Men And Women’s Swimming To Conduct “Hour Of Power” Relay For Cancer Research

CHICOPEE, Mass. – For the third consecutive year, the Elms College men and women’s swim teams will conduct an “Hour of Power” relay for cancer research on Tuesday, Nov. 9 from 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. at Partyka Natatorium with warm-ups beginning at 4:15 p.m.

The “Hour of Power” was established in memory of Ted Mullin, a swimmer from Carleton College who died in the fall of 2006 from a rare form of cancer called sarcoma. The “Hour of Power,” is an all-out, leave it in the water, sprint relay.

The event is conducted by all NCAA Division III men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs simultaneously throughout the nation. Funds raised through this event support research at the University of Chicago into the causes and treatments of sarcoma in young people. Donations will be accepted at Partyka Natatorium which will then be sent directly to the University of Chicago.

“This event has become a tradition for the Blazers’ men and women’s swim teams and took on extra meaning when cancer struck our athletic department and the men’s swim team,” Elms head swimming coach Bill Tyler said. “This is an event that is bigger than any one individual, it is physically exhausting and emotionally draining, yet upon completion there is a sense of a greater good and a job well done.”

The event was first held on Nov. 7, 2006 and expanded from 15 participating teams in its first year, to 134 teams in 2009 with nearly 6,500 students. Over the past four years, participants have raised more than $190,000 for the Ted Mullin Fund for Sarcoma Research at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital.