Speaker 1: Coming time now for our community connection right here on
Speaker 1: K one, the one you trust, and we've got the
Speaker 1: Splash Club in with us today, and my goodness, sakes,
Speaker 1: it's always great to have familiar faces in here. We
Speaker 1: have a coach at Cha had Englehart and Christian Richards
Speaker 1: here with his Splash Club. Now that's been synonymous with
Speaker 1: Bartlesville for farers I can remember. But we had a
Speaker 1: starting point. First of all, what is splash Club and
Speaker 1: how long you've been around?
Speaker 2: Splash Club is a year round competitive team that does
Speaker 2: lessons all the way through college. We started in nineteen fifty, yes,
Speaker 2: very nice here with the building of the Adams Building.
Speaker 2: They built that and wanted to do get heavily into
Speaker 2: recreations and family fitness and family recreation and Ken Treadway,
Speaker 2: who was the head of fitness services at that point,
Speaker 2: had the grand idea of starting a swim team for
Speaker 2: the employees and their families. And that's how Splash Club
Speaker 2: began seventy.
Speaker 3: Five years ago.
Speaker 2: So this fall, I guess Labor Day weekend we will
Speaker 2: be celebrating our seventy fifth anniversary.
Speaker 1: So you teach kids how to swim, first of all,
Speaker 1: because therefore the splashing has some kind of purpose just
Speaker 1: staying live, But this is a big life saving program
Speaker 1: for a lot of people. Their families probably would ever
Speaker 1: even think about having their kids learn to swim, but.
Speaker 2: Research says that a child who was introduced to structured
Speaker 2: from US since is eighty eight percent more likely to
Speaker 2: avoid a life threatening situation in the water. So we
Speaker 2: believe that what we offer is life saving training. Not
Speaker 2: only do the kids the kids safer in the water,
Speaker 2: but as they grow to be adults, they've got the
Speaker 2: skill set to be able to save someone else's life,
Speaker 2: not just their own. So we believe that we're saving
Speaker 2: on multiple phases. And it's the only sport you can
Speaker 2: do from diapers to diapers. Tom, you can do this
Speaker 2: from birth to passing away, just some all the day,
Speaker 2: all the time you want. It's easy on the joints,
Speaker 2: it's a wonderful fitness scenario for your health. And so
Speaker 2: we're not only saving lives, but we're enriching lives for
Speaker 2: their entire duration.
Speaker 1: You know, you mentioned that it's one of those sports
Speaker 1: or activities that you can do for your whole life.
Speaker 1: I used to work with a guy who worked well
Speaker 1: up into his mid eighties, swam at least a mile
Speaker 1: every day. You want to talk about a fellow who
Speaker 1: was sharp at a good metabolism, and you know, kind
Speaker 1: of sort of thought it was Johnny weisballer, you know,
Speaker 1: but it worked out well for him because it was
Speaker 1: a body, mind, soul, the whole whole darn thing. It's
Speaker 1: really really pretty cool the sport of swimming. We've got
Speaker 1: a lot of benefits, like you said, with the kids,
Speaker 1: but when it comes to competition, that's kind of where
Speaker 1: Splash Club is.
Speaker 4: That's right.
Speaker 5: My daughter has been on the team for ten years.
Speaker 5: She graduated this year, and I think beyond the competition.
Speaker 5: I mean, obviously that's a fun part of it for them,
Speaker 5: and they learn a lot from competing, They learn a
Speaker 5: lot from their coach, but it's really the discipline of
Speaker 5: the sport as well, all the practices that they have.
Speaker 5: You know, we have our team works out at the
Speaker 5: high school and they're one of the few teams that
Speaker 5: are there even lifting weights in the summertime. So there's
Speaker 5: a lot more to it than just the competitions in
Speaker 5: the pool. It's the mind body balance there. They are
Speaker 5: student athletes, and so balancing those two practices a day
Speaker 5: through high school with their school work and all their
Speaker 5: other activities.
Speaker 4: Those are lifelong lessons.
Speaker 5: I think that, you know, beyond just being able to
Speaker 5: swim for your whole life because it's good for your body,
Speaker 5: I think it teaches them lifelong lessons. That's one of
Speaker 5: our missions and part of our mission statement is you know,
Speaker 5: creating those champions, but also you know, lifelong disciplines that
Speaker 5: they can take through their life as well.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, you can apply that to everyday life, you know,
Speaker 1: like I said, getting up, really working hard, being ledg
Speaker 1: of being goal oriented, setting goals and knocking them down
Speaker 1: twice a day right most days?
Speaker 3: Yes, Okay, how early.
Speaker 1: Because I know what they did when I was in
Speaker 1: night school.
Speaker 3: He's like, we're usually.
Speaker 2: In the water by six or in the weight room
Speaker 2: by six, and then we finish up in the evenings
Speaker 2: by about five thirty or six.
Speaker 1: Okay. So it's good in compact, but burns up a lot,
Speaker 1: a lot of energy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they don't have to worry about what they're putting
Speaker 2: in very often, just how much they can put in. Yes,
Speaker 2: they get to eat eat healthy, and eat eat a lot.
Speaker 5: First breakfast, second breakfast, first dinner, second dinner.
Speaker 4: Oh real things.
Speaker 1: Well, you got to feel that machine. You know, you're
Speaker 1: doing a lot of work. It was really kind of interesting.
Speaker 1: I went to a school to be just big enough
Speaker 1: to have a swim team. I mean just big enough,
Speaker 1: and sometimes the football players would get the swimmers a
Speaker 1: little bit, and the football coach would come over to
Speaker 1: the guys, going, they actually.
Speaker 3: Work harder than you do.
Speaker 4: We might have heard that a couple of Yeah.
Speaker 2: We do have a reputation and as you mentioned, competition.
Speaker 2: The Barsville High School team has won forty two state
Speaker 2: titles in Oklahoma, and I think that it's a testament
Speaker 2: to the talent that Splash Club recruits and develops and
Speaker 2: helps the school system.
Speaker 3: Take advantage of.
Speaker 5: I would say about ninety five percent of the kids
Speaker 5: that are on the high school team are also Splash
Speaker 5: I mean very few are not on both.
Speaker 1: Yeah, good, good crossover. I love that. Now, when it
Speaker 1: comes to economic impact in our community, well, folks will say, well,
Speaker 1: that's a bunch of kids swiming. Well, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of swim meets that take place, correct.
Speaker 2: We do host three to four every year, including the
Speaker 2: last five state championships in the winner the senior state
Speaker 2: champions have.
Speaker 3: Been hosted in Borlswelle.
Speaker 2: We love that the last several years we've done close
Speaker 2: to three million dollars is the estimated impact, the financial
Speaker 2: impact in the community, and we take a lot of
Speaker 2: pride in that bringing people to Borbolsville, helping out with
Speaker 2: the restaurants and hotels and just showing off Barlsville.
Speaker 3: It is a wonderful, small little town.
Speaker 1: It is. It's one of a kind, and it's great.
Speaker 1: And the thing is, you know, it helps the engine go,
Speaker 1: as they say, so it's really wonderful here now seventy
Speaker 1: five years. Not too many entities stay around seventy five
Speaker 1: years anymore, so do But I understand we got a
Speaker 1: big to do about seventy five I'll.
Speaker 3: Let Tricia talk a little more about that. But the
Speaker 3: Labor Day weekend.
Speaker 5: You throwing the party trade I am, well, I'm trying
Speaker 5: to coordinate this big party.
Speaker 4: It's going to be a lot of fun.
Speaker 5: They have had the previous parties at the fiftieth and
Speaker 5: sixty sixth, and so we thought that this was a
Speaker 5: good time at the seventy fifth to really mark that.
Speaker 5: We have swimmers that have been in the program from
Speaker 5: all over the United States that are coming into town Friday,
Speaker 5: August twenty ninth Saturday, August thirtieth, Labor Day weekend. We're
Speaker 5: going to have a nice reception for them on Friday,
Speaker 5: be able to let them mingle and see some of
Speaker 5: that history that we have from.
Speaker 4: The team through the decades.
Speaker 5: They kind of have a little competition for the between
Speaker 5: the decades and they want to be able to meet
Speaker 5: and mingle and reminisce about that. We're also going to
Speaker 5: have an awesome silent auction and raffle as part of that.
Speaker 5: So part of the reason we want to get together
Speaker 5: is to obviously have these memories celebrate the seventy five years,
Speaker 5: but it is a fundraising event for our team. We
Speaker 5: have those corporate sponsors, but we also need every dollar
Speaker 5: that we can get to keep our program going as
Speaker 5: far as those life saving skills in lessons as well
Speaker 5: as the Splash Club program. So having some fundraisers through
Speaker 5: the reunion will be part of our focus as well.
Speaker 5: I think what I'm really looking forward to seeing the
Speaker 5: most is Saturday morning the fun meet. One of the
Speaker 5: former swimmers who's been also a coach in our program,
Speaker 5: Skipper Shipman, is going to lead that fund meat along
Speaker 5: with Chad as I hear that some of it will
Speaker 5: include some very different rokes than the four standards that
Speaker 5: those kids are used to, So I'm looking forward to
Speaker 5: seeing that and seeing some of our alumni get back
Speaker 5: in the water.
Speaker 4: So that'll be a fun, fun event.
Speaker 5: And then Saturday afternoon that really the big culmination of
Speaker 5: our event is a picnic at wool A Rock. We're
Speaker 5: going to have a live band and this band is
Speaker 5: actually made up of former members from Splash Club. They
Speaker 5: are called the Hot Links, and so they are coming
Speaker 5: to town, but really capstoning the whole weekend. And one
Speaker 5: of the things that we're most excited about is Rowdy Gains.
Speaker 4: Rowdy Gains the voice of swimming as yes.
Speaker 5: Three time gold medalist at the LA Olympics in the eighties.
Speaker 5: He is coming to mc our meat, announce our meat
Speaker 5: and just be there with us. So a big opportunity
Speaker 5: for our current Splasher program as well as our Splash
Speaker 5: Club program kids to be involved and meet him as
Speaker 5: well as him interact with our alumni.
Speaker 1: Okay, I got you got the hook, al baited pretty well.
Speaker 3: Okay, I'm ready to nibble. Where do I get a.
Speaker 4: Ticket, you get a ticket.
Speaker 5: Can we have an event bright link up splash Club
Speaker 5: seventy five dot event bright dot com. Tickets are on
Speaker 5: sale through that gets you a ticket for the whole weekend.
Speaker 5: You can go to just our splash Club website and
Speaker 5: there's a link there as well.
Speaker 1: So yeah, all right, this is really cool. Now you
Speaker 1: know what other support can the community offer a splash Club.
Speaker 1: I mean, we can throw a dollar here, a dollar there,
Speaker 1: but you need a lot more of those single dollars.
Speaker 3: Well, Tom, Yes, the corporate world has changed.
Speaker 2: We still have corporate sponsors, but they have changed significantly,
Speaker 2: and we're real excited we are creating in the process
Speaker 2: this month of creating a life saving endowment. The splash
Speaker 2: Club Endowment will be a fund that funds our life
Speaker 2: saving some lessons program and make sure we have instructors,
Speaker 2: make sure we have facilities, make sure we have opportunities
Speaker 2: to present water safety to the community.
Speaker 3: And we're real excited about that.
Speaker 2: We're going to the club is going to see that,
Speaker 2: and then hopefully through this event, we can build that
Speaker 2: to a point where it is self sustaining. So no
Speaker 2: matter what happens with splash Club will always have an
Speaker 2: opportunity and a place to provide water safety.
Speaker 3: To the community.
Speaker 2: And we really feel strongly that that is that is
Speaker 2: the legacy that Ken Treadway started seventy five years ago,
Speaker 2: is to provide safety and health and just that that
Speaker 2: great awareness to.
Speaker 3: The community and pretty cool kicking that off. It's really exciting.
Speaker 2: You talk a lot about how well we swim and
Speaker 2: the competition and things like that, but when you watch
Speaker 2: a three or four year old swim their first length
Speaker 2: across the pool and the look on their face and
Speaker 2: then the realization that that child is so much safer,
Speaker 2: so much less likely to have a life altering experience
Speaker 2: in the walter, that you just just it's a source
Speaker 2: of pride, it's a source of joy. It's a source
Speaker 2: of accomplishment that I think every parent I hope has
Speaker 2: the opportunity to experience and they they're they're helping their
Speaker 2: child live a safer and more rich life.
Speaker 1: There's a little bit icing on the cake too. There's
Speaker 1: a bit of confidence that comes with set. It's like, Wow,
Speaker 1: I did it, I can do more now, and you
Speaker 1: feel like you're unchained as a kid, absolutely, and that
Speaker 1: confidence on top of knowing what to do, how to
Speaker 1: do it, and how to be safe. That's a great combination.
Speaker 1: Every kid needs this, every kid needs this. So let's
Speaker 1: do what we can here to help out. Now, what's
Speaker 1: the future of Splash Club looking like here in Bartlesville.
Speaker 2: We've got a wonderful young group of ten unders that
Speaker 2: are coming along nicely. That's our that's our strength right now.
Speaker 3: Like I said, the.
Speaker 2: High school team has been very successful over the last
Speaker 2: several years. In a small community, you have some ups
Speaker 2: and downs. So we're a little small in our high
Speaker 2: school team this next year, but I think we'll continue
Speaker 2: to fill the newspaper with some accomplishments and I think
Speaker 2: we'll do well. I think the future is that endowment
Speaker 2: and that legacy of stability in the community. The community
Speaker 2: can depend on us. That we are going to bring
Speaker 2: events in, We are going to continue to teach life
Speaker 2: saving skills, and we are going to continue to be
Speaker 2: a vital part of Bartlesville for many, many years.
Speaker 1: Oh, Christia, you've got a youngster who's been with this
Speaker 1: for ten years, first time getting involved. Couldn't get the
Speaker 1: kid out of the water, could you know?
Speaker 4: It took a little bit. She wasn't sure.
Speaker 5: She wanted to go initially and then was all in
Speaker 5: after that. I think, you know, it's always overwhelming when
Speaker 5: they walk into a pool that is extra long when
Speaker 5: they go to law course. But you're right that confidence
Speaker 5: that they build in that program that lets them know
Speaker 5: not only can I swim one length of it, but
Speaker 5: four lengths of it or a mile you know in
Speaker 5: that pool, the camaraderie that they have with their team
Speaker 5: really something that you is important and valuable to those kids.
Speaker 4: Great program to build that.
Speaker 1: No, this is very attractive to kids. But let's talk
Speaker 1: to mom and dad here real quick. How does this
Speaker 1: pay dividends to mom and dad? Mom and dad, I
Speaker 1: know if you've got kids who are in activities, your
Speaker 1: family just seems to just huddle around.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that swim family is our family. Those parents are
Speaker 4: our friends. We spend a lot of time together.
Speaker 5: It's been kind of as I said, my daughter graduated,
Speaker 5: and so we've made it a point to say we're
Speaker 5: going to continue making sure that we're together because those are.
Speaker 4: The bonds that we've built.
Speaker 5: Obviously, our program runs on a lot of volunteers, and
Speaker 5: so our opportunity to be involved with this program has
Speaker 5: been also invaluable for us to be able to get
Speaker 5: to know those kids, support those kids, and celebrate the
Speaker 5: seventy five years that Splash Club has been together. It
Speaker 5: was memories made for lifetime as well for us.
Speaker 1: What's the website again, so folks who find more information
Speaker 1: and also get some tickets.
Speaker 5: Yes, please come to our events. Splash Club seven five
Speaker 5: dot event. Bright dot com is where tickets are available.
Speaker 1: All right, appreciate coach, thank you both for being here.
Speaker 3: Absolutely time. I appreciate your time.
Speaker 1: Oh, we appreciate you being part of our community. You've
Speaker 1: been watching and listening to our community connection on K
Speaker 1: one Hi. I'm Todd Starn, host of The Todd Starn
Speaker 1: Show