Community group kicking off revamp with fundraiser
By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Delavan Darien Community Swim Team – better known as the Dolphins – is back after a hiatus of several years, and is holding a fundraiser today in the parking lot of Lowe’s in Delavan.
The fundraiser runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is part of Ford Motor Company’s Drive 4 UR Community program. Lowe’s is at 2015 E. Geneva St., Delavan.
Participants will be given the opportunity to test-drive a Ford and, in exchange, Ford will make a donation to the Dolphins.
Dolphins chairman Matt Weerts said the revamped Dolphins are in their second season. A number of people in the community joined forces to re-start the organization and help improve opportunities for children to learn how to swim.
“Over the course of the last year or two we developed a non-profit to help try getting kids in the water and teach swimming as a healthy lifestyle,” Weerts said. “One of the rationales is working with the community and trying to help young kids get in the water and get more of a competitive experience.”
Weerts said the Dolphins are partners with the City of Delavan’s Parks and Recreation Department, and that the swimming takes place at Delavan-Darien High School.
Weerts said Matt Palma, who coaches the boys and girls swim teams at Delavan-Darien High School, helped start the club and also plays an active role with the Dolphins.
The Dolphins head coach is Emily McClellan, who enjoyed standout careers as a swimmer at Delavan-Darien High School and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before moving to Los Angeles to train for the Olympics.
“It’s been really fun to watch it grow over the past two years,” McClellan said. “We started out with a handful of swimmers and now we’re up to 28.
McLellan tried out for the United States Olympics Swimming Team in both 2012 and 2016. She swam with the previous version of the Dolphins from Kindergarten through fifth grade under the tutelage of her mother, June.
“That’s how I got my start in the water,” McClellan said. “Then I swam on the high school team at Delavan-Darien High School, and it ended up taking off from there.”
McClellan graduated from UWM in 2014 with a degree in American Sign Language Studies, and said the Dolphins want to work with students at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf. The WSD is located at 309 West Walworth Avenue in Delavan.
“A big goal of ours is to reach out to the deaf school as well,” McClellan said. “That’s a big part of our community – having the WSD in Delavan. We’re trying to reach out and offer another sport to the deaf school.”
Those interested can contact the City of Delavan Parks and Recreation Department for more information. Registration is still being accepted for classes that end in June. The parks and rec department can be contacted at (262) 728-5585.
