A program that aims to teach kids in Harrisonburg how to swim by the time they reach the second grade will be taking registrations later this month.
The program, Swim for Sadie, was created in the memory of Sadie Deeble, an avid competitive swimmer who died of sudden cardiac arrest in 2022 at the age of 13.
Sadie was an eighth-grade student at Stuart Hall in Staunton and a member of the Virginia Gators and the East Rockingham Barracudas swim teams.
Her father, Paul, launched a memorial fund to help initiate Swim for Sadie, which will teach fundamental water safety and basic swimming skills.
“Sadie was an avid swimmer and loved spending time with her friends and teammates in the water,” said Brian Mancini, the director of Harrisonburg Parks & Recreation. “Swim for Sadie is one way that her light can continue to shine, both in spreading joy to the community and teaching life-saving skills to local kids.”
Registration for the Swim for Sadie program will take place in-person at a Registration & Kick-Off Event on Friday, May 29, from 5-8 p.m. at Westover Pool.
This event, which is exclusively open to Harrisonburg City Public Schools students in grades K-2 and their families, will feature swimming, music, Kona Ice, and both healthy refreshments and goodie bags from Augusta Health.
Registration will highly prioritize families with second-graders, since this summer is the only opportunity that current second-graders will be able to participate before aging out of the program.
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Chris Graham
