PAWW Facts:

• PAWW provides professionally coached aquatic programs to athletes of all ages.

• PAWW has been in operations for over 75 years.

• PAWW, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that is owned/operated by a Parent Board.

• Dragon Aquatics of Pekin joined forces with PAWW in 2017.

• PAWW offers aquatic programs at Central Park Pool in Peoria and at the Pekin High School pool.

• PAWW membership is growing and currently has over 300 registered athletes, with over 250 families.

• PAWW members reside throughout Central Illinois, including the cities of Peoria, Pekin, Dunlap, Metamora, Washington, E. Peoria, Tremont, and Morton.

PAWW Programs and Customers:

• Our PAWW Swim Team is registered with USA Swimming, with athletes ranging in age from elementary school through college.Our athletes compete throughout Central Illinois, the Midwest, and the United States.

• Our PAWW Masters Team is registered with U.S. Masters and has athletes ranging in age from 18 to 70+.

• Swim Peoria offers swim lessons to children and adults.

• PAWW is working to start a diving program through USA Diving.

• PAWW offers lifeguard training through the Red Cross training program.

• PAWW maintains a strong relationship with the Peoria Park District.

• At our Central Park Pool facility, we rent and/or offer use of our facility to:

Peoria Notre Dame High School         Peoria Central High School

Peoria Triathlon Club                             Open Lap Swimmers

Boy Scouts of America                          Boys and Girls Club

Peoria Park District                                YMCA

Scuba Diving and Canoe Clubs            Area Churches

Marketing Opportunities:

• We are actively engaged on all social media platforms with growing audiences on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter, all @PAWWSWIM.

• PAWW currently has approximately 700 Facebook followers.We typically reach 5,000 to 10,000+ people weekly, via our posting activities.

• PAWW has over 1,000 unique visitors, monthly, to our website at www.paww.org

• PAWW hosts over five swim meets per year, which draw over 1,000 athletes and several thousand spectators.

• Central Park Pool also hosts numerous high school swim meets each year, including Conference Championships.

• PAWW has hundreds of individuals visiting our facilities weekly for practices and other programming.

• We work actively to promote our sponsors via all available channels, including social media, website, signage, flyers, announcements, etc.

Why Your Dollars Matter:

• Access to water is literally drying up before our eyes.There are a limited number for swimming pool facilities remaining and available for public use, in Central Illinois.Several area pools have closed within the past year, which has limited opportunities for our area youth and adults.

• PAWW is responsible for maintaining Central Park Pool, including all operating costs.It is the only 8-lane pool facility, with a separate diving well, in the Peoria area.Our community heavily utilizes the facility.

• PAWW is working to expand our programming at both our Pekin and Peoria facilities.We believe that aquatic programming saves lives and builds champions, while offering lifelong benefits to people of all ages.

• PAWW has initiatives in process to expand our swim lesson offerings, with a focus on serving the needs of area low income families:

  • 79% of children in households with incomes less than $50,000 have little-to-no swimming ability.

  • Research shows 64% of African-American, 45% of Hispanic/Latino, and 40% of Caucasian children have little to no swimming ability.

  • 10 people drown each day in the United States. 

  • Formal swimming lessons reduces the likelihood of childhood drowning by 88%

Additional PAWW Information:

• PAWW has the most experienced coaching staff in the Central Illinois area, with 14 coaches currently on staff.Five of our coaches have over 20 years of experience.

• USA Swimming as a Level 2 Club, based on a system that measures: Business & Organizational Success, Parent & Volunteer Development, Coach Development & Education, & Athlete Development & Performance.

• PAWW alumni support is strong, and includes monetary donations.

• PAWW has several corporate and grant sponsors who provide both monetary and in-kind donations.

• PAWW’s swim team has a long history of success including:

  • PAWW had 10 swimmers named to the Illinois Swimming Top 10 list for the past season.

  • PAWW has several swimmers who are nationally ranked, including three swimmers who were recently selected to attend national level camps, including a camp at the Olympic Training Center.

  • PAWW has numerous swimmers who are medalists at Age Group Championship, Seniors Championship, & Regional Championship meets, including overall State Champions and State Record Holders.

  • PAWW has swimmers who on many area high school teams, including those who have competed at the Illinois State Championship level.

  • PAWW currently has over 20 former swimmers who swim collegiately.

PAWW Hosted Swim Meets:

• Swim for the Cure Meet (benefiting Susan G. Komen foundation) held in April, with over 250 swimmers.

• PAWW July Sizzler (formerly known as PJ Star Meet); with over 500 swimmers at the event.

• Illinois Regional Championships hosted in July; with athletes from throughout the region.

• Spooktacular Meet in October; with over 350 swimmers.

• Masters Meets (age 18 and over), we currently hosts two annual meets with growing attendance.

• Several high school swim meets our hosted each year, via our relationships with Peoria Notre Dame and Peoria Central High Schools.These meets include Conference Championship meets.