Arizona Swimming and Diving Participates in Social Justice Tread
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona men's and women's swimming and diving team participated in the Diversity in Aquatics Social Justice Tread on Wednesday afternoon at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center.
The team participated in the tread-a-thon to raise money and awareness to social injustices and hope to spread equality both in the sport of swimming and outside of the pool. Arizona is one of many schools participating in the tread-a-thon, and donations can be made by clicking HERE.
Arizona chose what would have been George Floyd's 47th birthday, Oct. 14, to hold its tread, and chose to tread for 8:46 in honor of his life.
USING OUR VOICES
Head coach Augie Busch:
"I wanted to use this as a time of reflection, a moment of silence for George Floyd in honor of his birthday. Hopefully during that silence there was a lot of reflection. During the summer, we were having a lot of Zoom calls, and when the incident happened, we used an entire Zoom call to ask the team to reflect on what I was calling an awakening of awareness of social justice in the country and what minority people go through on a daily basis that may not be realized by us. I was really proud of our team for everything that they shared that day and it really showed the depth of our character."
"That's my team. We're all about each other. That represents respect, unselfishness, awareness and considerations toward different personalities and backgrounds. That's who we are. That's one of my demands, that we open up our minds and understand differences that each other bring and come from."
Junior Ty Wells:
"As a team we're doing our part to raise awareness to issues that are plaguing us right now. I used the 8:46 to reflect on a lot of different things. I think for me personally, I take this sport for granted. I get to come to this beautiful pool every day and swim laps, and my dad, an African-American adult man, doesn't know how to swim very well. So I thought about how lucky I am and how I want to keep spreading this sport into more communities of color. And I thought about George Floyd and how today would have been his 47th birthday. My dad is 58, he's my role model. I can't imagine living without him for 11 years."
Junior Aria Bernal:
"The fact that our team is getting more involved in things like this to advocate for racial injustice and spread our messages to communities of color is really important, and really important to me. I was glad to be a part of this because I want to advocate for this as well and I want people who look like me to not feel alienated in their own sport."
"Eight minutes and 46 seconds was definitely not easy, but it doesn't even compare to what George Floyd went through and others who have suffered from police brutality. So we were thinking about them and their families today. And I will continue to be an advocate for social justice and equality."