Spring Break
Swimming to raise money, awareness
Kevin Duffy
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: News
Joe Zinski devoted his life to swimming.
He was a competitive swimmer since he was eight years old, and once he got to Eastern High in Voorhees, N.J., he was one of the best swimmers in the area. He made All-South Jersey every year.
"I loved it," Zinski said. "When you're a swimmer, you give a lot of your life to it."
Then, in June 2005 - the summer after his freshman year at UConn - Zinski dove into an unmarked pool and misjudged the depth. He broke his neck and suffered paralysis in all four limbs. Needless to say, Zinski's life would never be the same.
That's when people reached out to him. That's when - via other former athletes who had suffered similar injuries - Zinski learned of the "Swim with Mike" scholarship, a partial scholarship given to former athletes who suffered catastrophic injuries such as Zinski's. Upon learning about it, he applied for the scholarship and was ultimately awarded it. Now, thanks in part to the help he received from the scholarship (both monetary and "from a support standpoint," he said), Zinski is an honors student set to graduate next year with a degree in chemical engineering.
Zinski has teamed with the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) to bring the "Swim with Mike" event to UConn and give back to the scholarship that has helped him through an incredibly difficult time.
"It's meant a lot to me," Zinski said. "And now that I've received it, now that it's helped me, I want to run it at UConn and get more money going back to it so I can help someone like they helped me."
On Sunday, from 4 to 8 p.m. in the UConn Wolff-Zackin Natatorium, Zinski will have the opportunity to raise money for the "Swim with Mike" scholarship, so named for former USC All-American swimmer Mike Nyeholt, who was paralyzed from the chest down after a motorcycle accident. Since the event's inception in 1981, over $8.7 million has been raised to benefit athletes who suffer catastrophic injuries.
Though "Swim with Mike" is traditionally a "swim-a-thon," the UConn edition - also conducted at schools such as USC and Hawaii - will feature a 30-team volleyball tournament in the pool. Registration for the tournament is $30 at the door for a team of six players, and $5 for any additional players. There will be a section of the pool reserved solely for swimming as well, and all other donations aside from volleyball registration will be accepted at the door. This marks the second consecutive year UConn will host a "Swim with Mike" event.
He was a competitive swimmer since he was eight years old, and once he got to Eastern High in Voorhees, N.J., he was one of the best swimmers in the area. He made All-South Jersey every year.
"I loved it," Zinski said. "When you're a swimmer, you give a lot of your life to it."
Then, in June 2005 - the summer after his freshman year at UConn - Zinski dove into an unmarked pool and misjudged the depth. He broke his neck and suffered paralysis in all four limbs. Needless to say, Zinski's life would never be the same.
That's when people reached out to him. That's when - via other former athletes who had suffered similar injuries - Zinski learned of the "Swim with Mike" scholarship, a partial scholarship given to former athletes who suffered catastrophic injuries such as Zinski's. Upon learning about it, he applied for the scholarship and was ultimately awarded it. Now, thanks in part to the help he received from the scholarship (both monetary and "from a support standpoint," he said), Zinski is an honors student set to graduate next year with a degree in chemical engineering.
Zinski has teamed with the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) to bring the "Swim with Mike" event to UConn and give back to the scholarship that has helped him through an incredibly difficult time.
"It's meant a lot to me," Zinski said. "And now that I've received it, now that it's helped me, I want to run it at UConn and get more money going back to it so I can help someone like they helped me."
On Sunday, from 4 to 8 p.m. in the UConn Wolff-Zackin Natatorium, Zinski will have the opportunity to raise money for the "Swim with Mike" scholarship, so named for former USC All-American swimmer Mike Nyeholt, who was paralyzed from the chest down after a motorcycle accident. Since the event's inception in 1981, over $8.7 million has been raised to benefit athletes who suffer catastrophic injuries.
Though "Swim with Mike" is traditionally a "swim-a-thon," the UConn edition - also conducted at schools such as USC and Hawaii - will feature a 30-team volleyball tournament in the pool. Registration for the tournament is $30 at the door for a team of six players, and $5 for any additional players. There will be a section of the pool reserved solely for swimming as well, and all other donations aside from volleyball registration will be accepted at the door. This marks the second consecutive year UConn will host a "Swim with Mike" event.
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