longtime goal of the organization.
We got lucky, said Booster Club President Dwight Cheu, who traveled to New Jersey with club volunteer Bruce Ginsburg to inspect the system.
The system itself cost $9,000, plus another $2,000 for ancillary equipment and a truck rental to transport it. It’s an International Sports Timing model that is five years old but saw only light use at its former home in the Whippany, NJ Jewish Community Center. The system costs $26,000 brand new, a cost that has precluded the district from purchasing one before now.
At a Dec. 16 meeting of the BC school board, Cheu and Ginsburg proposed that the district accept the donation of the system and extra funds they had raised, and the board voted unanimously to accept it. Members of the booster club and Schenectady-based NCS Construction installed the scoreboard on Sunday, Dec. 27.
With the new scoreboard, times will be computed by six electronic touch pads at the end of the lanes instead of human monitors using stopwatches. Not only will the system make it easier to administer meets by reducing the number of volunteers required, it will be more accurate and reliable.
`It’s nice for the kids to look up and see their time when they finish,` said Ginsburg.
Cheu and Ginsburg both have children swimming on the varsity team. BC Athletics Director John DeMeo said that the department has wanted a new scoreboard for some time, but budget constraints had precluded getting a replacement.
`At this point, we’re just getting the necessities to run our programs,` DeMeo said. `We’ve obviously been very appreciative to the boosters and all they’ve contributed to the district the community support has been very, very positive over the years.`
In 2006, the lacrosse and football booster clubs chipped in for half the cost of a new scoreboard at the football field, with the district footing the rest of the bill.
Though the purchase of a scoreboard was a goal since the club formed four years ago, fundraising for the board only started in October.
`There were a lot of skeptics who though it couldn’t be done,` said Cheu. `I was just impressed with how the entire community and the families stepped up to make it possible in such a short time.`
Ginsburg spearheaded much of the fundraising efforts and while many parents made donations, he largely focused his solicitations outwards because swimmers and their families already make a lot of sacrifices, he said.
`Everyone agreed the kids deserved it and worked very hard for it,` Ginsburg said. `I didn’t want to diminish the kids’ ability to get the things they needed. A lot of people stepped up in a very generous manner.`
The Delmar Dolfins Swim Club chipped in with a $5,000 donation. The 120-member youth swimming program is where many varsity swimmers at BC and Guilderland schools get their first competitive experiences, and the group’s contribution will be recognized with a graphic on the scoreboard. The system will be used for their competitions at the high school pool, as well.
`This is our way to help the school district out,` said Dolfins President Chris Hettie. `With all the financial issues coming up at the school district…if you’re in a position that you can help the school district, it’s something you should do.`
She added that with an early outlet, many Dolfins go on to compete in college and beyond.
`It gives these kids something to aspire to,` she said. `It’s a sport that you can really have for life, when you think about it.`
Cheu estimated that there would be an annual maintenance cost of $500 to $800 based on information from the manufacturer and other schools using similar systems. The roughly $3,500 not being used to purchase the system were handed over to the school district as a maintenance fund.
A full list of donors can be found at the booster club’s Web site: www.bcswimanddive.com. A plaque acknowledging contributors is planned to be mounted at the high school pool in January. The club is still accepting donations to build up the scoreboard’s maintenance fund.
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